12 August 2012
"What are the chief qualifications to become an astronaut?"
Liu Wang who controlled the Shenzhou-9 spacecraft to dock with the Tiangong-1 space lab module answered to this question by Cheung Hon Ching from Queen's College, who was among the four students chosen to have direct conversation with the delegation on stage, that maintaining good health is highly important.
Veteran taikonaut Jing Haipeng added that perfect psychological condition and willing to sacrifice are of the paramount importance. Cheung later on told reporters that he was greatly impressed by Jing's sacrificial spirit. "Now, I know that an astronaut has to give up much of his personal time and space and work really hard to reach success."
MORE...
10 August 2012
MSL Readings Could Improve Safety for Human Mars Missions
The MSL Entry, Descent and Landing Instrument (MEDLI) recorded the thermal and aerodynamic forces on the rover’s heatshield and aeroshell during descent into the martian atmosphere, and the Radiation Assessment Detector monitored radiation levels during MSL’s nearly nine-month cruise to Mars. The data gathered by these systems were among the first to be returned by MSL. The measurements could influence future NASA designs for larger martian landing craft, and help engineers better protect astronauts from solar and cosmic radiation during the long trip to Mars or other faraway destinations.
MORE...
09 August 2012
Small test vehicle veers out of control, crashes at KSC
The Morpheus rocket was designed and built by engineers at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston to test advanced technologies and approaches to integrated propulsion and guidance, navigation and control that could be used in the future for cargo missions to the moon.
MORE...
09 August 2012
Orbiter Images NASA's Latest Additions To Martian Landscape
The four main pieces of hardware that arrived on Mars with NASA's Curiosity rover were spotted by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). The High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera captured this image about 24 hours after landing.
MORE...
08 August 2012
Proton Launch Failure
The three Proton rocket stages performed flawlessly but the third burn of the Briz-M occured for only seven seconds instead of the planned 18 minutes.
MORE...
08 August 2012
Curiosity Safely on Mars! Health Checks Begin
MORE...
07 August 2012
Roscosmos Announces Tender for Moon Rocket Design
The Russian Space Agency (Roscosmos) announced a ten-million ruble ($300,000) tender on Thursday to develop a blueprint of a heavy rocket-carrier that would be capable of carrying manned spacecraft to the moon, according to the official website that tracks state purchases.
MORE...
07 August 2012
Russian cosmonaut squad adds up seven new members
The Russian cosmonaut squad is going to accept seven more members, the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonauts Training Center said Thursday. The seven candidates, all male, successfully passed state exams on July 31. They have been undergoing training since April 2010. The center also informed that there will be no cosmonauts on active military service in the country's space team.
MORE...
06 August 2012
'Enormous step forward' as NASA lands rover on Mars
NASA has successfully landed its $2.5 billion Mars Science Laboratory and Curiosity rover on the surface of the Red Planet, breaking new ground in US-led exploration of an alien world.
MORE...
06 August 2012
Mars landing 'unprecedented feat of technology': Obama
US President Barack Obama hailed early Monday the successful landing of the Mars Science Laboratory and Curiosity rover on the surface of the Red Planet, calling it "an unprecedented feat of technology."
MORE...
04 August 2012
India clears mission to Mars
India's government has cleared plans to put an orbital probe around Mars next year to study the red planet's climate and geology, a report said Saturday.
MORE...
03 August 2012
NASA announces winners in commercial crew competition
After an intense competition, NASA announced contracts Friday totaling up to $900 million to be divvied up between three companies - SpaceX, Boeing and Sierra Nevada - to continue development of commercial manned spacecraft to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station.
MORE...
02 August 2012
ScienceRussia’s Spacecraft Docks with ISS Six Hrs After Liftoff
The spacecraft docked with the ISS on the fourth revolution around Earth and six minutes ahead of the scheduled time that was set at 05:24 a.m. Moscow time (01:24 GMT). It was for the first time, when Russia docked the space freighter with the ISS in the first six hours after the launch rather than in two days, which was a routine procedure.
MORE...
01 August 2012
Driving on Mars, There's an App for That
MORE...
01 August 2012
Former NASA Administrator Griffin suspects that China would go to Moon and Mars on its own
Contrary to Griffin, the current Chief of NASA, former astronaut, Charles Bolden assumes that a manned mission to Mars would be an international endeavour: "The U.S. cannot always be the leader, but we can be the inspirational leader through international cooperation" in space exploration, explained Bolden in an interview with USA TODAY. At the same time his predecessor Michael Griffin expressed a different opinion in an e-mail exchange with USA TODAY: "I believe that most westerners presume that a human mission to Mars will quite likely be multinational. I certainly think so, and indeed would prefer this approach," he said. "I do not believe that China makes such a presumption." Griffin adds: "I suspect that when China believes it is ready as a nation to go to the Moon, it will do so, and later on exactly the same thing will be true of Mars."
