The Special Exploration News
30 December 2010
Mars Rover: Creaking, arthritic... but still rolling
"This is kinda like the senior marathon runner who after a long run will ice up their knees and take some ibuprofen to get them ready for the next long run."
That's how the project manager on Nasa’s Mars rovers John Callas describes the Opportunity vehicle. Amazingly, this six-wheeled robot is about to celebrate its seventh anniversary on the Red Planet. And remember, this was a mission that had the initial goal of surviving only three months on the surface.
A very nice story on NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers by BBC "spaceman" Jonathan Amos - A worthwhile reading.
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The Inspirational News from Mars
23 December 2010
Movies: A Martian Sunset and a Solar Transit by Phobos
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10 January 2011
An Escalator To Space - Not Very Far Away
Research is fast progressing in advanced countries on designing a space elevator, according to an Indian space expert A. Senthil Kumar, deputy head at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC).
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08 January 2011
Robots massage, clean, and amuse at CES
The world's first massage robot was at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas to soothe those sore from dashing about the gargantuan gadget extravaganza.
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Robotic ball a hit at electronics show
A glowing robotic ball that is controlled by a smartphone has won fans and the interest of game developers at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES).
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07 January 2011
Wikileaks And The Repercussions For DLR
Early in January, several articles in the news reported about alleged German-American spy satellites and also gave the impression of a very strained relationship between France and Germany in the field of space activities. However, Jan Wörner, Head of DLR, says: DLR is not planning a spy satellite and DLR is convinced of the value of international cooperation.
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07 January 2011
Moon Has Earth-Like Core
State-of-the-art seismological techniques applied to Apollo-era data suggest our moon has a core similar to Earth's.
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07 January 2011
Repairs push shuttle launch to late February
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07 January 2011
NASA Has Boosted COTS Funding by Additional $40 Million Since October
NASA has boosted its investment in two logistics services being developed for the international space station by $40 million so far this year, and plans to double that payout by the end of March despite the fact that Congress has yet to appropriate the necessary funds for the effort, according to an agency official.
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07 January 2011
NASA Kicks Off 2011 Nationwide First Robotics Competition
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07 January 2011
Excalibur Almaz Space Stations Arrive on Isle of Man
Excalibur Almaz Limited (EA), the international commercial space exploration company, is exporting two partially completed Almaz space stations from Russia to the IOM today. The stations and Excalibur Almaz' reusable return vehicles were developed by EA's Russian associate, JSC MIC NPO Mashinostroyenia.
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06 January 2011
Venus probe may get 2nd chance soon
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency says it may be possible to make another attempt to send the Akatsuki spacecraft into orbit around Venus five years from now instead of six as previously believed, SPACE.com reported Thursday.
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06 January 2011
NASA Tests New Propulsion System For Robotic Lander Prototype
NASA's Robotic Lunar Lander Development Project at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., has completed a series of hot fire tests and taken delivery of a new propulsion system for integration into a more sophisticated free-flying autonomous robotic lander prototype.
The project is partnered with the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md., to develop a new generation of small, smart, versatile robotic landers to achieve scientific and exploration goals on the surface of the moon and near-Earth asteroids.
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04 January 2011
Arianespace Needs Aid To Avoid Loss in 2010
Europe’s Arianespace commercial launch consortium on Jan. 4 said revenue for 2010 dropped by about 10 percent compared to 2009 and that the company will report a loss unless it receives requested financial aid from European governments.
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02 January 2011
China to explore Mars with Russia this year
Quoting an unnamed expert at the China Academy of Space Technology, the report said the blast-off had been pushed back to October this year. It added that China planned to launch a Mars probe on its own in 2013.
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29 December 2010
Commercial Crew Transportation System Certification Requirements for NASA Low Earth Orbit Missions
The Commercial Crew Transportation System (CCTS) Certification Requirements Document is a consolidated set of technical requirements, standards, and processes built upon the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) vast human spaceflight knowledge and experience. The intent of this document is to define the requirements, standards, and certification package contents that will be used to certify a CCTS to carry NASA crewmembers on Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Missions.
