Spacecraft
The BepiColombo Mission To Mercury is Losing Power
BepiColombo is a joint ESA/JAXA mission to Mercury. It was launched in 2018 on a complex trajectory to the Solar…
NASA Takes Six Advanced Tech Concepts to Phase II
It's that time again. NIAC (NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts) has announced six concepts that will receive funding and proceed to…
US Satellite Photographs a South Korean Satellite from Lunar Orbit
In 2009, NASA launched the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO.) Its ongoing mission is to map the lunar surface in detail,…
The Most Powerful Ion Engine Ever Built Passes the Test
NASA and aerospace company, Aerojet Rocketdyne, have successfully completed qualification testing of the Advanced Electric Propulsion System (AEPS), which is…
A Last-Minute Addition to the Solar Orbiter Allows it to See More Deeply into the Sun’s Atmosphere
Spacecraft instruments are highly specialized and can take years to design, build, and test. But a last-minute hack to one…
What Does Micrometeoroid Damage do to Gossamer Structures Like Webb’s Sunshield?
Tiny little bullets flood the solar system, each micrometeoroid a potential hazard. New research has found that the James Webb…
If Launched by 2028, a Spacecraft Could Catch up With Oumuamua in 26 Years
A new study by the Institute of Interstellar Studies (i4is) shows that with the right maneuver, a spacecraft could catch…
NASA has Approved a Space Telescope That Will Scan the Skies for Dangerous Near-Earth Asteroids
A lot of the threats humanity faces come from ourselves. If we were listing them, we'd include tribalism, greed, and…