NASA’s DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) targeted the asteroid moonlet Dimorphos, a small body just 530 feet (160 meters) in diameter. It orbits a larger, 2,560-foot (780-meter) asteroid called Didymos. Neither asteroid poses a threat to Earth. The mission’s one-way trip confirmed NASA can successfully navigate a spacecraft to intentionally collide with an asteroid to …
Yale researchers have determined that the asteroid was the main cause of the death of dinosaurs. Massive volcanic eruptions in India in the region known as the Deccan Traps happened well before the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event 66 million years ago and therefore did not contribute to the mass extinction. They pinpointed the timing of volcanic …
The Carnival of Space 629 is up at Universe Today. Universe Today – Europe and US are Going to Try and Deflect an Asteroid The three-day International AIDA Workshop, which ran from Sept. 11th to 13th, focused on the development of the joint NASA-ESA Asteroid Impact Deflection Assessment (AIDA) mission. The purpose of this two-spacecraft …
New Horizons’ high-resolution Long-Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) provided the best indication of Ultima Thule’s size and shape so far. Preliminary measurements of this Kuiper Belt object suggest it is approximately 20 miles long by 10 miles wide (32 kilometers by 16 kilometers). An artist’s impression at right illustrates one possible appearance of Ultima Thule, based …
Japan’s asteroid mission Hayabusa2 has successfully dropped the first two rovers to the surface of its target space rock Ryugu. Hayabusa2 dropped to a lowest altitude of just 55 meters from the surface and released twin rovers, called MINERVA-II 1A and 1B. Cameras on the hexagonal rovers will use rotating motors to hop across the …
The first-ever mission to demonstrate an asteroid deflection technique for planetary defense — the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) — is moving from concept development to preliminary design phase. Artist concept of NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft. DART, which is moving to preliminary design phase, would be NASA’s first mission to demonstrate an …
Lockheed Martin and the United States Air Force have been working on improving the performance of the F-22 Raptor’s stealth coatings. While the Raptor is by far the most capable air superiority fighter ever built, its Achilles’ Heel since it entered service has been maintenance. The F-22’s sensitive radar absorbent coatings have proven to be …
Astro Teller, director of the moonshot factory at Alphabet known simply as X, explains how he is a “culture engineer” and how he systematizes innovation by creating a work environment where employees are encouraged to be audacious. He says they are given the freedom to work on projects that inspire them and that they want …
Samsung just introduced hearable wearables devices will at least get a mass-market introduction. Hearables will help people of normal hearing by enhancing their ability to hear in the presence of noise. WiFore Consulting predicts that hearables will be the fastest growing wearable market, exploding upward to over $16 billion by 2020. The reason is that …
Russian state media is reporting that the country’s Defense Ministry is developing a nuclear-armed bomber than could launch attacks from space. A prototype aircraft is under development and will be ready for trials by 2020. According to RIA Novosti, the engine, for the spaceplane, has already been tested and is expected to make its public …
India’s robust growth rate is likely to level off in the coming year and could drop to as low as 7 per cent in an “increasingly grim” world economy, according to Arvind Subramanian, the government’s chief economic adviser. Releasing India’s annual economic survey on Friday ahead of next week’s budget, Mr Subramanian said India had …
