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Archive for the ‘space’ category: Page 397

May 5, 2022

Mars scientists discover a puzzling impact crater on the Red Planet

Posted by in categories: materials, space

Most craters are circular in shape due to material ejecting out in all directions as a result of an impact. Below is a group of impact craters in Noachis Terra, a large region in Mars’ southern hemisphere. These are all classified as simple craters, which are small bowl-shaped, smooth-walled craters.

Complex craters, on the other hand, are large craters with complicated features, such as terraces, central peaks, and rims and walls their own features. Oblong craters, like the one in the lead image — which is also located in Noachis Terra — can sometimes be created by impacts striking the surface at a very low grazing angle.

May 5, 2022

Can the ISS stay in orbit without the support of Russia’s engine?

Posted by in category: space

May 5, 2022

James Webb Space Telescope to feature on new U.S. stamps

Posted by in category: space

As the James Webb Space Telescope settles into a solar orbit, another version of the satellite will soon be whizzing around Earth.

A new stamp featuring the most powerful space telescope ever built will be issued by the United States Postal Service (USPS) later this year, giving collectors of space memorabilia (or stamps!) something new to add to their collection, and letter writers something to stick on their envelopes.

“Celebrate NASA’s remarkable James Webb Space Telescope, the largest and most complex telescope ever deployed in space, capable of peering directly into the early cosmos and studying every phase of cosmic history,” the USPS said in a message announcing the new stamp.

May 4, 2022

Ex-NASA astronaut calls on humanity to populate the Solar System and beyond

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, space

Ex-NASA astronaut says we must fix Earth’s big problems before we colonize other planets.


He tells Inverse that humans should seek to colonize distant planets. But before that happens, he acknowledges the tremendous amount of work that needs to be done on Earth first.

“We need to spread human presence throughout the Solar System and beyond, but we need to do it as ambassadors of a thriving planet,” Garan says. “We can’t do it as refugees escaping environmental disaster.”

Continue reading “Ex-NASA astronaut calls on humanity to populate the Solar System and beyond” »

May 4, 2022

A 62-minute orbital period black widow binary in a wide hierarchical triple

Posted by in categories: energy, space

May 3, 2022

Astronomers will send a signal to a star system hoping to find aliens. Again?

Posted by in category: space

May 3, 2022

How the James Webb Space Telescope beat all expectations

Posted by in categories: energy, space

Yet on April 28, 2022, each instrument’s alignment was completed, with a ~20 year lifetime expected. Both telescope and team performed dazzlingly, surpassing expectations overall.

First: the pristine, on-course launch conserved fuel purposed for course-correction.

Continue reading “How the James Webb Space Telescope beat all expectations” »

May 2, 2022

Neil deGrasse Tyson Reacts to Elon Musk Buying Twitter

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, space

Neil deGrasse Tyson gives his opinion on Elon Musk buying Twitter. Should Elon Musk be spending his time on Twitter or getting us to Mars? What does Neil deGrasse Tyson think of Mars as a backup plan for humanity? Is Neil deGrasse Tyson concerned about Elon Musk’s new policies?

#neildegrassetyson #elonmusk #twitter.

Continue reading “Neil deGrasse Tyson Reacts to Elon Musk Buying Twitter” »

May 2, 2022

Scientists uncover why Saturn’s moon Titan is so similar to Earth

Posted by in category: space

May 1, 2022

NASA drops capsule from 1,200 feet to test Mars Sample Return

Posted by in categories: robotics/AI, space

NASA has an ambitious plan to bring a piece of Mars back to Earth for study. Called the Mars Sample Return mission, the idea is to send a robotic team consisting of a lander, rover, and an ascent vehicle to the red planet to pick up samples being collected and sealed in tubes by the Perseverance rover. These samples will then be launched off the Martian surface and into orbit, where they’ll be collected and brought back to Earth.

If that sounds complicated, it is. NASA is working on some of the hardware required for this ambitious long-term mission, and recently the agency tested out a new design for the Earth Entry System vehicle which will carry the sample through our planet’s atmosphere and to the surface. And its test was a dramatic one — dropping a model of the vehicle from 1,200 feet and seeing if it survived.

The test was focused on the vehicle’s areoshell, testing out one possible design for the shell which has to protect the delicate electronics and sample inside from the heat and forces of passing through Earth’s atmosphere. To do this, the test was performed at the Utah Test and Training Range, where a helicopter ascended with a model of the vehicle and areoshell, called a Manufacturing Demonstration Unit (MDU), that was covered in sensors and measures 1.25 meters across. The MDU was then dropped by the helicopter and its descent was recorded. Coming from an altitude of 1,200 feet, the MDU reached the speeds that would be engineers think are equivalent to a sample landing mission.

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