Superconducting Magnets to Protect Spacecraft from Radiation
While on Earth, the planet protects us from space radiation and cosmic rays with its magnetic field. NASA scientists are now working on an analogous approach to protect spacecraft from space radiation...
View ArticleISRO to Launch Canada’s First Space Telescope
Canada’s first space telescope NEOSSat (Near-Earth Object Space Surveillance Satellite) dedicated to detecting and tracking asteroids, will be launched aboard Indian Space Research Organization’s...
View ArticleNASA’s Kepler Space Telescope Back in Action after Recovery
NASA’s Kepler space telescope got back into the action, after a 10 day rest, on January 29. Kepler, named in honor of the 17th-century German astronomer Johannes Kepler, was launched on 7 March 2009....
View ArticleESA Explores 3D Printing for Moon Base
3D printing, a technology that recently went viral in the DIY community, will now be studied for printing a Moon base. 3D printing is an additive process, where successive layers of material are...
View ArticleEmbry-Riddle University to Offer Commercial Space Operations Degree
During the 16th Annual FAA Commercial Space Transportation Conference, Florida based Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the world’s largest accredited Aviation and Aerospace academic institute,...
View ArticleSinterHab: A Moon Base Concept from Sintered 3D-Printed Lunar Dust
On 26 February 2013, architecture firm Architecture Et Cetera (A-ETC) announced their concept of for a 3D-printed Moon base that can be built with lunar dust (regolith). The concept promises a...
View ArticlePulCheR – BioInspired Propulsion System by Italian Firm Alta
Nature has inspired thousands of human inventions and discoveries, and now one more nature inspired innovation is under way. PulCheR (Pulsed Chemical Rocket with green high performance propellants), a...
View ArticleScientists Develop Nano-suit to Enhance Survival in Vacuum
Scientists have developed a thin polymer membrane, or nano-suit, that enhances survival in vacuum. Takahiko Hariyama of the Hamamatsu University School of Medicine in Japan and his colleagues have...
View ArticleNASA’s Asteroid Tracking Sensor Green Lighted in Test
NASA’s Near Earth Object Camera (NEOCam) is an infrared sensor intended to enhance detection and tracking of asteroids and comets. In April, scientists and engineers simulated the temperatures and...
View ArticleCAMRAS: NASA’s CO2 and Moisture Removal System Ready for Final Tests
Carbon dioxide And Moisture Removal Amine Swingbed (CAMRAS) is ready for final performance tests, NASA reports, following troubleshooting and a final leak check. Providing breathable air is among the...
View ArticleGrowing Plants in Lunar And Martian Soil
For long duration space exploration missions on the Moon and Mars, growing food on site will be advantageous, saving overall mass to be carried for the space flight. The question is: Can we grow plants...
View ArticleProducing Jet Fuel from Berries with a Little Help from Microgravity
Zero Gravity Solutions Inc (ZGSI), a Florida based company, is performing microgravity experiments to modify a plant named jatropha curcas to grow in a cooler environment than its natural habitat in...
View ArticleNovel Thrusters Being Developed for Nanosats
At a fraction of the volume and mass of traditional satellites, nanosatellites hold distinct advantages over their larger cousins, such as low launch cost and mass producibility. Most space agencies...
View ArticleResearchers Develop Water Splitting Solar-Thermal System to Produce Hydrogen...
Researchers from the University of Colorado have designed a novel water splitting solar-thermal system to produce hydrogen fuel. This research is being funded by the National Science Foundation and by...
View ArticleIndia’s Mars Orbiter Mission Settled into Flight
India’s Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), performed the Trans-Mars Injection (TMI) on 1st December, and is off on its long journey towards Mars. The spacecraft has crossed the Moon’s orbit and is now the...
View ArticleManaging Low Earth Orbit Traffic with “Space Cops” – a Nanosatellite...
With thousands of satellites orbiting above our heads, there is an urgent need for accurately predicting their trajectories to avoid potential collisions. In space terminology, it is known as Space...
View ArticleGPS Based Early Warning System Being Developed by NASA and Partner Institutes
A GPS based early warning system is being developed by NASA and its partner institutes to more accurately predict tsunamis. The system detects the perturbations in the ionosphere due to tsunamis in...
View ArticleCAESAR: CNES Takes on Satellite Collisions with Debris Alerts
The French Space Agency CNES has developed a concept for in-orbit collision risks mitigation known as Conjunction Analysis and Evaluation Service: Alerts and Recommendations, or CAESAR. The objective...
View ArticleChallenger: A Management Failure
The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster was probably the most significant event, in terms of its impact on the US space program, in the history of spaceflight. On the bitter cold morning of January 28th...
View ArticleDecoding the Mystery of Destructive Reentry
As the number of space debris in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) increases year by year, it is becoming a major environmental concern for safe access to space. Presently the density of debris in LEO has reached...
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