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29 December 2010
Extension of space station support fails
The ESA says its member governments failed to reach agreement on the proposed extension of ISS operations to 2020 because of an unrelated conflict over financial support for Europe's Arianespace commercial launch services consortium, SPACE.com reported Wednesday. The ESA, already is committed to supporting the station through 2015, said no decision about the extension to 2020 would be made before a March meeting of ESA governments.
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26 December 2010
Failed rocket launch threatens India's space ambitions
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24 December 2010
NASA Spinoff: Inflatable Antennas Support Emergency Communication
Space exploration requires reliable and efficient communication technology. One device currently under development is the inflatable antenna. Due to several unique characteristics - it is lightweight, easy to deploy, inexpensive, and requires low storage volume - inflatable technology is especially well-suited for space applications.
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24 December 2010
New Molecule Can Lead to More Efficient Rocket Fuel
Swedish Research Council: Trinitramid - that's the name of the new molecule that may be a component in future rocket fuel. This fuel could be 20-30 percent more efficient in comparison with the best rocket fuels we have today. The discovery was made at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Sweden.
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23 December 2010
NASA Internal Memo: Maintaining Capability to Conduct the STS-135 Mission
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22 December 2010
NASA Seeks Proposals For Tech Flight Demos And Info About Suborbital Flight Services
NASA is seeking proposals from researchers interested in testing new technologies during suborbital flights. The agency also is requesting information from commercial suborbital reusable launch vehicle providers and commercial payload integrators about carrying the technology payloads.
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21 December 2010
Congress freezes NASA's budget until March
Unable to pass an annual spending bill in this legislative session, the U.S. Congress approved a temporary government funding measure Tuesday, cutting nearly $300 million from NASA's expected budget and potentially limiting action on new space exploration programs.
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FOR FURTHER READING
10 January 2011
Human operations beyond LEO by the end of the decade: An affordable near-term stepping stone
Where should humans go next beyond Earth orbit, and how quickly? Harley Thronson, Dan Lester, and Ted Talay make the case for quickly and affordably establishing an outpost at the Earth-Moon Lagrange points.
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10 January 2011
Public interest and space exploration
The general public remains fascinated with many aspects of space exploration, from the Hubble Space Telescope’s observations of the cosmos to the activities of the Mars rovers. Lou Friedman notes that this interest must be taken into account when dealing with troubled current programs and planning future ones.
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10 January 2011
C.S. Lewis and his Space Trilogy, then and now
While best known for his Narnia books, C.S. Lewis also wrote a “Space Trilogy”. Taylor Dinerman examines those novels and their underlying message about space exploration before the beginning of the Space Age.
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10 January 2011
Review: Talking About Life
Astrobiology has gained traction in recent years as an interdisciplinary field seeking to answer one of the most fundamental questions: is there life elsewhere in the universe? Jeff Foust reviews a book where scientists and others talk about their work in this field.
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03 January 2011
Space challenges for 2011
A new year brings new hopes for the future, but plenty of challenges as well. Jeff Foust outlines some of the key issues facing civil and commercial spaceflight in the coming year, from budget battles to the end of the shuttle program.
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03 January 2011
Peace
International cooperation in space can pay dividends on Earth as well as in space. Lou Friedman argues that it’s time to properly recognize the role that civil space cooperation can play in enhancing national security.
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03 January 2011
What’s in a number?
For decades the US Air Force used a series of program numbers to identify classified programs. Dwayne Day recaps the effort to link those numbers with specific programs.
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03 January 2011
Reviews: Envisioning the universe
It’s an ongoing challenge for astronomers and writers to properly convey the scale and nature of the universe. Jeff Foust reviews two new publications, one a conventional book and the other an iPad app, that try different ways of describing the solar system and beyond.
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