NASA is pursuing six new, far-out ideas. The company’s Revolutionary Superior Ideas program (NIAC) has selected six concept studies for added funding and growth. These visionary tasks goal to revolutionize facets of area exploration and utilization. They embrace a propulsion system that makes use of fission-generated packets of plasma for thrust, a mega constellation of autonomous SmallSats for measuring the magnetic fields emitted from exoplanets and the cosmic darkish ages, a lunar railway system, and more. Pictured: A collage of artist ideas of the six tasks. Picture credit: NASA, From left: Edward Balaban, Mary Knapp, Mahmooda Sultana, Brianna Clements, Ethan Schaler.
NASA is asking Congress for extra cash to deorbit the ISS. NASA Administrator Invoice Nelson spoke earlier than members of the Home Science, House, and Know-how Committee at present asking them to approve cash to construct a deorbit automobile for the Worldwide House Station, separate from NASA’s common price range request. The estimated price of the deorbit automobile has grown to $1.5 billion over six years.
Chang’e-6 is carrying a shock rover to the Moon. After launching the Chang’e-6 spacecraft on Could 3, China shared an image that showed what appeared to be a small rover hooked up to the lander. The rover was beforehand undisclosed as a payload. It could carry an infrared imaging spectrometer, which may very well be used to find out the composition of the lunar rocks and soil, together with the presence of water.
A brand new report is warning of elevated orbital congestion. One of many findings of a new report on the state of satellite tv for pc deployments and orbital operations from Slingshot Aerospace is {that a} whole of 12,597 spacecraft have been in orbit as of the top of 2023. This represents a 12.4% improve within the whole variety of satellites deployed in comparison with 2022 and contains 3,356 inactive satellites. All of this congestion will increase the hazard of collisions between spacecraft.
