March 27th, 2015
Author: 
A series of observations from Mars orbit show how dark blast zones that were created during the August 2012 landing of NASA’s Curiosity rover have faded inconsistently. Images were taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The observations were taken on multiple dates from Curiosity’s landing to […]
Posted in 
A new story from me, up today on Space.com: NASA Moon Orbiter, Mars Rover Face Budget Chopping Block by Leonard David, Space.com’s Space Insider Columnist March 27, 2015 08:00am ET Go to: http://www.space.com/28943-opportunity-rover-lro-nasa-budget.html
NASA announced today more details in its plan for an Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM). The decision has been made for an uncrewed solar electric-powered ARM spacecraft to rendezvous with a target asteroid, then deploy robotic arms to capture a boulder from the asteroid’s surface. The ARM craft would then begin a multi-year journey to redirect the […]
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released the following report and testimony today, all worth a read: 1) NASA: Assessments of Selected Large-Scale Projects. GAO-15-320SP, March 24. In 2015, five of NASA’s largest, most complex projects, several of which are at critical points in their development, are expected to consume 78 percent of the funds […]
China rocket engineers are reporting completion of the second and final ground test of the power system of China’s next-generation carrier rocket – the Long March 5. This booster is central – among duties – to expanding China’s three-pronged Moon exploration program – orbiting, landing upon, and returning to Earth lunar surface samples. Long March […]
Think of it as a new form of “networking” – a method of snagging an uncontrolled, tumbling satellite. Engineers at the European Space Agency (ESA) are moving beyond powerpoint chatter and carrying out weightless net testing for derelict satellite capture. The use of deployable nets to snag discarded satellites as they tumble in space […]
THE WOODLANDS, Texas – Earth’s Moon is rife with huge lava tubes – tunnels formed from the lava flow of volcanic eruptions. New theoretical work suggests that lunar lava tubes are large enough to house cities that may be structurally stable on the Moon. These features could support future long-term human space exploration on the […]
NASA’s Curiosity rover has wheeled itself into an area of great interest. A deserved up-close inspection is now underway of an area of possible vein fracture fills – fractures filled with minerals that precipitated from solution. More data on this location is in the offing…but stay tuned for a better appreciation of these features. […]
The Wheeler Historical Museum in Wheeler, Texas is set to unveil a statue dedicated to Apollo 12 moonwalker, Alan Bean. Bean became the fourth man to set foot on the Moon in November 1969. He explored the desolate landscape of the Ocean of Storms. His Apollo adventure was followed by being commander of Skylab Mission II in […]
It is called NIROSETI for near-infrared optical SETI. This new instrument can record levels of light over time so that patterns can be analyzed and assessed for potential signs of other civilizations. For more than five decades, scientists have been on the lookout for radio signals from other starfolk. But instruments capable of capturing pulses […]
