Space News from SpaceDaily.com
February 20, 2020
IRON AND ICE
How to deflect an asteroid



Boston MA (SPX) Feb 20, 2020
On April 13, 2029, an icy chunk of space rock, wider than the Eiffel Tower is tall, will streak by Earth at 30 kilometers per second, grazing the planet's sphere of geostationary satellites. It will be the closest approach by one of the largest asteroids crossing Earth's orbit in the next decade. Observations of the asteroid, known as 99942 Apophis, for the Egyptian god of chaos, once suggested that its 2029 flyby would take it through a gravitational keyhole - a location in Earth's gravity field ... read more

SPACE TRAVEL
Mike Pence Says US to Return Astronauts to Space Using American-Built Rockets Before Summer
Washington DC (Sputnik) Feb 20, 2020
US astronauts will launch into space from American soil using American-built rockets before the summer, Vice President Mike Pence told workers at NASA's Langley Research Centre on Wednesday. " ... more
SPACE TRAVEL
Russia's Tikhonov May Be Replaced as Chief of Soyuz MS-16 ISS Mission Over Injury - Source
Moscow (Sputnik) Feb 20, 2020
Russian cosmonaut Nikolay Tikhonov may be excluded from the crew of Soyuz MS-16 spacecraft, expected to be launched to the International Space Station (ISS) on 9 April, and Sergey Ryzhikov may repla ... more
TECH SPACE
Outer Space Chicken
Bethesda, MD (SPX) Feb 19, 2020
A new version of the game of "chicken" is evolving in outer space. According to Gen. John Raymond, the U.S. Space Force Chief, Russian "inspector" satellites are threatening the tenuous stand-off st ... more
MARSDAILY
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Undergoes Memory Update
Pasadena CA (JPL) Feb 20, 2020
From Feb. 17 to Feb. 29, 2020, NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) will go on hiatus from its science mission and its relay operations while engineers on Earth conduct long-distance maintenance ... more
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OUTER PLANETS
One Step Closer to the Edge of the Solar System
Kiruna, Sweden (SPX) Feb 20, 2020
The Swedish Institute of Space Physics (IRF) is one step closer to being able to send up a satellite instrument to study Neptune and its moon Triton. The American space agency NASA has selected TRID ... more
EXO WORLDS
LOFAR pioneers new way to study exoplanet environments
Dwingeloo, The Netherlands (SPX) Feb 18, 2020
Using the Dutch-led Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) radio telescope, astronomers have discovered unusual radio waves coming from the nearby red dwarf star GJ 1151. The radio waves bear the telltale sign ... more
SPACEWAR
US plans to deploy space weapons would destroy security balance warns Moscow
Moscow (Sputnik) Feb 18, 2020
Washington is trying to use allegations that a Russian inspector satellite was "chasing" a US reconnaissance satellite as an excuse to fuel an arms race in space, which could lead to the destruction ... more
MILITARY COMMUNICATIONS
Lockheed Martin's Most Advanced Mobile Communications Satellite Launches
Kourou, French Guiana (SPX) Feb 19, 2020
Lockheed Martin's third satellite based on the modernized LM 2100 bus launched from the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana aboard an Ariane 5 rocket and is traveling to its transfer orbit for a se ... more
EXO WORLDS
Random gene pulse patterns key to multicellular system development
Washington DC (UPI) Feb 19, 2020
New research suggests random gene pulses can produce the patterning necessary for the development of multicellular systems. ... more
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MICROSAT BLITZ
The CubeSat Launch Initiative Celebrates its 100th CubeSat Mission Deployment
Washington DC (SPX) Feb 20, 2020
The Hyper-Angular Rainbow Polarimeter (HARP) CubeSat has become the 100th CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI) selected mission deployed into space. This mission marks nearly 12 years of the CSLI provid ... more
MICROSAT BLITZ
Nanoracks Completes 17th Commercial Space Station CubeSat Deployment Mission
Webster TX (SPX) Feb 20, 2020
Nanoracks, the world's leading provider of commercial access to space, has completed the Company's 17th CubeSat deployment mission from the International Space Station using commercially developed a ... more
SPACEMART
Airbus Defence and Space to cut over 2,300 jobs
Paris (AFP) Feb 19, 2020
European plane-maker Airbus said Wednesday it planned to cut 2,362 jobs in its Defence and Space division over the next two years. ... more
DRAGON SPACE
China Prepares to Launch Unknown Satellite Aboard Long March 7A Rocket
Beijing (Sputnik) Feb 20, 2020
China's space program is expected to soon launch its Long March 7A rocket from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center, located in Hainan Province. According to SpaceNews, China is preparing for ... more
SPACE MEDICINE
Bacteria on the International Space Station no more dangerous than earthbound strains
Washington DC (SPX) Feb 20, 2020
Two particularly tenacious species of bacteria have colonized the potable water dispenser aboard the International Space Station (ISS), but a new study suggests that they are no more dangerous than ... more


