In Michael Crichton's 1969 novel The Andromeda Strain, a deadly alien microbe hitches a ride to Earth aboard a downed military satellite and scientists must race to contain it. While fictional, the plot explores a very real ...
Space Exploration
May 8, 2020
0
165
The maps and images created by a small UA team at the start of the space race opened the door for lunar and planetary exploration 50 years ago.
Space Exploration
Jun 27, 2019
0
1
The European Space Agency's BepiColombo spacecraft will launch towards Mercury carrying a unique payload designed and built at Southwest Research Institute: an instrument called Strofio, which will study Mercury's tenuous ...
Space Exploration
Oct 16, 2018
0
10
An unusual view of part of the BepiColombo spacecraft stack, taken by one of the monitoring cameras (or 'selfie-cams') fixed to the Mercury Transfer Module, MTM. The camera is looking up towards the solar array drive (top ...
Space Exploration
Oct 15, 2018
0
11
BepiColombo is scheduled for launch at 01:45 GMT (03:45 CEST) on 20 October on an Ariane 5 from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou.
Space Exploration
Oct 10, 2018
0
10
You are on a rock speeding through space. On this rock called Earth every single mineral tells you something about planetary formation. This week astronauts and space engineers will unlock the mystery of those minerals as ...
Space Exploration
Sep 5, 2018
0
7
If there are habitable conditions on Mars, they may be underground. Scientists from around the world are now testing how to live on other planets by venturing a kilometre beneath the surface in a UK mine. ESA astronaut Matthias ...
Space Exploration
Oct 20, 2017
1
76
There may be no bigger question than whether we are alone in our solar system. As our spacecraft find new clues about the presence of liquid water now or in the past on Mars, the possibility of some kind of life there looks ...
Space Exploration
Sep 29, 2017
1
6
One solitary asteroid might be worth trillions of dollars in platinum and other metals. Exploiting these resources could lead to a global boom in wealth, which could raise living standards worldwide and potentially benefit ...
Space Exploration
Apr 18, 2016
2
34
There is no doubt that 2014 was a fantastic year for planetary sciences – the high points were the successful landing of Philae on comet 67P, the discovery of methane by the Curiosity rover on Mars and a doubling in the ...
Space Exploration
Jan 6, 2015
0
33
