New study shows potential for improved fuel-free spacecraft sails
A new study from the University of Nottingham has explored the use of fuel-free spacecraft propulsion systems and how they could be used in future space missions.
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A new study from the University of Nottingham has explored the use of fuel-free spacecraft propulsion systems and how they could be used in future space missions.
The Lucy spacecraft is already well on its way to Jupiter's Trojan asteroids. But that doesn't mean that it can't make some improvements to its trajectory along the way. A new paper suggests it might be possible to nudge ...
A new collection of chemically diverse dome-celled ultralight aerogels with high porosity and very low density feature elasticity and mechanical properties that remain intact even under extreme temperatures from 4.2 kelvin ...
Rather than completely burning up when a spacecraft reenters Earth's atmosphere, its heat shield's outer surface is sacrificed to protect the rest of the vehicle. The carbon fibers decompose, dissipating the heat.
The burgeoning space industry and the technologies society increasingly relies on—electric grids, aviation and telecommunications—are all vulnerable to the same threat: space weather.
Proxima Centauri b is the closest known exoplanet that could be in the habitable zone of its star. Therefore, it has garnered a lot of attention, including several missions designed to visit it and send back information. ...
We've sent some pretty interesting payloads to space since the first satellite (Sputnik 1) launched on October 4, 1957. As access to space has increased, thanks largely to the commercial space industry, so too have the types ...
When astronauts make the long journey to Mars in the not-so-distant future, communication with mission control will be impossible for days to weeks at a time. Enter Daphne-AT: a virtual assistant (VA) designed to help astronauts ...
After nearly 20 years of operations, NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) is on a roll, performing a new maneuver to squeeze even more science out of the busy spacecraft as it circles the Red Planet. Engineers have essentially ...
The moon's nearside (that is, the side facing Earth) is dark-colored and dominated by ancient lava flows, whereas the farside is more rugged—and NASA researchers now suggest it's due to a wonky lunar interior. Using data ...