U.S. space agency NASA received the final signal from its Cassini spacecraft, which ended a groundbreaking 13-year Saturn mission on Friday with a meteor-like plunge into the planet’s atmosphere, transmitting data until the final moment. Cassini, the first spacecraft to orbit Saturn, ended its mission at 7:55 a.m. EDT (1155 GMT), shortly after it lost contact with … [Read more...]
NASA chooses Lucy and Psyche for asteroid missions
NASA has announced the choice of two new projects of space missions to asteroids in the Discovery program, in order to learn more about the start-up period of our solar system which has an age estimated at 4,6 billions of years, according to the AFP. For the first mission, NASA has announced that they will launch a spacecraft in 2021 which will study the so-called 'Trojans … [Read more...]
Mars Ice Home made by NASA for the first human mission on Mars looks like an igloo
'Mars Ice Home', the habitat designed by NASA and the winners of a project contest for the first human mission on Mars in 2030, looks like an igloo and has the merit of being an excellent insulator against the cosmic radiation, but at the same time the iced used to raise the structure can be used as fuel for the ship which will take off toward the Earth at the end of the … [Read more...]
Galileo, the European navigation system via satellite, started to function
Europe has launched the first services of its navigation system through satellite, Galileo, on the occasion of an official ceremony in Brussels, reports the AFP. 'It is a major achievement for Europe (...) No European country would be able to do this by itself', said the European commissioner for industry, Elzbieta Bienkowska. 'It is the result of a common effort for the … [Read more...]
Mars One presented a project of a Martian costume
The controversial Dutch company Mars One, who wants to send people on Mars in the next ten years, announced the first or concept of a Martian costume that should allow the colonists to do the necessary tasks for their survival under the 'extremely difficult conditions'. The costumes should 'use the maximum of the Martian resources' but still require many hours of work to … [Read more...]
The ‘rebirth’ of a star: a phenomenon observed by astronomers in the sky, for the first time
An international astronomers team observed for the first time the warming and the cooling steps during the 'rebirth' of a star - SAO 244567, a star situated at about 2.700 light years from the Terra. The researchers will have to do additional calculations to explain the behavior of the star. Normally, the 'rebirth' process of a star produces in a way too long period to be … [Read more...]
The sudden disappearance of a very far star may confirm the theories about the creation of the black hole
The astrophysicists have no certitude about the way in which the black holes take form. The sudden disappearance of a gigantic red star, that was studied by astronomers through the orbital telescope Hubble and it was at a distance of about 20 million light years, can represent the first birth of a black hole 'witnessed' by humanity, according to newscientist.com. Using the data … [Read more...]
SpaceX’s failure could really set the company back
The satellite was, in part, leased by Facebook as part of its project to deliver internet access to Sub-Saharan Africa, marking the social network's first foray into space-based internet delivery, in a partnership with the satellite company Eutelsat. "As I'm here in Africa, I'm deeply disappointed to hear that SpaceX's... failure destroyed our satellite that would have … [Read more...]