Month: August 2024

NASA CubeSats Launch as Commercial Rideshares

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A pair of CubeSats from NASA’s Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator series launched on SpaceX’s Transporter-11 rideshare mission at 11:56 a.m. PDT Friday, August 16, from Vandenburg Space Force Base in California. Photo credit: SpaceX A pair of CubeSats from NASA’s Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator, or PTD, series lifted off on SpaceX’s Transporter-11 rideshare mission at 11:56 a.m. PDT Friday, August 16, from Vandenburg Space Force Base in California. The two small satellites, PTD-4 and PTD-R, will help advance NASA’s efforts to validate novel technologies and increase small spacecraft capabilities in order to…

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NASA Awards $1.25 Million to Three Teams at Deep Space Food Finale

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Interstellar Lab, a small business comprised of team members from France, Texas, and Florida, took home the $750,000 grand prize for their food system, NUCLEUS, which uses a multi-pronged approach to growing and harvesting food outputs for astronauts on long-duration human space exploration missions. Credit: OSU/CFAES/Kenneth Chamberlain NASA has awarded a total of $1.25 million to three U.S. teams in the third and final round of the agency’s Deep Space Food Challenge. The teams delivered novel food production technologies that could provide long-duration human space exploration missions with safe, nutritious,…

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Revisiting OSIRIS-REx

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A training model of the sample return capsule is seen is seen during a drop test in preparation for the retrieval of the sample return capsule from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023, at the Department of Defense’s Utah Test and Training Range.

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Station Science Top News: August 16, 2024

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Locations designed as a maintenance work area and an exercise area on the International Space Station are commonly used by crew members for stowage and body maintenance activities, respectively. These differences between intended and actual use demonstrate that systematic observation of material culture can help researchers identify how astronauts adapt to life in microgravity and support better design of future spacecraft and habitats. The first archaeological fieldwork in space, SQuARE examined the space station’s material culture – objects and built spaces and their symbolic and social meanings – and how these objects and spaces…

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Nikon Trailblazer 8×25 ATB compact binoculars review

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Key specs Optics: BaK-4 roof-prism Magnification: 8x Waterproof/fog-proof: Yes/Yes Objective lens diameter: 25mm Angular field of view: 8.2 degrees Eye relief: 0.39-inch/10mm Weight: 9.9oz/281g The best pair of binoculars is the one you have with you — and the Nikon Trailblazer 8×25 ATB (called the Nikon Sportstar EX 8×25 in the U.K.) waterproof binoculars are so easy to take anywhere and everywhere. However, they lack the aperture to be used at night for much more than the moon.  With so many pairs of binoculars available across all shapes, sizes and…

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‘Star Trek: Discovery’ final season lands on DVD, Blu-ray and limited edition Steelbook

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“It has been a hell of a journey!” Now that “Star Trek: Discovery” has wrapped up its last cosmic mission this past spring, it’s time to clear some space in your video library for “Star Trek: Discovery – The Final Season.” It will hit DVD, Blu-ray and have a limited edition Steelbook release when it arrives from Paramount Home Entertainment on Aug. 27, 2024.  Sure, you can always still stream it on Paramount+ to your heart’s content, but the allure of these deluxe 4-disk physical editions for “Discovery’s” last run…

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Dinosaur-killing asteroid was a rare rock from beyond Jupiter, new study reveals

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The space rock that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago was a rare strike from an asteroid beyond Jupiter, a new study details. The finding pins down the nature of the fateful space rock and its origin within our solar system, and may benefit technology that forecasts asteroid strikes on our planet. Most scientists agree that the Chicxulub impactor — named after the community in modern-day Mexico near the 90-mile-wide (145 kilometers) crater carved by the rock — came from within our solar system. But its precise origins…

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Perseid meteor shower rains ‘shooting stars’ over Stonehenge in glorious astrophotography image

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The Perseids, one of the year’s most prolific meteor showers, peaked this week, raining dozens of “shooting stars” per hour through Earth’s skies. Some lucky stargazers caught a double feature of meteors and dazzling auroras, which were triggered by a spree of powerful solar eruptions earlier in the week. Others, like U.K.-based astrophotographer Josh Dury, hunted for meteors at thematically appropriate locales — namely, the prehistoric astronomical monument Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England. Stonehenge, built about 5,000 years ago to align with the sun on the summer solstice, is one of the most popular and intriguing…

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Robotic Russian Progress 89 cargo ship docks at ISS with tons of fresh supplies (video)

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An uncrewed Russian cargo ship successfully docked at the International Space Station early Saturday (Aug. 17) to deliver tons of fresh gear, food and other vital supplies.  The automated Progress 89 spacecraft linked up with the International Space Station (ISS) at 1:53 a.m. EDT (0553 GMT) at the station’s Russian-built Zvezda service module as both spacecraft sailed 260 miles (418 km) over the South Pacific Ocean.  “Contact confirmed, docking confirmed,” NASA spokesperson Rob Navias said during live commentary as the Progress spacecraft arrived. “Progress has reached the International Space Station.” …

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This Week In Space podcast: Episode 124 —Space For Everyone

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Space For Everyone – A Chat with STEM Advocate Czarina Salido – YouTube Watch On On Episode 124 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik talk with Czarina Salido about the underrepresentation of women in STEM fields. Salido, a physics graduate of mixed Mexican and Native American heritage, founded Taking Up Space in 2014. This nonprofit aims to address the underrepresentation of women, particularly Native American girls, in STEM fields. Based near Tucson, the organization provides mentoring, instruction, and Space Camp scholarships to disadvantaged girls on a…

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