https://phys.org/space-news/space-exploration en-us Space exploration news and updates. Space missions and science news. Planet exploration and more. India successfully carried out Saturday the first of a series of key test flights after overcoming a technical glitch ahead of its planned mission to take astronauts into space by 2025, the space agency said. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-india-space-flight-mission-astronauts.html Space Exploration Sat, 21 Oct 2023 02:23:31 EDT news617073801 Engineers for NASA's Voyager mission are taking steps to help make sure both spacecraft, launched in 1977, continue to explore interstellar space for years to come. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-nasa-voyager-team-focuses-software.html Astronomy Space Exploration Fri, 20 Oct 2023 13:12:03 EDT news617026321 NASA recently built and tested an additively-manufactured—or 3D printed—rocket engine nozzle made of aluminum, making it lighter than conventional nozzles and setting the course for deep space flights that can carry more payloads. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-nasa-rocket-nozzle-paves-deep.html Space Exploration Fri, 20 Oct 2023 13:03:19 EDT news617025797 NASA's Lucy spacecraft is preparing for its first close-up look at an asteroid. On Nov. 1, it will fly by asteroid Dinkinesh and test its instruments in preparation for visits in the next decade to multiple Trojan asteroids that circle the sun in the same orbit as Jupiter. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-nasa-lucy-spacecraft-asteroid-flyby.html Space Exploration Planetary Sciences Thu, 19 Oct 2023 17:25:03 EDT news616955101 The Jeff Bezos-founded aerospace company, Blue Origin, recently announced its new and upcoming Swiss army knife-style spacecraft platform, Blue Ring, which comes after very little public discussion by Blue Origin regarding this project. For example, a January 2023 story broke when Blue Origin briefly announced a job posting for Blue Ring Senior Program Manager on its Careers page, but the job was pulled less than 24 hours later. Overall, Blue Origin has been quite mum about Blue Ring. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-blue-reveals-orbital-maneuvering-vehicle.html Space Exploration Thu, 19 Oct 2023 15:24:03 EDT news616947842 As NASA plans missions to the moon and Mars, a key factor is figuring out how to feed crew members during their weeks, months, and even years in space. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-space.html Space Exploration Thu, 19 Oct 2023 13:30:38 EDT news616941029 If life exists elsewhere in the solar system, it may well reside in the ocean of Jupiter's icy moon Europa. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-nasa-europa-clipper-survive-jupiter.html Space Exploration Planetary Sciences Wed, 18 Oct 2023 12:17:03 EDT news616850221 Psyche was the Greek goddess of the soul, born a mere mortal and later married to Eros, the God of love. Who knows why the Italian astronomer Annibale de Gasparis gave her name to a celestial object he observed one night in 1852? https://phys.org/news/2023-10-nasa-psyche-asteroid-mission-billion.html Space Exploration Planetary Sciences Wed, 18 Oct 2023 12:11:03 EDT news616849861 A small team of political scientists and astronomers at the University of British Columbia has conducted a study of the number of filings to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) by entities wishing to send satellites into low orbit and has found the numbers growing so fast that soon there will not be room for new satellite deployments. In their paper is published in the journal Science. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-itu-tighten-orbit-satellites.html Space Exploration Wed, 18 Oct 2023 10:35:51 EDT news616844137 A SpaceX launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Tuesday night marked the Space Coast's 57th launch of the year, equaling the record total seen in 2022. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-spacex-equals-space-coast-year.html Space Exploration Wed, 18 Oct 2023 06:49:08 EDT news616830544 India plans to send a man to the moon and set up a space station by 2040, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, as the country ramps up its space program. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-india-moon-mission-space-station.html Space Exploration Wed, 18 Oct 2023 04:04:35 EDT news616820668 A planned SpaceX launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Tuesday would mark the Space Coast's 57th launch of the year equaling the record total seen in 2022. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-spacex-today-equal-space-coast.html Space Exploration Tue, 17 Oct 2023 16:19:02 EDT news616778341 Since NASA's Lucy spacecraft first imaged the asteroid Dinkinesh on Sept. 3, 2023, Lucy has traveled over 33 million miles (54 million km) and is now 4.7 million miles (7.6 million km) away from the small asteroid. However, as Dinkinesh continues on its orbit around the sun, Lucy still has another almost 16 million miles (25 million km) to travel to its meet-up with the asteroid on Nov. 1. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-nasa-lucy-spacecraft-approach-asteroid.html Space Exploration Planetary Sciences Tue, 17 Oct 2023 14:21:54 EDT news616771313 A vast $2 billion innovation hub is being eyed at the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, a complex that's poised to become a birthplace for cutting-edge technologies. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-vast-billion-hub-eyed-nasa.html Space Exploration Tue, 17 Oct 2023 06:50:01 EDT news616743994 The Space Age is leaving fingerprints on one of the most remote parts of the planet—the stratosphere—which has potential implications for climate, the ozone layer and the continued habitability of Earth. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-signatures-space-age-spacecraft-metals.html Space Exploration Planetary Sciences Mon, 16 Oct 2023 15:00:01 EDT news616679367 First came the darkening skies, then the crescent-shaped shadows on the ground, and finally an eruption of cheers by crowds that gathered Saturday along the narrow path of a rare "ring of fire" eclipse of the sun. