June 12th, 2017
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On-the-spot construction of spacecraft high above Earth is getting a boost thanks to “OrbWeaver” – an in-space manufacturing and robotic assembly concept. Firmamentum of Bothell, Washington announced today it has sealed a deal with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) on the idea to fabricate a small satellite able to provide high-bandwidth satellite communications […]
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NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover is now in Sol 1722, carrying out a three sol duration plan to keep the robot busy over the weekend. Reports Scott Guzewich, an atmospheric scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, almost the entirety of the first two sols (1722 and 1723) are dedicated to a Sample […]
The Planetary Society has announced a new paper on NASA’s Mars exploration program. Not all is well with the future of Mars exploration, suggests the paper. “NASA’s robotic Mars Exploration Program is on a troubling path of decline…and decisions must be made now in order to stop it.” This new report from The Planetary Society […]
China space officials are detailing their upcoming set of robotic lunar exploration missions at the Global Space Exploration Conference (GLEX) 2017 meeting being held this week in Beijing. To be launched this November, the Chang’e-5 Moon lander is slated to touch down within the Mons Rümker region in the northern part of Oceanus Procellarum. Mons […]
Shared communication between we Earthlings and other star folk should be based on mathematics – exo-arithmetic greetings that form a “foreign” lingo. The idea is that mathematics is as much a part of our humanity as music and art. And it is mathematics that might be understandable — even familiar — to […]
NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC) is on high-alert, at least at the Vice Presidential level. U.S. Vice President Pence is traveling to the NASA field center in Houston, Texas, slated to take part in the Wednesday, June 7 announcement of a new class of astronaut candidates. The announcement is at 1 p.m. Central Standard – […]
Space officials from numbers of nations have gathered in Beijing for the Global Space Exploration Conference (GLEX) 2017. The three-day GLEX 2017 conference, running from June 6-8, will cover an array of topics such as space station development, exploration of the Moon, Mars and near-Earth asteroids and international cooperation. The meeting involves over a […]
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover is busy at work performing Sol 1718 duties. The robot has started to turn toward the east and southeast as it wheels toward Vera Rubin Ridge, reports Scott Guzewich, an atmospheric scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Weighing priorities After a busy and successful plan over last […]
The Secure World Foundation (SWF) has issued an updated version of the group’s fact sheet on the U.S. Air Force’s X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle. This fact sheet includes details on the first four flights of the two X-37Bs, including launch and re-entry locations and dates, as well as updated analysis of the various missions the […]
A Chinese experiment is headed toward the International Space Station (ISS), tucked inside the SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft that launched yesterday, June 3. NanoRacks, a Houston-based company that helps commercial companies make use of the space station, worked with the Beijing Institute of Technology to fly Chinese DNA research to the orbiting outpost. No commercial […]
