Author: Justin

Virgin Galactic Is One Step Closer To Commercial Space Flight

16Jun

By Justin1 Comment

Virgin Galactic Is One Step Closer To Commercial Space Flight

The era of space tourism is rapidly approaching, as Richard Branson's company, Virgin Galactic, gears up for its first commercial flight before the end of June. The excitement is building as the company prepares for this groundbreaking milestone.Scheduled within a four-day launch window starting on June 27, Virgin Galactic will embark on their journey with a crew of three specialists from the Italian Air Force and the National Research Centre of Italy. Their mission will involve conducting microgravity research on the outer edges of space. Following this mission, commercial space flights for ticket holders will commence in August and will continue on a monthly basis, as announced by the company on Thursday.CEO Michael Colglazier expressed his enthusiasm for this new chapter, statin...

Curiosity Rover Captures New Photo Of Martian Landscape

15Jun

By Justin2 Comments

NASA, Mars

Curiosity Rover Captures New Photo Of Martian Landscape

The latest discovery from the Curiosity rover showcases a breathtaking mosaic capturing the vibrant colors and lighting variations on the Martian surface during morning and afternoon. On April 8, before departing the Marker Band Valley, the robotic explorer utilized its black-and-white navigation cameras to create panoramic views. One panorama was taken at 9:20 a.m. local Mars time, while the other was taken at 3:40 p.m.These black-and-white panoramas demonstrate the striking differences in the landscape between the two times of day. To enhance the visual experience, a team at NASA added color to the images during post-processing. The blue hues represent the morning lighting, while the yellow tones signify the afternoon.Doug Ellison, the Curiosity engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion ...

Enceladus, Saturn’s Moon, Contains Phosphorus.

15Jun

By Justin3 Comments

NASA, Planets

Enceladus, Saturn’s Moon, Contains Phosphorus.

Scientists have made an exciting discovery about Enceladus, a small moon of Saturn. They found phosphorus, an important element for life, in icy grains that are emitted from the moon. These grains contain a variety of minerals and organic compounds associated with life, including the ingredients for amino acids.Enceladus has a subsurface ocean, and water from this ocean erupts through cracks in the moon's icy crust, creating geysers at its south pole. These geysers release a plume of particles into space, which eventually contribute to Saturn's E ring.During NASA's Cassini mission, which explored Saturn from 2004 to 2017, the spacecraft flew through the plume and E ring multiple times. Scientists discovered that Enceladus' ice grains contain significant amounts of phosphorus salts....

James Webb Telescope Unveils Early Universe Transparency

15Jun

By Justin5 Comments

JWST

James Webb Telescope Unveils Early Universe Transparency

Scientists, led by Simon Lilly from ETH Zürich in Switzerland, have discovered why the universe is no longer opaque. Using data from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, they focused on a time called the Era of Reionization, which was a significant period when gas in the universe was heated, cooled, and then given an electrical charge again (reionized).When the team examined galaxies from just 900 million years after the Big Bang, they discovered that most of the gas in the universe was partially transparent. However, the area directly surrounding the galaxies was clear. This led them to conclude that the galaxies were reionizing the gas around them, like balloons filled with reionized gas. As the galaxies grew, these bubbles merged, creating larger transparent areas. Eventually, they al...

Scientists Find a White Dwarf Star Turning Into a Diamond

14Jun

By JustinNo Comments

Discoveries

Scientists Find a White Dwarf Star Turning Into a Diamond

Scientists have made an intriguing discovery in the realm of stars. They have identified a white dwarf star that is currently undergoing a fascinating transformation into a celestial diamond.This white dwarf star is essentially the remnants of a sun-like star that has depleted most of its fuel and collapsed. When the core of a star predominantly consists of metallic oxygen and carbon, the subsequent cooling process after it becomes a white dwarf can lead to the formation of an enormous diamond. However, this transformation occurs at an exceptionally sluggish pace, estimated to take one quadrillion years. Given that the universe is a mere 13.6 billion years old, it is unlikely that any star has completed this dazzling metamorphosis. (Just to clarify, a quadrillion equals one thousand tr...

