Space – Lifeboat News: The Blog

The Space Party Continues: NASA Probe Arrives at Asteroid Bennu Monday

Dec 1
2018

I hope you’re not all partied out after the InSight lander’s successful touchdown on Mars this week, because there’s another big spaceflight event just around the corner.

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx probe will officially arrive at the near-Earth asteroid Bennu at about 12 p.m. EST (1700 GMT) on Monday (Dec. 3), ending a 27-month deep-space chase. NASA will mark the occasion with a special webcast event from 11:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. EST (1645 to 1715 GMT), which you can watch live here at Space.com, courtesy of NASA TV.

The space agency will also air an “arrival preview program” at 11:15 a.m. EST (1615 GMT). You can catch that here at Space.com as well. [OSIRIS-REx: NASA’s Asteroid Sample-Return Mission in Pictures].

Virgin Galactic Will Send People to Space By Christmas. Maybe.

Posted by Victoria Generao in space

Nov 30
2018

Founder Richard Branson is “pretty confident” it’ll happen.

I’m beaming!

Posted by Alberto Lao in space

Nov 30
2018

During my first full day here, I broke my first record by generating more electrical power than any previous robot on the surface of Mars. I’m in a sandy area with few rocks, soaking up the Sun. 🌞 More about where I landed: http://go.nasa.gov/2RvGiMl&h=AT18X8EjCOTXbtitHthnNUzrg5IiHWx…p1W1lBoVnw

China set to launch first-ever spacecraft to the far side of the Moon

Posted by Genevieve Klien in space

Nov 30
2018

Chang’e-4 mission will test plant growth on the Moon, and listen for radio emissions normally blocked by Earth’s atmosphere. Instruments on board the lander will carry out the first radio astronomy observations from the Moon’s far surface.

Tesla will live and die by the Gigafactory

Posted by Klaus Baldauf in space, sustainability, transportation

Nov 30
2018

Right now, in the desert just east of Reno, Nevada, Tesla is drilling into recently laid asphalt to install more electric vehicle chargers in the parking lot of the Gigafactory. The company has hired so many new workers in recent years that it needs more space to let them charge their Nissan Leafs, Chevy Bolts, Toyota Priuses, and, of course, Teslas. But before long, those chargers will be ripped right back out, along with the asphalt, and moved to a new spot to make room for more factory space.

Equipment for Moon Mining Operations are Being Developed

Posted by Klaus Baldauf in energy, space

Nov 30
2018

The technology needed for mining water ice on the moon and converting it into fuel is pretty straight forward. Various groups are already making the actual needed hardware. Paragon Space Development and Giner are already making key pieces of what is needed. If we are making large amounts of fuel on the moon then we are massively lowering the cost of all missions in space. The cost of anything from higher earth orbit and beyond becomes several times cheaper.

After the D-day invasion, the Allies made a temporary port. We need to move beyond thinking science missions to working on logistics and supply chains.

Animated scale of the universe

Posted by Michael Lance in space

Nov 30
2018

Click on photo to start video.

This 3-minute animation will change the way you see the universe.

AI Robot CIMON Debuts at International Space Station

Posted by Amberley Levine in robotics/AI, space

Nov 30
2018

The space station robot CIMON has exchanged its first words with its spacefaring crew.

German astronaut Alexander Gerst talked with the artificially intelligent crew-assistant CIMON during a 90-minute experiment on Nov. 15 aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

According to a statement from the manufacturer, Airbus, Gerst, the commander of the current space station crew, woke up CIMON (the Crew Interactive Mobile CompanioN) with the words “Wake up, CIMON.” In response, CIMON said, “What can I do for you?” [This Flying Space Droid Wants to Make Friends with Astronauts].

Success of Tiny Mars Probes Heralds New Era of Deep-Space Cubesats

Posted by Genevieve Klien in space

Nov 30
2018

Two pint-sized spacecraft, MarCO-A and MarCO-B, served as communications relays for NASA’s InSight lander.

By Mike Wall, SPACE.com on November 30, 2018

Astronomers calculate the total amount of starlight ever produced in the observable universe

Posted by Genevieve Klien in space

Nov 30
2018

The universe has been making stars for a good 13 billion years or so, and a natural question to ask might be “how many stars have existed in that time?” But now astronomers have taken it several steps further and asked “how much light has been emitted in that time?” Using a new measurement method, the team has apparently managed to quantify all the starlight every produced in the observable universe – and the result is a figure that’ll make your eyes water.