Interested in Mars? Fascinated by the possibility of a human landing or a sample return from the Red Planet? Have a brand new idea for how to detect water or trace life? Or just want to give your opinion about the whole Mars Exploration thing? NASA is giving you a platform in the form of the NASA Mars Forum that is [...]
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DLR Demonstrates Space Debris Location by Laser
For the first time in Europe, the German Aerospace Agency (DLR) in cooperation with an Austrian Laser station in Graz has successfully demonstrated the use of a laser technology for detecting space debris. As precise tracking of tiny space debris particles is still difficult, German scientists have focused on developing an optical observation system. They utilize a powerful laser that [...]
Phobos-Grunt Probe Adds Chapter to Russian Space Disaster Series
It was supposed to be a great Russian triumph, possibly the most challenging unmanned mission to Mars ever and a revival of Russia’s attempts to reach the Red Planet. But all expectations turned bitter shortly after the November 8 launch, when the Phobos-Grunt’s booster failed to fire. Now there are increasing fears that the 15-ton Phobos-Grunt probe carrying 7 tons [...]
Infographic: The Russian Phobos-Grunt Mars Probe Mission
The Phobos-Grunt probe launched by Roscosmos on November 9 and since plagued with technical difficulties was intended to procure samples from the surface of Mars moon Phobos. The infographic below describes the original mission. Source: SPACE.com: All about our solar system, outer space and exploration Staff WritersMore Posts
Virgin Galactic to Issue James Bond-style Flight Suits to Passengers
Virgin Galactic, Richard Branson’s space tourism venture, has revealed details of the suits to be worn by their elite space tourists. The costumes will be similar to the iconic ones worn by Roger Moore and Lois Chilles the 1979 James Bond movie Moonraker. Branson’s Virgin Group, of which Virgin Galactic is a member, has a history of involvement with and [...]
Images of Chinese Rocket in Orbit
The development of the Chinese Long March 2 rocket family started in 1970 with the first attempted launch in 1974. The original Long March 2 was followed by several iteration, identified by capital letters (A, B, C and so on). The 2C version, whose first launch took place in 1982, it’s 42 meters 2 stage rocket, with a diameter of 3.35 meters. The rocket has [...]
Safety of Nuclear Powered Missions
The use of Plutonium as a power source is still considered the best choice for certain type of deep space missions. The extraordinary scientific results of missions like Voyager, Pioneer and Apollo would have not been possible without nuclear power. Yet, the US Senate Appropriations Committee decided not to fund the administration’s request for $15 million for the Department of Energy to restart production of plutonium-238 (Pu-238) in the 2012 energy and [...]
Boeing CST-100 Wind Tunnel Tests Nearly Complete
Source Edward Memi, Boeing: Boeing is nearing completion of wind-tunnel testing for a new spacecraft to ferry people and cargo to the International Space Station. Engineers have been testing the spacecraft, called the Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100, since Sept. 17 at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California. The test team is using a 12-inch-wide, 14-inch-long aluminum model that is about 1/14th the size [...]
Nanosail-D Tumbling in Earth Orbit
The experimental solarsail called Nanosail-D developed by NASA (Marshall Space Flight Center and Ames Research Center) is a fascinating object in our night sky. Although it is described as a solarsail which is originally meant to propel on radiation pressure of the sun, its main function is to experiment how such sails could be used with future satellites and space debris [...]
Camera Captures Meteor and Space Junk
Source Space News: A NASA camera utilized to record meteor falling in the night sky caught a stunning picture of meteor breaking apart while a piece of an old Russian rocket was passing overhead. The space light show occurred Friday (Sept. 30) over NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., at about 8:37 p.m. EDT (0037 GMT). A wide-field meteor camera, [...]
