Andy Tomaswick
What Did We Learn From Manufacturing the ACS3 Solar Sail Mission?
We recently reported on the successful deployment of the solar sail of the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3) technology…
Using A Space Elevator To Get Resources Off the Queen of the Asteroid Belt
Here at UT, we've had several stories that describe the concept of a space elevator. They are designed to make…
What Type of Excavator Is Most Suitable for Asteroids?
Digging in the ground is so commonplace on Earth that we hardly ever think of it as hard. But doing…
How Can Biofilms Help or Hinder Spaceflight?
As humans spread into the cosmos, we will take a plethora of initially Earth-bound life with us for the ride.…
NASA Announces the 2025 Human Lander Challenge
One of NASA's core mission objectives, though not explicitly stated in its charter, is to educate Americans about space exploration,…
The NASA Break the Ice Challenge Awards $1.5M to Two Start-Ups
We might be a little late on reporting for this one - the space exploration community is large, and sometimes,…
A Europan Lander Could Return an Ice Core For A Fraction of the Cost of Europa Clipper
Cost is a major driving factor in the development of space exploration missions. Any new technology or trick that could…
We Know When a Black Hole Will Have its Next Feast
Black holes are notoriously destructive to stars near them. Astronomers often see flashes representing the death throes of stars collapsing…
Galaxies in Dense Environments Get Larger
Galaxies are some of the largest clearly defined structures in space. There are trillions of them, and many are clustered…
Specialized Materials Could Passively Control the Internal Temperature of Space Habitats
Areas of space have wildly different temperatures depending on whether they are directly in sunlight or not. For example, temperatures…