It is a saying we get tired of hearing: “space is hard.” Most often it a reflection of the cold reality of every aspect of space, but it can also be an excuse to cover questionable decisions or poor engineering. Mars has a way of pushing for answers on both. On Wednesday, the European Space […]
Yesterday, Google Lunar X Prize competitor Moon Express announced that it has received approval for what will be the first purely commercial mission to go beyond Earth’s immediate orbit. If all goes according to plan, and that is a pretty big if considering the variables involved, ME’s MX-1 lander will launch out of New Zealand […]
Two recent news items highlight the slow, but steady progress being made to set the stage for the robotic exploration and utilization of space beyond low Earth orbit. First, the tiny European nation of Luxembourg, already home to two of the world’s largest ComSat companies, announced a new initiative, called spaceresources.lu to promote space mining and […]
The House appropriations sub-committee which funds NASA held a hearing yesterday regarding the Administration’s FY-2017 budget request. Background The Administration request for FY 2017 is $18.262 billion. NASA says that the proposed budget is really $19.025 billion because it includes $763 million from other sources. The Congressional appropriation (what NASA actually received) for FY 2016 was […]
Surviving the threat of cancellation following discovery of significant problems with one of its main instruments, NASA’s InSight Mars mission, which had been scheduled to launch this month, has new life, and a new launch date. NASA Press Release: NASA Targets May 2018 Launch of Mars InSight Mission NASA’s Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy […]
The Indian space program was on display yesterday at the week long “Make In India” event being held in Mumbai to highlight that nation’s transition into a rising technological and economic powerhouse. ISRO, the Indian Space Research Organization took the opportunity meet with suppliers in conjunction with its plans to largely privatize operations of its […]
There is an interesting trend developing with the $20 million dollar Google Lunar XPrize. Earlier this year, Pittsburgh, PA. based Astrobotics, which hopes to develop regular deliver service to the Moon, announced that it has signed an agreement with the sole Japanese entry, Team Hakuto, to transport that team’s twin rovers to the Moon along […]
Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko / Image credit ESA The weekend brought great news for the European Space Agency’s Rosetta/Philae mission. From ESA’s Rosetta blog: “Rosetta’s lander Philae is out of hibernation! The signals were received at ESA’s European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt at 22:28 CEST on 13 June. More than 300 data packets have been analysed […]
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