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Space

Smaller, autonomous satellites could help analyse the internal structure of clouds to give a more detailed view of Earth's changing climate. Image credit - Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, NASA Johnson Space Center
space | frontier research | industry
27 March 2019

Fleets of autonomous satellites to coordinate tasks among themselves

Space missions have long benefited from some autonomous operations being carried out aboard spacecraft, but with a sharp increase expected in the number of satellites being launched in the next few years, researchers are using automation and artificial intelligence to make them smarter and more effective.

Hydrazine, the most common rocket propellant, is on the EU’s list of substances of high concern. Image credit - NASA/Joel Kowsky, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0, https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasahqphoto/23400755339/
space
14 March 2019

Greener fuels to propel rocket launches into space

Turns out, green fuels are rocket science.

The moon's lack of tectonic activity preserves its oldest rocks. Image Credit - ANDY SMITH ASTRONOMY
space | frontier research
25 February 2019

How scientists are piecing together the history of the moon

In the solar system’s early days, a first Earth is thought to have been pulverised by a planet that scientists call Theia. We don’t know what it was made of or where it came from, only that it may have been the size of Mars. The powerful collision destroyed both planets so completely that scientists can only guess what they were like.

New findings suggest that if the moon formed after a giant impact after water had had been received, it should have gotten a share of that water. The question is - where did it go? Image Credit - ANDY SMITH ASTRONOMY
space | frontier research
19 February 2019

The moon’s water: where did it come from – and where did it all go?

Fragments of moon rock brought back from the lunar surface by astronauts on the Apollo space missions are providing new insights about where our planet’s life-giving water came from.

The LUVMI rover will be sent to the moon to inspect its water ice, and chemicals in its crust and atmosphere. Image credit - LUVMI consortium
space
12 February 2019

How to keep lunar samples safe

A lunar rover that can analyse samples in situ and a Europe-wide facility to store extraterrestrial samples will help to protect moon samples from contamination and increase their usability in scientific experiments.

Dr David Parker, the director of human and robotic exploration at ESA, says that the lunar campaign’s ultimate mission would be to see if a permanent human moon base can be established. Image credit - ESA
interview | space
05 February 2019

‘The moon is a history museum and we’ve only visited the gift shop’

Humans have not set foot on the moon since 1972, when the last Apollo mission came back to Earth. That could all change in the coming years, however, as entities like the European Space Agency (ESA) are preparing not just to return, but to build a permanent base on the surface.

During high periods of solar activity, the sun flings off massive chunks of changed plasma which can severely damage technological infrastructure on Earth. Image Credit - NASA/SDO and the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams.
space | industry
23 January 2019

Extreme space weather can wreak havoc on Earth. These tools help warn of the dangers ahead

On a hot day in August 1972 toward the end of the Vietnam War, dozens of naval mines off the coast of Hai Phong in North Vietnam began to explode without warning. In March 1989, a magnetic surge tripped circuits, knocking out power in the entire Canadian province of Quebec. While in 1859, an event sparked telegraph lines, igniting fires, and northern lights so bright that British stargazers could read newspapers at night. These days, scientists know that all these events were caused by intense space weather, capable of wreaking havoc on electric grids and electromagnetically sensitive technology.

The magnetic field protecting our planet originates deep in the Earth's core but fluctuates in strength over time. Image credit - ESA/ATG medialab
frontier research | space
07 December 2018

Earth’s magnetic poles could start to flip. What happens then?

As Earth's magnetic shield fails, so do its satellites. First, our communications satellites in the highest orbits go down. Next, astronauts in low-Earth orbit can no longer phone home. And finally, cosmic rays start to bombard every human on Earth.

Cosmic dust is too cold to be captured by optical telescopes, so visual images of galaxies don't give the full story of conditions. Image credit - The Hubble Heritage team, picture is in the public domain
space
27 September 2018

Cosmic 'dustpedias' could reveal new types of galaxy

Measuring the vast quantities of cosmic dust in interstellar space may be a key to unlocking various mysteries of the cosmos, including how the grains form and whether new types of galaxy are obscured by the particle clouds.

At the centre of the image is an important star called the RS Puppis, a Cepheid variable star which is a class of stars whose luminosity is used to estimate distances to nearby galaxies. This one is 15,000 times brighter than our sun. Image credit - NASA, ESA, Hubble Heritage Team. Acknowledgement - Howard Bond
space | frontier research
26 September 2018

Refining intergalactic measurements could alter our whole understanding of physics

New efforts to figure out just how fast the universe has expanded since the Big Bang, a speed known as the Hubble constant, could upend current theories of physics, according to some scientists.

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