Space News
NASA is Planning to Build a Lunar Rover With a 1-Meter Drill to Search for Water Ice
Universe Today - 4 Mar 2020 01:44
Meet VIPER, NASA’s new lunar rover, equipped with a drill to probe the Moon’s surface and look for water ice. VIPER, or Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, will carry a one-meter drill and will use it to...
Magnetic Fields Around Mars InSight are 10x Stronger than Scientists Expected
Universe Today - 4 Mar 2020 01:42
Data from the first year of the InSight mission has just been released, and its revealing some unexpected things about Mars' magnetic fields. The post Magnetic Fields Around Mars InSight are 10x Stronger than Scientists ...
NASA's WFIRST space telescope moves forward as Trump administration tries to scrap it again
SPACE.com - 4 Mar 2020 23:26
NASA's Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) is moving forward on development even as President Donald Trump's administration tries to cancel the mission, for the third budget in a row.
Two White Dwarfs Merged Together Into a Single "Ultramassive" White Dwarf
Universe Today - 4 Mar 2020 22:33
Astronomers have found a white dwarf that was once two white dwarfs. The pair of stars merged into one about 1.3 billion years ago. The resulting star, named WDJ0551+4135, is about 150 light years away. A white dwarf is ...
The Disk of the Milky Way is Warped Because it Already Collided With Another Galaxy
Universe Today - 4 Mar 2020 22:04
Using data from the second Gaia data release, a team of astronomers has demonstrated that the "warp" in our galaxy is rapidly changing! The post The Disk of the Milky Way is Warped Because it Already Collided With Anothe...
Weekly Space Hangout: March 4, 2020 - Did RIT Scientists Find A Baby Giant Planet?
Universe Today - 4 Mar 2020 21:47
Hosts: Fraser Cain (universetoday.com / @fcain) Dr. Kimberly Cartier (KimberlyCartier.org / @AstroKimCartier ) Dave Dickinson ( / @astroguyz) Veranika Klimovich ( @VeranikaSpace) Tonight we welcome Annie Dickson-Vande...
Boeing, Lockheed win U.S. Space Force contracts to develop satcom payloads
Space News - 4 Mar 2020 21:34
Boeing and Lockheed Martin each received $191 million and $240 million contracts, respectively. SpaceNews.com
A capital debate: Should Earth's natural satellite be 'Moon' or 'moon'?
SPACE.com - 4 Mar 2020 21:00
Planetary scientists and linguistic style makers don't agree about how to write the name of Earth's nearest neighbor.
During A Lunar Eclipse, It's A Chance To See Earth As An Exoplanet
Universe Today - 4 Mar 2020 20:55
There are several ways to look for alien life on distant worlds. One is to listen for radio signals these aliens might send, such as SETI and others are doing, but another is to study the atmospheres of exoplanets to fin...
SpaceX delivers Falcon 9 rocket for Space Center Houston display
SPACE.com - 4 Mar 2020 20:30
A SpaceX rocket has quietly touched down in Houston, landing under the cover of night at the NASA visitor center where it will soon go on display.
Did dark energy cause the Big Bang?
SPACE.com - 4 Mar 2020 20:00
As far as cosmologists can tell, the mysterious force behind the accelerated expansion of the universe, a force that we call dark energy, remains constant. But it may not have done so in the past.
What if scientists could find potentially habitable worlds just by looking at stars?
SPACE.com - 4 Mar 2020 19:00
Looking for life traditionally starts with finding a planet with the right temperature -- but scientists are working to find new criteria for tracking down potentially habitable worlds.
Phew, Earth-Watching DSCOVR is Operational Again
Universe Today - 4 Mar 2020 18:55
Rejoice! If you've missed your daily fix of seeing views of our rotating Earth from space, NOAA announced that its Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) is now back in action. The deep space satellite, which produces i...
Voyager 2 is gathering science data again after recovering from a glitch in interstellar space
SPACE.com - 4 Mar 2020 17:44
All five remaining instruments on NASA's venerable Voyager 2 spacecraft are back to gathering science data after power overuse in late January interrupted the probe's operations.
Japan suspends annual funding for Hawaii telescope project
Phys.org - 4 Mar 2020 17:44
Japan suspended its yearly funding for a giant telescope project in Hawaii, citing an ongoing stalemate over its construction.
Let it snow
ESA - 4 Mar 2020 16:40
Image: Let it snow
Image: Vega's titanium propellant tank
Phys.org - 4 Mar 2020 15:10
This titanium propellant tank, on show in the laboratory corridor of ESA's technical heart, comes from Europe's Vega launcher--one of four serving its AVUM upper stage.
Routine radio-frequency testing of moon-bound Orion spacecraft begins
Phys.org - 4 Mar 2020 15:00
Testing one, two and now, three.
3-D-printed thrust chamber passes first tests for vega evolutions
Phys.org - 4 Mar 2020 14:50
The 3-D-printed thrust chamber assembly of the methane-fueled M10 rocket engine has passed its first series of hot firing tests. The M10 engine will power the upper stage of future Vega evolutions from 2025.
WFIRST, proposed for cancellation, is approved for development
Space News - 4 Mar 2020 14:06
NASA has approved a major astrophysics mission to go into the next phase of its development even as the administration seeks once again to cancel it. SpaceNews.com
First known extraterrestrial protein possibly spotted in meteorite
SPACE.com - 4 Mar 2020 13:45
A research team claimed to have found the first known extraterrestrial protein, spotting it in a space rock that fell to Earth 30 years ago.
Parachute problems could delay Europe's ExoMars rover launch to 2022: Report
SPACE.com - 4 Mar 2020 13:44
Preparations to launch the ExoMars rover to the Red Planet this summer are in a crunch as critical parachute tests have again been delayed.