The full article including the interview with Bolden can be found on the website of USA TODAY...
31 July 2012
China confirms planned launch date for Chang'e 3 in 2013
As reported earlier, the Chinese robotic Moon exploration programme is well on track. The Chinese State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence confirms that China will launch its third lunar probe, Chang'e-3, in the second half of 2013. This announcements has given room again for speculations on a Chinese manned landing.
MORE...
26 July 2012
Germany’s ESA Contribution To Equal or Surpass 2008 Level
In a press briefing during the International Geosciences and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS), held July 23-27 in Munich, Johann Dietrich Woerner, head of the German Aerospace Center, DLR, said it is becoming clearer that Germany intends no reduction in its ESA engagement this year. Woerner said there is no talk of cutting Germany’s contribution at this year’s conference, and that there is some hope for a slight increase.
MORE...
26 July 2012
Independently sponsored space telescope to be launched to the Moon and deliver Galaxy Imagery from the lunar surface
The International Lunar Observatory Association (ILOA), led by American businessman/educator Steve Durst, plans to place an astronomical observatory on the Moon to capture never before seen images of the Galaxy/Stars, Moon and Earth and broadcast them in support of the worldwide Galaxy Forum 21st Century Education programme back to Earth. During the late hours of 23 July, a 'Global Demonstration' of the International Lunar Observatory precursor instrument (ILO-X) was conducted by ILOA and Moon Express and hosted by the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope from the summit of Mauna Kea on Hawaii. Astronomers from Hawaii, USA mainland, Canada, China, Japan and Europe were part of this pioneering demonstration of international collaboration in space exploration enabled through the commercial space sector, accessing the instrument over the internet and operating it as if it were on the Moon, capturing Galaxy Center first light and images of deep sky objects inside and outside of our Milky Way Galaxy.
MORE...
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
FOR FURTHER READING
6 August 2012
From terror to triumph
Sunday night NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory mission arrived at Mars, safely landing the Curiosity rover on the surface. Jeff Foust recounts the concerns leading up to the landing, the thrill of the landing itself, and what the implications for that success might be.
MORE...
6 August 2012
Commercial crew’s winners and losers
On Friday NASA announced the long-awaited awards for the next round of its commercial crew competition, making agreements with three companies. Jeff Foust reports on the awards and the reactions from the companies that won them as well as those that lost out.
MORE...
6 August 2012
Revelations
In recent months the National Reconnaissance Office has declassified a surprising amount of information about early classified satellite programs. Dwayne Day looks at what those documents have revealed about the early days of military and intelligence space programs.
MORE...
6 August 2012
Legal issues surrounding space debris remediation
A key challenge to dealing with the growing population of orbital debris is a legal regime that makes it difficult to implement solutions to remove these objects. Michael Listner examines the legal complications and offers an approach to resolve it.
MORE...
30 July 2012
MSL and the NASA Mars Exploration Program: Where we’ve been, where we’re going
As Mars Science Laboratory prepares to land on Mars this coming Sunday night, the future of NASA’s Mars exploration efforts beyond that rover mission remains uncertain. Adrian Brown recounts the issues with MSL and Mars exploration that could affect the schedule and budgets for future missions to the Red Planet.
MORE...
30 July 2012
Is commercial spaceflight’s “Netscape moment” near?
For years those in the commercial spaceflight industry, or supporters of it, have anticipated an explosion of activity and investment in the field. Jeff Foust reports that there are signs that such a milestone may be approaching.
MORE...
30 July 2012
Giants in glass houses
Houston is one of three sites that has a Saturn V rocket on display, Dwayne Day describes how the display of that Saturn V differs from the other two locations, and may help explain why Houston lost out on a Space Shuttle orbiter last year.
MORE...
30 July 2012
Review: Destination Mars
In less than a week Mars Science Laboratory will arrive at Mars, the latest in a nearly half-century series of Mars missions. Jeff Foust reviews a book that examines the history of those missions and the people who made the possible.
MORE...
01 August 2012
Brussels View: Remembrance of Things Past - Can China and Europe Get Over a Failed GNSS Partnership?
MORE....