Tag Archives: SpaceTravel

Curiosity rover starts light robotic arm workout in preparation for scientific main event

Posted on by

Curiosity rover starts light robotic arm workout in preparation for scientific main event

As NASA promised, Curiosity has stopped at the quarter pole toward its first scientific destination to test its robotic arm and attached scientific instruments. After 100 yards of driving, the rover extended its 7-foot limb, and will now spend six to ten days checking its predetermined positions and range of motion. That will ensure the appendage is ready after surviving the chilly vaccuum of space and subsequent setdown, and will let its minders see how it functions in the unfamiliar Martian gravity and temperatures. The JPL scientists in charge of the six-wheeler will also peep the Mars Hand Lens Imager and made-in-Canada Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer to warrant that they're up for all the geology to come. If all goes well, the rover will start scooping, drilling and analyzing in earnest when it hits Glenelg, then Mount Sharp -- so, we'd limber up first before tackling all that, too.

Filed under: ,

Curiosity rover starts light robotic arm workout in preparation for scientific main event originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Sep 2012 15:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink PhysOrg  |  sourceNASA/JPL  | Email this | Comments

Mars Curiosity leaves its landing area, heads to distant frontier a quarter-mile away

Posted on by

DNP Mars Curiosity leaves its landing area, heads to distant frontier ok, 50 feet

Now that Curiosity has survived its thrill-a-minute landing and passed an upgrade and physical with (nearly) flying colors, the rover is off to earn its $2 billion keep. The buggy got off to a good start, driving 52 feet towards its first science site "beautifully, just as our rover planners designed it," according to NASA. The destination, Glenelg, is 1,500 feet away from the now-familiar Bradbury Landing where it first set down, which is pretty far for a rover that treks along at about a tenth of a mile per hour. On top of that, its minders have some stops in mind to test instruments -- meaning it'll arrive there in about two weeks. Once at Glenelg, Curiousity will scope the unusual geology of the region, though its principal destination for science is Mount Sharp, a relatively vast six miles away. Don't worry about it running out of gas, though -- it's nuclear power supply will last a full Martian year, or 687 earth days.

Filed under: ,

Mars Curiosity leaves its landing area, heads to distant frontier a quarter-mile away originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Aug 2012 12:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Space.com  |  sourceNASA  | Email this | Comments

Liftport turns to Kickstarter for space elevator experiment (video)

Posted on by

Liftport turns to Kickstarter for space elevator experiment

Space elevators are slowly making the transition from science fiction to science fact... but we're not quite there yet. LiftPort, a group that already holds the record for tallest elevator, is taking a second stab at the technology after going into "hibernation" in 2007. Founder Michael Laine has resurrected the company and taken to Kickstarter to drum up interest (as well as a little cash) in his latest project -- a lunar elevator. As Laine explains in the video, an elevator from the surface of the Moon to a rendezvous point between the Earth and its satellite is actually possible using current technology. And, thanks to its low gravity and lack of atmosphere, a much simpler construction site. The first step is a $1 million feasibility study that will involve a two kilometer tall elevator here on Earth. LiftPort has already far exceeded its Kickstarter goal of $8,000, but the point was never to fund the entire project. The hope was to garner some media attention and get people involved and invested (both financially and emotionally) by offering rewards. You could even pledge enough money to base jump from the top of the tethered research tower, which will be held aloft by helium balloons. For more info check out the video after the break and hit up the source link to pledge your hard earned cash.

Continue reading Liftport turns to Kickstarter for space elevator experiment (video)

Filed under:

Liftport turns to Kickstarter for space elevator experiment (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Aug 2012 18:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Forbes  |  sourceKickstarter, LiftPort  | Email this | Comments

Voice signals sent to Mars and back, while telephoto images tease rich geology

Posted on by

Voice signals sent to Mars and back, while telephoto images tease rich geology

The Martian hills are alive with the sound of music. Well, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden's voice at least, as the agency reveals that the first recorded human voice has traveled from Earth, to another planet, and back. The words might not have literally echoed in the surrounding hills, but by having been beamed to Curiosity and back again, have made a small step towards interplanetary communication. Along with the motivational words of Bolden, the rover returned some telephoto images from the onboard 100mm and 34mm lenses. The pictures show the hills toward which Curiosity is bound, and tease the scientists with their rich-looking -- and hopefully revealing -- layers of geology. Want to know what interplanetary voicemail sounds like? No need to go to Mars and back, just click on the more coverage link below.

Continue reading Voice signals sent to Mars and back, while telephoto images tease rich geology

Filed under: ,

Voice signals sent to Mars and back, while telephoto images tease rich geology originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Aug 2012 10:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Pioneering astronaut Neil Armstrong dies at 82

Posted on by

Pioneering astronaut Neil Armstrong dies at 82

It's a story that we hoped we'd never have to report. Neil Armstrong, the first man to set foot on Earth's Moon, has died at the age of 82 after complications from heart surgery three weeks earlier. His greatest accomplishment very nearly speaks for itself -- along with help from fellow NASA astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins, he changed the landscape of space exploration through a set of footprints. It's still important to stress his accomplishments both before and after the historic Apollo 11 flight, though. He was instrumental to the Gemini and X-series test programs in the years before Apollo, and followed his moonshot with roles in teaching aerospace engineering as well as investigating the Apollo 13 and Space Shuttle Challenger incidents. What more can we say? Although he only spent a very small portion of his life beyond Earth's atmosphere, he's still widely considered the greatest space hero in the US, if not the world, and inspired a whole generation of astronauts. We'll miss him.