Satellite Swarms Are Being Developed At NASA Ames

14Jun

By JustinNo Comments

NASA

Satellite Swarms Are Being Developed At NASA Ames

At NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley, researchers are developing a groundbreaking approach to space exploration: satellite swarms. These swarms consist of groups of spacecraft that work together as a unified unit, eliminating the need for individual management by mission controllers. The autonomous capabilities of these swarms open up new possibilities for scientific research and exploration, especially as they venture into the depths of outer space.Swarm DevelopmentThe development of swarm technologies at Ames has been an ongoing effort for many years. This summer, a significant milestone will be reached with the launch of the Starling mission. This mission will test technologies that enable four spacecraft to operate in a coordinated manner without relyin...

Astronomers Have Found 4 New Mini-Neptune Planets

14Jun

By JustinNo Comments

Discoveries

Astronomers Have Found 4 New Mini-Neptune Planets

Astronomers have made an exciting discovery by spotting four new "mini-Neptune" planets around a distant star. These exoplanets are categorized as mini-Neptunes, a class of planets smaller and located farther from their stars compared to hot Jupiters.The newly found planets revolve around different stars and have a size similar to that of Neptune or slightly smaller, ranging from two to five times the size of Earth. Two of these exoplanets orbit the same orange dwarf star called HD 15906, situated approximately 149 light-years away from our solar system.A team led by researchers from the University of Bern and the University of Geneva in Switzerland identified the mini-Neptune using the Characterising Exoplanet Satellite (CHEOPS), the European Space Agency's spacecraft dedicated to...

Astronomers Find Another Planet In The BEBOP-1 System

13Jun

By Justin1 Comment

Discoveries

Astronomers Find Another Planet In The BEBOP-1 System

A team of astronomers from the University of Birmingham has made an exciting discovery in the BEBOP-1 or TOI-1338 system—a rare multiplanetary circumbinary system. Using the Doppler method, they have found a second planet, which they have named BEBOP-1c. This finding provides valuable insights into the formation of planets around binary star systems.Circumbinary systems are unique because planets orbit around two stars at their center, unlike our Solar System where planets orbit around a single star. The researchers' findings have been published in the latest issue of the journal Nature Astronomy.The newly discovered planet, BEBOP-1c, is named after the project that collected the data—Binaries Escorted By Orbiting Planets (BEBOP). It is also referred to as TOI-1338. In 2020, a...

Artemis II Mission Receives Laser Communications Terminal

13Jun

By Justin1 Comment

NASA

Artemis II Mission Receives Laser Communications Terminal

NASA's Artemis II mission has brought the laser communications system to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The system will be integrated with the Orion spacecraft, which will transport astronauts around the Moon for the first time since the Apollo missions.In November 2022, NASA launched Artemis I, an uncrewed test flight that took the Orion spacecraft even farther into space. Artemis II, the next mission, will test all the systems required for crewed spaceflight and lay the groundwork for future lunar surface missions. It will also evaluate new technologies, including enhanced laser communication capabilities.The laser communications terminal on the Orion spacecraft is known as the Orion Artemis II Optical Communications System (O2O). O2O offers faster data transmission rates c...

X-66A Is NASA’s Next Generation Experimental Aircraft

13Jun

By Justin1 Comment

NASA

X-66A Is NASA’s Next Generation Experimental Aircraft

NASA and Boeing announced on Monday that the U.S. Air Force has designated their new aircraft, called the X-66A, which is part of NASA's Sustainable Flight Demonstrator project.The X-66A is an experimental plane that aims to develop more eco-friendly single-aisle aircraft, commonly used by passenger airlines. NASA and Boeing will build a full-scale demonstrator aircraft with long, thin wings supported by diagonal struts. This new design, called the Transonic Truss-Braced Wing concept, will make the plane more fuel-efficient and reduce emissions.NASA Administrator Bill Nelson explained that the Sustainable Flight Demonstrator project builds on NASA's leading efforts in aeronautics and climate. The X-66A will shape the future of aviation by creating greener, cleaner, and quieter airc...