Andy Tomaswick
Taking a High-Resolution Ultraviolet Image of the Sun’s Corona Will Require VISORS
Sometimes, brainstorming does work. In 2019, America's National Science Foundation (NSF) held the CubeSat Ideas Lab, a shindig that brought…
Having Trouble Traversing the Sands of Mars? A Lizard Robot Might Help
Mars exploration vehicles typically have wheels, allowing them to traverse some challenging terrain on the Red Planet. However, eventually, their…
Floating LEAVES Could Characterize Venus’s Atmosphere
Venus's atmosphere has drawn a lot of attention lately. In particular, the consistent discovery of phosphine in its clouds points…
A Pair of CubeSats Using Ground Penetrating Radar Could Map The Interior of Near Earth Asteroids
Characterizing near-Earths asteroids (NEAs) is critical if we hope to eventually stop one from hitting us. But so far, missions…
Producing Oxygen From Rock Is Harder In Lower Gravities
One of the challenges engineers face when developing technologies for use in space is that of different gravities. Mostly, engineers…
Moon Dust Could Contaminate Lunar Explorers’ Water Supply
Water purification is a big business on Earth. Companies offer everything from desalination to providing just the right pH level…
Lunar Infrastructure Could Be Protected By Autonomously Building A Rock Wall
Lunar exploration equipment at any future lunar base is in danger from debris blasted toward it by subsequent lunar landers.…
Swarming Satellites Could Autonomous Characterize an Asteroid
An asteroid's size, shape, and rotational speed are clues to its internal properties and potential resources for mining operations. However,…
Webb Measures the Weather on a Tidally Locked Exoplanet
Exploring exoplanet atmospheres in more detail was one task that planetary scientists anticipated during the long wait while the James…
Only Hubble Could Make this Measurement of a Supernova
Calculating the distance to far-away objects, such as galaxy clusters and quasars, is difficult. But it is also critical to…