Dawn spacecraft gets cozy with massive asteroid
(AP) -- Scientists are busy poring over images of the massive asteroid Vesta, the first time it has been photographed up close.
(AP) -- Scientists are busy poring over images of the massive asteroid Vesta, the first time it has been photographed up close.
Space Exploration
Aug 1, 2011
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Mission managers for NASA's Dawn spacecraft are studying the spacecraft's ion propulsion system after Dawn experienced a loss of thrust on June 27. Dawn team members were able to trace the episode to an electronic ...
Space Exploration
Jul 8, 2011
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A small robotic surveyor arrives to explore a near-Earth asteroid. Another robotic spacecraft is returning to Earth with a pristine comet surface sample. Meanwhile, a robotic explorer is approaching Uranus, ...
Space Exploration
Apr 15, 2011
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Deep in the heart of the asteroid belt, on its way to the first of the belt's two most massive inhabitants, NASA's ion-propelled Dawn spacecraft has eclipsed the record for velocity change produced by a spacecraft's ...
Space Exploration
Jun 8, 2010
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A University of Michigan professor is developing an electric rocket thruster, NanoFET, that uses nanoparticle electric propulsion and enables spacecraft to travel faster and with less propellant than previous technology allowed.
Nanomaterials
Oct 19, 2009
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(PhysOrg.com) -- GOCE's sophisticated electric ion propulsion system has been switched on and confirmed to be operating normally, marking another crucial milestone in the satellite's post-launch commissioning phase.
Space Exploration
Apr 6, 2009
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(PhysOrg.com) -- This month an ESA team is preparing to test the performance of the smallest yet most precisely controllable engine ever built for space, sensitive enough to counteract the force of incoming sunshine.
Space Exploration
Mar 10, 2009
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NASA has developed an advanced propulsion technology to facilitate future planetary exploration missions using small spacecraft. Not only will this technology enable new types of planetary science missions, one of NASA's ...
Space Exploration
Apr 24, 2024
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Establishing sustained operations at the moon and Mars presents a multitude of opportunities and challenges NASA has yet to encounter. Many of these activities require new technologies and processes to ensure the agency is ...
Space Exploration
Jan 12, 2024
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It's a world like no other: a metal-rich asteroid that could be the remnants of a small planet, or perhaps an entirely new type of celestial body unknown to science.
Space Exploration
Oct 14, 2023
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