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-eclipse-americas-shouts-joy.html Space Exploration Sat, 14 Oct 2023 17:07:16 EDT news616522028 On September 24 this year, a NASA capsule parachuted down to Earth carrying a precious cache of material grabbed from an asteroid. The space agency has now revealed images and a preliminary analysis of the space rocks it found after lifting the lid off that capsule. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-osiris-rex-nasa-reveals-evidence-carbon.html Space Exploration Planetary Sciences Sat, 14 Oct 2023 12:20:01 EDT news616414440 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. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-nasa-journeys-metal-rich-asteroid-psyche.html Space Exploration Planetary Sciences Sat, 14 Oct 2023 09:40:01 EDT news616495089 After spending more than a year in space, Frank Rubio now has to get used to that pesky thing Earthlings call gravity. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-astronaut-earth-record-setting-days-space.html Space Exploration Sat, 14 Oct 2023 05:11:38 EDT news616479091 A rare "ring of fire" eclipse of the sun cuts across the Americas on Saturday, stretching from Oregon to Brazil, and huge crowds were on the move before dawn in cities, rural areas and national parks to try to catch a glimpse of it. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-solar-eclipse-americas-oregon-brazil.html Space Exploration Sat, 14 Oct 2023 05:11:15 EDT news616479067 Throughout the 20th century, multiple proposals have been made for the crewed exploration of Mars. These include the famed "Mars Project" by Werner von Braun, the "Mars Direct" mission architecture by Robert Zubrin and David Baker, NASA's Mars Design Reference Mission studies, and SpaceX's Mars & Beyond plan. By 2033, two space agencies (NASA and the CNSA) plan to commence sending crews and payloads to the Red Planet. These and other space agencies envision building bases there that could eventually lead to permanent settlements and the first "Martians." https://phys.org/news/2023-10-comprehensive-blueprint-settlement-mars.html Space Exploration Planetary Sciences Fri, 13 Oct 2023 13:49:06 EDT news616423741 NASA's goal to reduce the costs of the powerful Space Launch System rocket for its Artemis program by 50% was called "highly unrealistic" and a threat to its deep space exploration plans, according to a report by NASA's Office of the Inspector General released on Thursday. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-nasa-goal-artemis-rocket-highly.html Space Exploration Fri, 13 Oct 2023 12:32:04 EDT news616419122 Canadian-French astrophysicist Hubert Reeves, who was renowned for his work popularizing space science, died Friday aged 91, his son said in a post on Facebook. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-canadian-french-astrophysicist-hubert-reeves-dies.html Space Exploration Fri, 13 Oct 2023 12:29:06 EDT news616418940 It's unlikely to be a bad omen, but NASA's mission Psyche is currently due to launch on Friday 13 October. Lifting off at 10:19 EDT on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, it faces a perilous journey and isn't scheduled for arrival at its namesake asteroid, 16 Pscyhe, until 2029. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-nasa-psyche-mission-unveil-interior.html Space Exploration Planetary Sciences Fri, 13 Oct 2023 11:39:06 EDT news616415943 NASA's Psyche spacecraft rocketed away Friday on a six-year journey to a rare metal-covered asteroid. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-nasa-spacecraft-mysterious-rare-metal.html Space Exploration Planetary Sciences Fri, 13 Oct 2023 10:28:08 EDT news616411682 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. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-nasa-journey-metal-rich-asteroid.html Space Exploration Planetary Sciences Thu, 12 Oct 2023 15:53:44 EDT news616344819 The International Space Station (ISS) will be retired in 2030 after more than 32 years of continuous service. Naturally, there are questions regarding what will replace this station, which has served as a bastion for vital research and inter-agency cooperation in space. In the past, China has indicated that their Tiangong ("heavenly palace") space station will be a successor and rival to the ISS, offering astronauts from other nations an alternative platform to conduct research in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). As part of this plan, China recently announced plans to double the size of Tiangong in the coming years. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-china-size-space-station.html Space Exploration Thu, 12 Oct 2023 13:28:23 EDT news616336100 At the very center of the Earth is a core of metal—so hot and so deep down as to be unreachable and impossible to study directly. But we might learn more about it and the cores of other Earth-like planets by studying the asteroid Psyche. Based on observations made through telescopes, it is believed to consist of 60% metal, probably an iron and nickel alloy. Looking a bit like a potato and measuring about 150x250 km, Psyche may be the innermost core of a planet that, following a violent collision with another object, was stripped of its outer crust. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-sensitive-instruments-explore-metal-rich-asteroid.html Space Exploration Planetary Sciences Thu, 12 Oct 2023 13:28:05 EDT news616336081 It may be possible to create paved roads and landing pads on the moon by using lasers to melt lunar soil into a more solid, layered substance, reports a proof-of-concept study in Scientific Reports. Although these experiments were carried out on Earth using a substitute for lunar dust, these findings demonstrate the viability of the technique and suggest it could be replicated on the moon. However, further work may be needed to refine the process, according to the authors. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-small-lunar-roads-potentially-giant.html Space Exploration Planetary Sciences Thu, 12 Oct 2023 11:00:01 EDT news616320072 Two giant rocket motors required to display the retired NASA space shuttle Endeavour as if it's about to blast off arrived Wednesday at a Los Angeles museum, completing their long journey from the Mojave Desert. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-huge-rocket-motors-los-angeles.html Space Exploration Wed, 11 Oct 2023 16:13:33 EDT news616259610