Readying spacecraft to surf Venus" atmosphere
ESA's EnVision mission to Venus will perform optical, spectral and radar mapping of Earth's sister planet. But before getting down to work the van-sized spacecraft needs to "aerobrake"—lowering its orbit with thousands of passages through the plane.....»»
Webb presents best evidence to date for rocky exoplanet atmosphere
Researchers using NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope may have detected an atmosphere surrounding 55 Cancri e, a rocky exoplanet 41 light-years from Earth. This is the best evidence to date for a rocky planet atmosphere outside our solar system......»»
High hopes for carbon capture, underground storage
Capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere to store underground "sounds too good to be true", a climate expert told AFP, yet the technology to increase its capacity tenfold is already being tested......»»
Faulty valve scuttles Starliner’s first crew launch
The soonest opportunity for Atlas V and Starliner to launch is Friday night. Enlarge / The Atlas V rocket and Starliner spacecraft on their launch pad Monday. (credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky) Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni.....»»
Starliner astronauts arrive at launchpad for first crewed flight tonight
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have arrived at the launchpad for the first crewed flight of the Starliner spacecraft......»»
Starliner’s first crewed launch called off just two hours before liftoff
A technical issue has forced NASA engineers to call off Monday's first crewed launch of the Starliner spacecraft just two hours before liftoff......»»
SpaceX got the fanfare, but Boeing’s first crew flight is still historic
Ars spoke with the three Americans alive who have test-flown a new spacecraft in orbit. Enlarge / Astronauts Suni Williams (left) and Butch Wilmore (right) inside a Starliner simulator at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. (.....»»
Boeing"s first Starliner mission with humans set for historic Space Coast launch tonight
The stage is set for some space history to be made tonight as two veteran NASA astronauts aim to launch in a spacecraft that has never flown with humans before......»»
Compared to billions of years ago, Venus has almost no water: New study may reveal why
Planetary scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder have discovered how Venus, Earth's scalding and uninhabitable neighbor, became so dry......»»
Nanoparticle catalysts convert carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide to make useful compounds
As a greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide (CO2) contributes to climate change as it accumulates in the atmosphere. One way to reduce the amount of unwanted CO2 in the atmosphere is to convert the gas into a useful carbon product that can be used to generat.....»»
The surprise is not that Boeing lost commercial crew but that it finished at all
"The structural inefficiency was a huge deal." Enlarge / Boeing's Starliner spacecraft is lifted to be placed atop an Atlas V rocket for its first crewed launch. (credit: United Launch Alliance) NASA's senior leaders in.....»»
Radio astronomers bypass disturbing Earth"s atmosphere with new calibration technique
An international team of researchers led by astronomers from Leiden University (Netherlands) has produced the first sharp radio maps of the universe at low frequencies. Thanks to a new calibration technique, they bypassed the disturbances of the Eart.....»»
First crewed Starliner test needs good weather for launch. Here’s the forecast
NASA and Boeing Space are a short time away from conducting the first crewed launch of the Starliner spacecraft from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida......»»
An Old Abstract Field of Math Is Unlocking the Deep Complexity of Spacecraft Orbits
Mathematicians think abstract tools from a field called symplectic geometry might help with planning missions to far-off moons and planets......»»
Researcher: Climate models can run for months on supercomputers—but my new algorithm can make them ten times faster
Climate models are some of the most complex pieces of software ever written, able to simulate a vast number of different parts of the overall system, such as the atmosphere or ocean. Many have been developed by hundreds of scientists over decades and.....»»
Boeing"s Starliner joins select club of crewed US spaceships
Throughout the annals of American space exploration, a select few spacecraft have had the distinction of carrying human beings beyond Earth......»»
Are carbon-capture models effective?
Reforestation efforts to restock depleted forests are important for addressing climate change and for both capturing and restoring carbon from the Earth's atmosphere. These types of solutions to mitigate carbon emissions are critical after 2023 prove.....»»
NASA’s Orion spacecraft has ‘critical issues’ with its heat shield, report finds
NASA intends to use its Orion capsule to send astronauts to the moon, but a report has found that issues with the capsule's heat shield could be a safety risk......»»
Research quantifies "gap" in carbon removal for first time—shows countries need more awareness, ambition and action
New research involving the University of East Anglia (UEA) suggests that countries' current plans to remove CO2 from the atmosphere will not be enough to comply with the 1.5ºC warming limit set out under the Paris Agreement......»»
Pulsed plasma rocket (PPR): Shielded, fast transits for humans to Mars
The future of a space-faring civilization will depend on the ability to move both cargo and humans efficiently and rapidly. Due to the extremely large distances that are involved in space travel, the spacecraft must reach high velocities for reasonab.....»»
Japanese aerospace company captures an actual picture of space debris
Space debris is a growing problem, so companies are working on ways to mitigate it. A new satellite called ADRAS-J was built and launched to demonstrate how a spacecraft could rendezvous with a piece of space junk, paving the path for future removal......»»