Studying electrons, bridging two realms of physics: connecting solids and soft matter

TECH SPACE
Army researchers develop new method for analyzing metal
Adelphi MD (SPX) Feb 17, 2020
Warfighters on the battlefield often rely on machines, vehicles and other technologies with rotating parts to complete their mission. Army researchers have devised a new method of testing for a majo ... more
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OUTER PLANETS
Findings from Juno Update Jupiter Water Mystery
Pasadena CA (JPL) Feb 19, 2020
NASA's Juno mission has provided its first science results on the amount of water in Jupiter's atmosphere. Published recently in the journal Nature Astronomy, the Juno results estimate that at the e ... more
ROCKET SCIENCE
SpaceX announces partnership to send four tourists into deep orbit
Washington (AFP) Feb 18, 2020
SpaceX announced a new partnership Tuesday to send four tourists deeper into orbit than any private citizen before them, in a mission that could take place by 2022 and easily cost more than $100 million. ... more
SPACE TRAVEL
New adventures in beds and baths for spaceflight
Paris (ESA) Feb 18, 2020
ESA is expanding its bedrest programme that allows researchers to study how human bodies react to living in space - without leaving their bed. In weightlessness, astronauts' bodies lose muscle ... more
AEROSPACE
Electric flight from Mannheim to Berlin in a 19-seater aircraft
Cologne, Germany (SPX) Feb 19, 2020
Following on from the first electrically powered small aircraft, the next big step for electric flight will be in the commuter class, with 19-seater aircraft. The German Aerospace Center has teamed ... more
TECH SPACE
Exotrail Secures Contract with AAC Clyde Space to equip their customers' spacecrafts
Paris, France (SPX) Feb 20, 2020
Exotrail, a French company dedicated to providing innovative on-orbit transportation solutions for the small satellite market have signed a contract with AAC Clyde Space, Europe's leading nanosatell ... more
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Mike Pence Says US to Return Astronauts to Space Using American-Built Rockets Before Summer
Washington DC (Sputnik) Feb 20, 2020
US astronauts will launch into space from American soil using American-built rockets before the summer, Vice President Mike Pence told workers at NASA's Langley Research Centre on Wednesday. "Before we even get to the summer... the United States will return American astronauts to space on American rockets from American soil. We're going back and we're going back from the USA", Pence said. ... more
+ Russia's Tikhonov May Be Replaced as Chief of Soyuz MS-16 ISS Mission Over Injury - Source
+ NASA science and cargo head to Space Station
+ NASA selects four possible missions to study the secrets of the solar system
+ 'Pale Blue Dot' Revisited
+ New adventures in beds and baths for spaceflight
+ NASA expects thousands to apply for astronaut jobs ahead of moon missions
+ Source reveals timeline for US first launch of manned vehicle to ISS after nearly decade-long hiatus
SpaceX announces partnership to send four tourists into deep orbit
Washington (AFP) Feb 18, 2020
SpaceX announced a new partnership Tuesday to send four tourists deeper into orbit than any private citizen before them, in a mission that could take place by 2022 and easily cost more than $100 million. The company signed the deal with Space Adventures, which is based in Washington and served as an intermediary to send eight space tourists to the International Space Station (ISS) via Russia ... more
+ Artemis I progresses toward launch
+ Simple, fuel-efficient rocket engine could enable cheaper, lighter spacecraft
+ SpaceX re-useable rocket misses landing ship
+ SpaceX launch grows Starlink constellation to more than 300 satellites
+ Blue Origin opens Huntsville factory for BE-7 rocket engines
+ Arianespace orbits two satellites - JCSAT-17 and GEO-KOMPSAT-2B
+ Electric solid propellant - can it take the heat?


NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Undergoes Memory Update
Pasadena CA (JPL) Feb 20, 2020
From Feb. 17 to Feb. 29, 2020, NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) will go on hiatus from its science mission and its relay operations while engineers on Earth conduct long-distance maintenance. During the hiatus, other orbiters will relay data from the Mars Curiosity rover and Mars InSight lander to Earth. The maintenance work involves updating battery parameters in the spacecraft's ... more
+ Nilosyrtis Mensae - erosion on a large scale
+ Mars 2020 rover goes coast-to-coast to prep for launch
+ SwRI models hint at longer timescale for Mars formation
+ Salt water may periodically form on the surface of Mars
+ Mars 2020 equipped with laser vision and better mics
+ MAVEN explores Mars to understand radio interference at Earth
+ Mars' water was mineral-rich and salty
China Prepares to Launch Unknown Satellite Aboard Long March 7A Rocket
Beijing (Sputnik) Feb 20, 2020
China's space program is expected to soon launch its Long March 7A rocket from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center, located in Hainan Province. According to SpaceNews, China is preparing for the launch of a "technology verification satellite" from the southern island of Hainan. A report in Chinese published on a public WeChat platform confirms that the Long March 7A, a liquid-fuelle ... more
+ China's Long March-5B carrier rocket arrives at launch site
+ China to launch more space science satellites
+ China's space station core module, manned spacecraft arrive at launch site
+ China to launch Mars probe in July
+ China's space-tracking vessels back from missions
+ China may have over 40 space launches in 2020
+ China launches powerful rocket in boost for 2020 Mars mission
Airbus Defence and Space to cut over 2,300 jobs
Paris (AFP) Feb 19, 2020
European plane-maker Airbus said Wednesday it planned to cut 2,362 jobs in its Defence and Space division over the next two years. Airbus cited a "flat space market and postponed contracts on the defence side" for the decision to cut 829 jobs in Germany, 630 in Spain, 404 in France and 357 in Britain. A further 142 jobs will be cut in other countries, it said, adding that it was in talk ... more
+ Kleos Space secures 3M Euro loan agreement with Dubai family office
+ Understanding the impact of satellite constellations on astronomy
+ Arianespace and Starsem launch 34 OneWeb satellites to help bridge the digital divide
+ RUAG Space dispenses another batch of Airbus OneWeb satellites
+ Azercosmos and Infostellar to enter into Ground Station Partnership
+ Maxar Technologies will build Intelsat Epic geostationary communications satellite with NASA hosted payload
+ Australia's first space incubator seeks global applicants for 2020 program
Orion "Passengers" on Artemis I to test radiation vest for deep space missions
Houston TX (SPX) Feb 14, 2020
As NASA leads the way for human exploration at the Moon and beyond, space radiation is one of the biggest hazards crews face. In 2018, NASA signed an agreement with the Israel Space Agency (ISA) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) for an experiment to test the AstroRad radiation protection vest on Artemis I, the first flight test of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft. Th ... more
+ Outer Space Chicken
+ NASA prepares for Moon and Mars with new addition to its deep space network
+ Exotrail Secures Contract with AAC Clyde Space to equip their customers' spacecrafts
+ Army researchers develop new method for analyzing metal
+ Researchers develop smaller, lighter radiation shielding
+ Astroscale teams with JAXA for Commercial Removal of Debris Demonstration Project
+ Amazon wins suspension of $10 bn 'JEDI' contract to Microsoft


