Category: Space

NASA-backed project could automatically fix 3D printing for Moon bases

[ad_1] If humanity is going to 3D-print Moon bases, it can’t afford for things to go wrong — and NASA is backing technology to make sure those parts get built. According to Parabolic Arc, the agency recently selected a project from Relativity Space (which is working on 3D-printed rockets) that could detect and fix 3D […]

Hitting the Books: What astronauts can learn from nuclear submariners

[ad_1] As hostile an environment as Antarctica is, the icy continent still has one thing that the Moon and Mars doesn’t, and that’s air. When we go into space, we need to bring along air, or otherwise make it—not only for breathing but also for pressurizing the space suits. That’s the added challenge of living […]

Curiosity rover starts its ‘summer trip’ to next Martian destination

[ad_1] In just a few weeks’ time, the Perseverance rover and its helicopter companion might blast off to space and make their way to Mars. That doesn’t mean Curiosity will no longer be in the picture, though — in fact, the older rover has just started its mile-long summer journey towards its next destination. The […]

Astronomers find the first known exposed core of a gas giant

[ad_1] It’s not certain just what led to the ‘naked’ jovian world, but there are two theories. TOI-849b is so close to its star that it completes an orbit in 18 hours, raising the possibility that tidal disruptions or a planetary collision stripped it of gas. Evaporation due to starlight is a possibility, but wouldn’t […]

Rocket Lab mission fails shortly after launch

[ad_1] The rocket had been carrying payloads for three customers, most notably Canon. It was supposed to be demonstrating an Earth imaging camera system ahead of plans for mass production. Planet was expanding its giant constellation of Earth observation satellites, while In-Space was launching its first cubesat mission as part of an initiative to help […]

Watch Rocket Lab launch a Canon satellite into space at 5:19PM ET

[ad_1] Public fireworks shows may be in short supply this weekend due to the pandemic, but Rocket Lab is ready to fill the gap. It’s planning to launch its 13th mission, “Pics Or It Didn’t Happen,” from a complex on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula at 5:19PM Eastern with a livestream (below) available 15 minutes before […]

Will gallium nitride electronics change the world?

[ad_1] You might not be aware of GaN, but you’ve certainly interacted with it. It forms the core of blue-light LEDs, which themselves, when paired with a yellow phosphor, can be tuned to produce white light. This property enabled LED indoor lighting, along with LED flat panel screens and much anticipated micro-LED displays. But recently […]

NASA delays Mars rover launch until at least July 30th

[ad_1] You’ll have to wait longer than you might like to see the Perseverance rover begin its journey to Mars. NASA and United Launch Alliance have delayed blast-off for the Mars 2020 mission from July 22nd to “no earlier than” July 30th. Processing problems with the launch vehicle are to blame, NASA said. A liquid […]

EU will speed up its spaceflight plans in response to SpaceX and China

[ad_1] The modern space race is heating up, and the European Union is acutely aware that it needs to keep pace. Space chief Thierry Breton told Reuters in an interview that the EU is accelerating its plans in light of rapid progress by private companies like SpaceX as well as China’s successes. It’s moving the […]

Astronomers may have spotted light from colliding black holes

[ad_1] Black hole collisions tend not to produce light by their very nature — you may catch gravitational waves, but that’s about it. However, scientists might have just found one of those rare instances where a collision was visible. A team using May 2019 data from both the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) and Europe’s […]