[Image credit: NASA Apollo Archive]

Filed under: , ,

Pioneering astronaut Neil Armstrong dies at 82 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 25 Aug 2012 15:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceNBC  | Email this | Comments

China’s new liquid oxygen and kerosene-fueled rocket engine lights up for testing

Posted on by

China's new liquid oxygen and kerosenefueld rocket engine lights up for testing

Liquid oxygen and kerosene, that's what fuels China's new -- and freshly tested -- rocket engine. When fired up on Sunday, it withstood temperatures as high as 5,432 degrees Fahrenheit (3,000 degrees Celsius) for 200 seconds and powered through almost 20,000 revolutions per minute in a rotational test. "The successful tests confirm the reliability of China's LOX / kerosene engine," test commander Lai Daichu told China Daily. According to China Central Television, the engine is non-toxic, pollution-free and the first of its kind for which China holds proprietary intellectual property rights -- though similar engines have been used by other space agencies. The engine is on track to lend the upcoming Long March 5 rocket a total of 118 tons of thrust, giving it enough oomph to launch a 25-ton payload into low-earth orbit or 14-ton cargo into geostationary orbit. Its expected to haul additional portions of the country's space station and aid lunar exploration, but the first voyage isn't slated until 2014.

[Image Credit: China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation]

Filed under:

China's new liquid oxygen and kerosene-fueled rocket engine lights up for testing originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Jul 2012 19:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Space  |  sourceXinhua  | Email this | Comments

Sally Ride, first American woman in space, dies at 61 (updated)

Posted on by

Sally Ride, first American woman in space, dies at 61

It's a sad day for space travel. Sally Ride, the first American woman to ever travel to space, has died at the age of 61 after a bout with pancreatic cancer. She's best known for breaking NASA's gender barrier by flying on Space Shuttle Challenger on June 18th, 1983, but she spent much more of her time guiding our future in space while here on Earth -- she founded NASA's Office of Exploration and directed its early strategy, and she later went on to lead the California Space Institute as well as teach physics at the University of California in San Diego. Her final decade saw her establish Sally Ride Science to encourage students wanting to follow in her footsteps, especially girls. Ride blazed one of the brighter trails in technology, and she'll be missed.

Update: Ride is survived by her same-sex partner of 27 years, Dr. Tam O'Shaughnessy.

[Image credit: National Archives]

Filed under: ,

Sally Ride, first American woman in space, dies at 61 (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Jul 2012 18:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink NPR  |  sourceSally Ride Science  | Email this | Comments

Richard Branson confirms Virgin Galactic’s first space tourism flight will launch next year with him on board

Posted on by

Richard Branson has long said that he'd be on board Virgin Galactic's first commercial space tourism flight, and he's now confirmed that will take place sometime next year with his two adult children along for the ride (a bit of a delay from the company's original 2011 target). That trip will of course be made with the company's SpaceShipTwo craft, which has already completed a number of test flights, and which is capable of flying 100 kilometers (or just over 60 miles) above the Earth for a planned two and a half hour flight with five minutes of weightlessness. As the AP notes, some 529 people have already signed up for the $200,000 per person rides into space, each of whom will have to take part in a week of training prior to their trip. Bookings can still be made on Virgin Galactic's website.

Filed under:

Richard Branson confirms Virgin Galactic's first space tourism flight will launch next year with him on board originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 15 Jul 2012 16:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink The Verge  |  sourceAP (Yahoo News), Virgin Galactic  | Email this | Comments

Researchers find space travel prolongs the life of worms

Posted on by

Worm research suggests space travel could prolong life

We've seen research that suggests prolonged space travel could have some adverse effects on the human body, but it looks like there could be some real benefits as well. As BBC News reports, a new study conducted on Caenorhabditis elegans worms sent to the International Space Station has revealed evidence that the trip to space actually slowed their aging process. Specifically, researchers from the University of Nottingham and others institutions part of the ICE-First project found that the time in space reduced activity in a group of genes that have been shown to prolong the worms' lifespan when suppressed on earth. Of course, these are worms we're talking about, but this particular species is often used for such research due to its biological similarities to humans, so the discovery could well lead to more insight into how we age in space as well. Those curious can find the full paper linked below.

Filed under:

Researchers find space travel prolongs the life of worms originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Jul 2012 01:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink SlashGear  |  sourceNature, BBC News  | Email this | Comments

Infrared telescope can pick out the atmosphere on distant planets, smell what the aliens are smelling

Posted on by

Infrared telescope can pick out the atmosphere on distant planets, smell what the aliens are smelling

Astronomers in Chile using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope are now able to analyze the atmosphere on faraway planet Tau Bootis b. Using CRIRES, a supercooled infrared spectrograph bolted to the 'scope, the team was able to judge the size of the exoplanet -- and for the first time, take a reading of the atmosphere while not in transit. Historically, the only time researchers have been able to conduct atmospheric analysis is during the transit of its nearby star, which imprints the qualities of the atmosphere onto the light. The team found that Tau Bootis b is around six times the size of Jupiter, but its air is so thick with Carbon Monoxide that we'll have to look elsewhere to plan that expedition to the stars.

Infrared telescope can pick out the atmosphere on distant planets, smell what the aliens are smelling originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Jun 2012 18:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink MSNBC  |  sourceESO  | Email this | Comments