New technologies, strategies expanding search for extraterrestrial life
Charlottesville VA (SPX) Feb 17, 2020
Emerging technologies and new strategies are opening a revitalized era in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). New discovery capabilities, along with the rapidly-expanding number of known planets orbiting stars other than the Sun, are spurring innovative approaches by both government and private organizations, according to a panel of experts speaking at a meeting of the American ... more
+ Random gene pulse patterns key to multicellular system development
+ Earth's cousins: Upcoming missions to look for 'biosignatures' in exoplanet atmospheres
+ Looking for aliens who might be looking for us
+ LOFAR pioneers new way to study exoplanet environments
+ Scientists pick up pattern of space radio signals for 1st time, study says
+ Rules of life: From a pond to the beyond
+ Scientists discover nearest known 'baby giant planet'
A close-up of Arrokoth reveals how planetary building blocks were constructed
Washington DC (SPX) Feb 14, 2020
The farthest, most primitive object in the Solar System ever to be visited by a spacecraft - a bi-lobed Kuiper Belt Object known as Arrokoth - is described in detail in three new reports. The reports expand upon the first published results on this object, announced in a May 2019 issue of Science, and which were based on just a small amount of data downlinked from the New Horizons spacecraft afte ... more
+ New Horizons team discovers a critical piece of the planetary formation puzzle
+ TRIDENT Mission Concept Selected by NASA's Discovery Program
+ Findings from Juno Update Jupiter Water Mystery
+ One Step Closer to the Edge of the Solar System
+ Pluto's icy heart makes winds blow
+ Why Uranus and Neptune are different
+ Seeing stars in 3D: The New Horizons Parallax Program


Upside-down jellyfish can launch venomous balls of mucus
Washington DC (UPI) Feb 13, 2020
Cassiopea jellyfish, or upside-down jellyfish, are found in warm coastal waters all over the world. They often congregate on the seabed and pulse rhythmically. As many scientists and recreational swimmers can attest, these jellyfish can elicit a skin reaction from afar - a sting without contact. Encounters with so-called stinging water can cause a person's skin to sting and itch. ... more
+ Extinct South American giant turtle had 10-foot-wide horned shell
+ Mussels 'cooked alive' in balmy New Zealand ocean
+ Storm-induced sea level spikes differ in origin on US east, gulf coasts
+ Hydropower dams cool rivers in the Mekong River basin, satellites show
+ Blasting 'forever' chemicals out of water with a vortex of cold plasma
+ Coral reefs: Centuries of human impact
+ Algae team rosters could help ID 'super corals'
Four BeiDou satellites start operation in network
Beijing (XNA) Feb 17, 2020
Four satellites of the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) have recently passed tests in orbit and started operation in the network, according to China's Satellite Navigation System Management Office. The four satellites include the 41st, 49th, 50th and 51st satellites of the BDS family. The 41st BDS satellite, launched on Nov. 1, 2018, is operating in geostationary orbit, and t ... more
+ Third Lockheed Martin-Built GPS III satellite delivered to Cape Canaveral
+ Honeywell nets $3B+ deal for new Air Force navigation system sustainment
+ Google Maps marks 15-year milestone with new features
+ Space Force decommissions 26-year-old GPS satellite to make way for GPS 3 constellation
+ Using artificial intelligence to enrich digital maps
+ Galileo now replying to SOS messages worldwide
+ China's international journal Satellite Navigation launched


China's Chang'e-4 probe resumes work for 15th lunar day
Beijing (XNA) Feb 19, 2020
The lander and rover of the Chang'e-4 probe have resumed work for the 15th lunar day on the far side of the moon after "sleeping" during the extremely cold night. The lander woke up at 6:57 a.m. Tuesday (Beijing time), and the rover awoke at 5:55 p.m. Monday. Both are in normal working order, according to the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the China National Space Administra ... more
+ NASA awards contract to launch Lunar CubeSat
+ NASA selects university teams to build technologies for the Moon's darkest areas
+ NASA to hire more Artemis generation astronauts
+ NASA Administrator Statement on Moon to Mars Initiative, FY 2021 Budget
+ NASA commits to returning astronauts to the moon by 2024
+ One small grain of moon dust, one giant leap for lunar studies
+ NASA to Industry: Send Ideas for Lunar Rovers
First research results on the 'spectacular meteorite fall' of Flensburg
Munster, Germany (SPX) Feb 19, 2020
A fireball in the sky, accompanied by a bang, amazed hundreds of eyewitnesses in northern Germany in mid-September last year. The reason for the spectacle was a meteoroid entering the Earth's atmosphere and partially burning up. One day after the observations, a citizen in Flensburg found a stone weighing 24.5 grams and having a fresh black fusion crust on the lawn of his garden. Dieter He ... more
+ OSIRIS-REx Osprey Flyover
+ Leiden astronomers discover potential near-earth objects
+ How to deflect an asteroid
+ Supercharged light pulverises asteroids, study finds
+ Roscosmos to rename Russia's asteroid detection system to 'Milky Way'
+ Meteorite chunk contains unexpected evidence of presolar grains
+ OSIRIS-REx completes closest flyover of sample site Nightingale


