August 17th, 2016
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CubeSats are planned to launch to the Moon in 2018 – tiny packages that could deliver key info on lunar characteristics like solar illumination areas and available water ice. One such CubeSat is dubbed SkyFire. This diminutive spacecraft is a 6U CubeSat slated to grab a ride on NASA Orion’s Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1). Infrared […]
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Flaming meteors from on-high! The Meteor Observation on ISS (Meteor) project, led by Michael Fortenberry of the Southwest Research Institute, has provided a downward-looking view of the annual light show visiting our skies August 11-12. Imagery from the Meteor’s high sensitivity, high-definition TV camera installed in the International Space Station’s (ISS) Window Observational Research Facility […]
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover is now at work on Sol 1432, returning some terrific landscape imagery. According to Ryan Anderson, a planetary scientist at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center in Flagstaff, Arizona, the rover’s weekend plan went well. Add on to the robot’s current activities a drive of some 170 feet (52 meters) across a […]
A just issued report has focused a critical eye on the suite of large-, medium-, and small-scale astronomy and astrophysics programs, including NASA’s Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) and the NSF/DOE’s Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST). The new report — New Worlds, New Horizons: A Midterm Assessment — gives advice on midcourse corrections to […]
Preparations are quickening in China for the country’s next piloted space mission. Chinese media outlets have noted the arrival of the Shenzhou-11 spacecraft at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Saturday, just two months before it carries two astronauts into space for a 30-day mission. According to China’s Manned Space Engineering (CMSE) […]
NASA’s Curiosity rover is now in Sol 1429 of its operations, recently completing a drive of over 148 feet (45 meters). The robot has wheeled closer to the Murray Buttes, reports Ken Herkenhoff at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center in Flagstaff, Arizona. The weekend plan calls for Chemistry & Camera (ChemCam) target shooting. “The primary […]
With multiple flights of its New Shepard system under its belt, Blue Origin is appraising the research market for scientific and technological experiments that can be lofted to the edge of space. In reaching over 62 miles (100 kilometers) above Earth, roughly three minutes of microgravity environment is available for a range of experiments. The […]
Now at the start of Sol 1427, NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover has been busily working at the Marimba drill hole. A second attempt to drill into Marimba went well, however, the new drill sample was not transferred to Curiosity’s Collection and Handling for In-Situ Martian Rock Analysis (CHIMRA) device. Gentle vibration The problem was due […]
Now in Sol 1422 operations on Mars, NASA’s Curiosity rover has carried out drill activities at a target site dubbed “Marimba” – but the result is a bit of a mystery. Lauren Edgar, a research geologist at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center in Flagstaff, Arizona reports: “On Sol 1420 we planned a full drill […]
NASA’s Curiosity rover on Mars is wrapping up duties and soon departing Sol 1421 work on the Red Planet. Ken Herkenhoff from the USGS Astrogeology Science Center in Flagstaff, Arizona reports that Sol 1419 activities were completed successfully, including cleaning the remaining Oudam sample out of Curiosity’s Collection and Handling for In-Situ Martian Rock […]
