September 18th, 2024
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Still on a roll on the Moon is China’s Yutu-2 far side rover. Wheeling and dealing with the scenery within the Von Karman Crater in the South Pole-Aitken Basin, the mini-robot has traveled 5,292 feet (1,613 meters) as of Tuesday, report its operators. It is currently the longest-working lunar rover in history, noted China Central […]
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In an era of increasing global launch rates, heightened by the buckshot approach to tossing mega-satellite constellations into Earth orbit, there’s also escalating anxiety about the ramifications from reentry of defunct space hardware. What’s lacking in the United States is a single coordinated effort, one that is consistently funded and engages a variety of disciplines. […]
The size of the cislunar market industrial base is in growth mode. A new lunar activities infographic has been assembled by BryceTech of Alexandria, Virginia. “As interest in lunar exploration grows, both government and commercial programs are pushing forward,” BryceTech notes. “Companies are now focusing on essential services like transportation, telecommunications, and maintenance, and even […]
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is proposing that SpaceX cough up $633,009 in civil penalties for allegedly failing to follow its license requirements during two launches in 2023, in accordance with statutorily-set civil penalty guidelines. The FAA proposal cites two incidents in May and June of 2023. SpaceX submitted a request to revise its […]
Leading space officials in China are detailing deep space exploration plans, from setting up a scientific research station on the Moon, collecting and returning specimens of Mars and asteroid, as well as exploring the Jupiter system. A recently held 2nd International Deep Space Exploration Conference in Tunxi of Huangshan City in east China’s Anhui Province […]
A hot topic in Moon exploration is finding reservoirs of water ice within “cold traps” at the lunar south pole. If found in permanently-shadowed regions, or PSRs, that resource may be ripe for the picking and processing into oxygen and hydrogen – ideal for life support, even manufacturing rocket fuel. Exploitable water ice at the […]
NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity at Gale crater is targeted to make a thorough examination of the unusual, dark “Tungsten Hills” rocks. The robot is studying these rugged boulders covered in paper-thin sedimentary layers, some of which contain intriguing ripple structures that may have formed in running water or windblown sand. Earlier this week, Deborah Padgett, […]
In a new Wait-a-Minute report, the prestigious National Academies has taken a hard look at the NASA of today and what’s ahead. For a space agency that has been a leader in exploring our planet and other worlds, it is in a world of hurt, the report suggests. The report identifies out-of-date infrastructure, pressures […]
With the launch today of the Expedition 72 crew members — Roscosmos cosmonaut Ivan Vagner, NASA astronaut Don Pettit, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin – there are now 19 humans in space, circling the Earth: SpaceX Polaris Dawn Crew ISS – SpaceX Crew-8 ISS – Soyuz MS-25 Crew ISS – Starliner Crew Tiangong space station/Shenzhou […]
China’s reusable Zhuque-3 rocket has completed a vertical takeoff and landing test, attaining an altitude of 6 miles (10 kilometers) at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China. According to China Central Television (CCTV), the 200.7 seconds of Zhuque-3 flight by the LANDSPACE company took place on Wednesday. At the noon hour local time, […]
