Space Unites

By Jo Baptist

Space exploration at it’s best

Technology
NASA to launch safety review of SpaceX and Boeing after video of Elon Musk smoking pot rankled agency leaders
The Washington Post - By Christian Davenport
NASA has ordered a safety review of the two companies it has hired to fly astronauts to the International Space Station, a months-long assessment that would involve hundreds of interviews designed to the
Science
Cosmology Is in Crisis Over How to Measure the Universe
WIRED - Sarah Scoles
Let’s say you have a baby. Maybe you really do, maybe you don’t. But Dan Scolnic, a cosmologist at the University of Chicago, does have one, and …
Lifestyle (UK)
International Space Station: Twenty facts about the ISS as it celebrates its 20th birthday
independent.co.uk - Joe Sommerlad
The International Space Station (ISS) is celebrating its 20th birthday. Russian space agency Roscosmos kicked off the project to build a successor to …
Holiday Gift Ideas
Giant Lasers Bring Distant Twinkling Stars Into Sharp Focus
WIRED - Laura Mallonee
The twinkling of a starry night sky is romantic, sure. But for astronomer Dominika Wylezalek, “it’s a nightmare.” That’s because Wylezalek studies …
Science
Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway: the next space station will orbit the Moon
sciencefocus.com
A distance of 410,000km. That’s how far away astronauts will be when they’re living aboard a new space station that’s set to be built in orbit around …
Conservative View
Scientists Discover Neighboring Galaxy Hiding Very Close by
stream.org - Gavin Hanson
Scientists monitoring the Gaia observatory satellite found a "ghost" galaxy orbiting the far side of the Milky Way, according to data published by …
World News
ISS 20th Anniversary: What impact has it had on science so far?
Euronews - euronews
November 20, 2018 marks 20 years of collaboration on what many consider one of the greatest international projects of all time: the International Space Station. Built, crewed and operated in partnership
Space
Observing galaxy cluster collisions is quite the… enterprise
syfy.com - Phil Plait
When it comes to cosmic train wrecks, it’s hard to imagine anything more colossal than the collision between galaxy clusters. You have to understand: …
Future Cities
Here’s How Long You’d Survive on a Skyscraper That Hangs Off an Asteroid
futurism.com
A Literal Skyscraper “To go where no man has gone before” is a motto that resonates at the heart of many futurists and Trekkies (or Trekkers). The …
Asteroids
A 'samurai' swordsmith is designing a space probe
BBC Future - Chris Baraniuk
The ‘tamahagane’ steel used in traditional weapons may be the perfect material to cut through asteroids. If you wanted to slice stuff up in space, what would you bring with you? 'Samurai' swords, which
Science
Decolonizing Mars: Are We Thinking About Space Exploration All Wrong?
Gizmodo - Ryan F. Mandelbaum
GreedThis week, we explore greed—animal, human, and corporate. Interplanetary travel is pitched to us as a good thing. Explorers will visit other …
Science
Colorful Asteroids Near Neptune Reveal a Solar System Conundrum
scientificamerican.com - Katherine Kornei
Planets and moons often get the spotlight, but there is much to learn about our solar system from its vast numbers of smaller bodies such as comets …
Geek
Bill Nye: Humans Living on Mars is ‘Science Fiction’
Geek - By Stephanie Mlot
Mars, as seen by Mars Global Surveyor in 2003. (Photo Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS) Bill Nye the Science Guy is here to burst your celestial …
Science
Space: how far have we gone – and where are we going?
The Guardian - Oliver Holmes
Who has travelled to space? Space flight is now a venerable industry. Humanity’s first space explorer, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, orbited around the globe on 12 April 1961, more than half a century
Falcon Heavy
Elon Musk just renamed SpaceX’s Big F** Rocket
TechCrunch - Kirsten Korosec
BFR, the monster rocket that will cost SpaceX roughly $5 billion to develop, has a new name. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted late Monday night that he has renamed the company’s largest (and yet to be built)
Planets
The Drake equation: What are the odds that aliens exist?
astronomy.com - By Korey Haynes | Published: Friday, October 19, 2018
The Drake equation is one of astronomy’s most famous attempts to answer the question: Are we alone? It asks not just about any life, but the top …
Luxembourg
Luxembourg government assumes losses in Planetary Resources
luxtimes.lu
Luxembourg government has confirmed the loss of its €12 million investment in US space firm Planetary Resources. Following a series of parliamentary …
News
NASA bids Kepler 'goodnight' with last set of commands
Engadget - Mariella Moon
The space telescope has entered eternal sleep. The Kepler Space Telescope has officially gone to sleep for good. On November 15th, the death anniversary of its namesake German astronomer Johannes Kepler,
Roscosmos
Russia’s successful rocket launch is a good sign for next month’s astronaut mission
The Verge - Loren Grush
The same rocket that failed in October successfully made it to space Russia’s state space corporation, Roscosmos, successfully launched a cargo capsule to the International Space Station this afternoon
Obama Administration
Advisory group skeptical of NASA lunar exploration plans
spacenews.com - Jeff Foust
WASHINGTON — NASA’s plans to return humans to the surface of the moon within 10 years got a chilly reception from an advisory group Nov. 15, who …
Science
NASA 'will eventually' retire its new mega-rocket if SpaceX, Blue Origin can safely launch their own powerful rockets
Business Insider - Dave Mosher
• NASA is building a super-heavy-lift rocket called the Space Launch System to send astronauts back to the moon.• The SLS program has seen multiple delays and cost overruns, and the rocket is not reusable.•
Science
Top 5 Mars mysteries yet to be solved
National Geographic - Andrew Fazekas
Science & InnovationStarstruck We know a lot about the red planet after four decades of exploration. But some big questions remain unanswered. 5 Minute Read The fourth rock from the sun, Mars has long
S&P Global
Could Canada Become the First Country to Mine the Moon?
The Motley Fool - Rich Smith
There's momentum behind the movement, but don't count your space chickens before their moon rocks have hatched. Well, that was fast. Just two weeks …
Science
New space industry emerges: on-orbit servicing
phys.org
Imagine an airport where thousands of planes, empty of fuel, are left abandoned on the tarmac. That is what has been happening for decades with …
Baikonur
Soyuz returns to service with cargo launch to the ISS
newatlas.com - David Szondy
The Russian Soyuz launcher reentered service today as the unmanned Roscosmos Progress 71 cargo ship lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 1:14 …
Magnetism
Spacecraft Witness Explosion in Earth's Magnetic Field
Gizmodo - Ryan F. Mandelbaum
Magnetic fields around the Earth release strong bursts of energy, accelerating particles and feeding the auroras that glow in the polar skies. On …
History of Science
Mission Status
nasa.gov
Instrument Status Instrument Voyager 1 Voyager 2 Cosmic Ray Subsystem (CRS) ON ON Low-Energy Charged Particles (LECP) ON ON Magnetometer (MAG) ON ON Plasma Wave …
Space
NASA Just Detailed a Magnetic Explosion Right in Earth's Atmosphere
Science Alert - MIKE MCRAE
Every now and then, Earth's protective magnetic cage changes its stripes, sending explosive showers of charged particles spilling into the atmosphere. …
Gravitational Waves
Looking ahead to the LISA gravitational-wave detector
astronomy.com - By Alison Klesman | Published: Thursday, November 15, 2018
On November 9, Shane Larson — a research associate professor of physics at Northwestern University and the Associate Director of the Center for …