Ball Aerospace-built Geostationary Air Quality Instrument Launches Successfully
Boulder CO (SPX) Feb 19, 2020
The Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS) instrument, jointly developed by Ball Aerospace and Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) under the leadership of Ball Aerospace, launched successfully on Feb. 18, 2020. GEMS was integrated onto KARI's GEO-KOMPSAT-2B satellite. Once operational in space, GEMS will be the first air quality sensor in geostationary orbit where i ... more
+ Verifying forecasts for major stratospheric sudden warmings
+ The atmosphere as global sensor
+ Saudi Arabia shivers in worst cold spell since 2016
+ Space key to wetland conservation
+ ECOSTRESS mission sees plants 'waking up' from space
+ Deep learning accurately forecasts heat waves, cold spells
+ Aerosols have an outsized impact on extreme weather
First Solar Orbiter instrument sends measurements
Paris (ESA) Feb 18, 2020
First measurements by a Solar Orbiter science instrument reached the ground on Thursday 13 February providing a confirmation to the international science teams that the magnetometer on board is in good health following a successful deployment of the spacecraft's instrument boom. Solar Orbiter, ESA's new Sun-exploring spacecraft, launched on Monday 10 February. It carries ten scientific ins ... more
+ Solar wind samples suggest new physics of massive solar ejections
+ ESA's next Sun mission will be shadow-casting pair
+ Solar Orbiter launches on mission to reveal Sun's secrets
+ Solar Orbiter set to launch in mission to reveal Sun's secrets
+ Sun explorer spacecraft set for launch
+ How ESA-NASA's Solar Orbiter beats the heat
+ Progress made toward priorities of Heliophysics Decadal Survey


Kazan University's telescope assists in discovering a binary star system Gaia16aye
Kazan, Russia (SPX) Feb 14, 2020
A co-author from Kazan University, Professor, Corresponding Member of the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences, Chair of the Department of Astronomy and Space Geodesy Ilfan Bikmaev, explains how the new system was found. "The gravitational lensing method is one of the most powerful space exploration tools. In space, photons deviate from the rectilinear direction when passing near a massive body ( ... more
+ ESO telescope sees surface of dim Betelgeuse
+ Galactic cosmic rays affect Titan's atmosphere
+ Method combination allows deep insights into ultrafast light-induced processes
+ Hyper-Kamiokande Project is officially approved
+ Citizen scientists discover rare cosmic pairing via Backyard Worlds project
+ Silver sawtooth creates valley-coherent light for nanophotonics
+ Galaxy formation simulated without dark matter
Producing single photons from a stream of single electrons
Cambridge UK (SPX) Feb 17, 2020
Researchers at the University of Cambridge have developed a novel technique for generating single photons, by moving single electrons in a specially designed light-emitting diode (LED). This technique, reported in the journal Nature Communications, could help the development of the emerging fields of quantum communication and quantum computation. A single photon, the elementary particle of ... more
+ Studying electrons, bridging two realms of physics: connecting solids and soft matter
+ Pitt study uncovers new electronic state of matter
+ AI tool developed to predict the structure of the Universe
+ Artificial intelligence can spot when correlation does mean causation
+ New quasi-particle discovered: The Pi-ton
+ Artificial intelligence 'sees' quantum advantages
+ Showing how the tiniest particles in our universe saved us from complete annihilation
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