June 18th, 2016
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A new alternative approach to a national security space strategy has been authored by two leading experts in the field. Their report — Toward a New National Security Space Strategy: Time for a Strategic Rebalancing has been written by Theresa Hitchens and Joan Johnson-Freese. The report notes that “the United States has the most to […]
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The innovative and pioneer-pushing Blue Origin is ready to fly its New Shepard suborbital vehicle this Sunday. Blue Origin is an entrepreneurial space firm backed by Amazon.com mogul, Jeff Bezos. This rocket system is undergoing extensive testing – all prelude to offering rides to paying passengers to the edge of space. You can watch this […]
NASA’s Curiosity rover on Mars is now busily on task during Sol 1374. A few Sols ago, the robot made a drive of 105 feet (32-meters), executing the maneuver exactly as planned. That drive has given the rover a good view of the path toward the south, explains Ken Herkenhoff of the USGS Astrogeology […]
China has made good on a previously stated interest in opening the airlocks on their future space station to other nations. China expects that its space station will be operational around 2022 – a few years before the currently orbiting International Space Station is to reach its end-of-life. The core module of China’s space station […]
NASA’s Curiosity rover on Mars is now in Sol 1373 – wheeling its way to the south. The robot is now on a heading for rolling up Mount Sharp. Last weekend, the robot drove roughly 105 feet (32 meters) and is expected to make an additional drive in the days to come. Through a […]
There is a growing choir of experts calling for careful review of laws governing space exploration – specifically rules of the road to control the exploration of mineral resources in space to avoid a projected “Wild West.” According to Olga Volynskaya, chief international law counsel of the Russian state commission for space activities: “International law […]
Sky watchers are monitoring China’s retired space lab that may be headed for an uncontrolled fall to Earth. Launched on September 29, 2011, Tiangong-1– meaning “Heavenly Palace” was used during Shenzhou-8 (unpiloted), Shenzhou-9 (piloted) and Shenzhou-10 (piloted) spacecraft missions. The over eight-ton craft is a stepping stone to China’s larger space complex to be constructed […]
Thanks to robot explorers, Mars has been found to be a world of sulfur, acids, magnesium, iron, and perchlorates – all sun-baked and wrapped in a carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere. But for future expeditions trudging across the Red Planet, what awaits them in terms of the scent of the place? There may be a […]
A new crowd funding effort is underway to spur the design of a City on Mars – an essential step toward creating a sustained human presence on the Red Planet. The Kickstarter platform is focused on the go-getting goal of living “off planet” Earth. The raised funds will help with travel and operational costs of […]
NASA’s Curiosity rover on Mars is now in Sol 1364. “The Oudam drill campaign continues to go well, with sample acquired and ready for analysis,” reports Ken Herkenhoff at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center in Flagstaff, Arizona. The plan for Curiosity on Sol 1364 is to use the Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument to acquire […]
