Category Archives: Space Exploration

One year after travelling to space, 91-year-old William Shatner, the actor who played Captain Kirk in Star Trek, describes a death vision in his new book.

After experiencing space, Astronauts have often described the overview effect, a shift in awareness by seeing Earth from outer space as a tiny, fragile ball of life. The term was coined by author Frank White in 1987 in his book, The Overview Effect Space Exploration and Human Evolution. Certainly, William Shatner was not indifferent to this feeling, which he recalled after joining a suborbital space journey last year with Jeff Bezos Blue Origin.

After his memorable role on the 1960s TV show, the 91-year-old Captain Kirk from Star Trek has recently published a biography called Boldly Go, which he co-wrote with TV and film writer Joshua Brandon. His new book, published by Simon and Schuster, is filled with peculiar anecdotes about Shatners experience above the Earths atmosphere, denoting a grim vision of humankind.

I saw a cold, dark, black emptiness. It was unlike any blackness you can see or feel on Earth. It was deep, enveloping, all-encompassing. I turned back toward the light of home. I could see the curvature of Earth, the beige of the desert, the white of the clouds and the blue of the sky. It was life. Nurturing, sustaining, life. Mother Earth. Gaia. And I was leaving her, reads an excerpt from Boldly Go that was first published by Variety. Everything I had thought was wrong. Everything I had expected to see was wrong, reads the book.

Shatner landed back on Earth in awe and he wasnt able to immediately process all the feelings and overwhelming emotions of that unique moment. Later on, he described sadness and the terrible feeling that humans are slowly destroying our home planet.

I didnt realize it [sadness] until I got down. When I stepped out of the spacecraft, I started crying. I didnt know why. It took me hours to understand why I was weeping. I realized I was in grief for the Earth.

When asked about the criticism surrounding space tourism, Shatner said the whole idea was to get people accustomed to going to space, as if its like going to the Riviera. Its not only a vanity its a business, he said. Still, Shatner referred to what Jeff Bezos ambition of moving heavy industries into orbit and get the earth back to what it was a concept that has its numbers of skeptics and critics.

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William Shatner recalls death vision on travelling to space - Travel Tomorrow

AirSpace Season 6, Ep. 11: October Sky | National Air and Space Museum One museum, two locations Visit us in Washington, DC and Chantilly, VA to explore hundreds of the worlds most significant objects in aviation and space history. Visit National Air and Space Museum in DC Udvar-Hazy Center in VA Plan a field trip Group tours At the museum and online Discover our exhibitions and participate in programs both in person or virtually. What's On Events Exhibitions IMAX Dive deep into air and space Browse our collections, stories, research, and on demand content. Explore Stories Topics Collections On demand For researchers For teachers and parents Bring the Air and Space Museum to your learners, wherever you are. Learn Programs Learning resources Plan a field trip Educator professional development Education monthly theme Be the spark Your support will help fund exhibitions, educational programming, and preservation efforts. Give Become a member Wall of Honor Ways to give Host an Event

AirSpace Season 6, Ep. 11: October Sky Oct 13, 2022

On October 4, 1957 the Soviet Union successfully launched the first artificial Earth satellite, Sputnik. This early Space Race milestone sparked a lot of reaction it was unsettling for some, but for others it inspired an interest in rocketry and brought many scientists into the space industry. One of those people was Homer Hickam, a high schooler in a small West Virginia mining town who would go on to work for NASA, write a memoir, and inspire a movie. On todays episode we unpack that film October Sky. If you went to high school in the last 20 years, theres a chance you saw it in a chemistry or physics class. But, turns out, that wasnt the case for Matt, Emily, or Nick! Its rare for these three to unpack a space movie after all seeing it for the very first time. Tune in to hear their initial impressions, what was mispronounced, and what could have been better!

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AirSpace Season 6, Ep. 11: October Sky - National Air and Space Museum

Fifty-three years ago, three men, with a team of nearly 400,000 people behind them, did what was previously thought impossible: they went to the Moon.

Collins, Armstrong, and Aldrins names went down in history as the crew of Apollo 11, markers of the feats of the human race. Six moon-landing missions were to follow Apollo 11, the last ending near the close of 1972.

This fall, NASA is going back. To do so, they have spent the past decade building the Space Launch System (SLS), a 70 metric tonnes, 321 foot tall rocket with 8.4 million pounds of thrust at take-off, carrying nearly 154,000 pounds of payload.

The first Orion spacecraft launch is part of NASAs new Artemis programme, named for Apollos twin sister in Greek mythology. Artemis I, as the uncrewed mission is dubbed, will be the first in a series of missions intending to take humans back to the moon, with Artemis II planned to be an all-female crew in cislunar operation following a successful Artemis I. NASA hopes to recapture public imagination through these missions, advance scientific innovation, and pave the way for deep space exploration.

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The space race and cryogenic systems - gasworld

AUSTIN, Texas Moriba Jah, an astrodynamicist, space environmentalist and aerospace engineer at The University of Texas at Austin, has been awarded a MacArthur Fellowship, often referred to as the genius grant. The award recognizes Jahs work to track and monitor the more than 30,000 human-made objects orbiting the earth.

Jah is one of 25 individuals selected for the five-year fellowship a no-strings-attached investment in a persons originality, insight and potential.Recipients are nominated based on proven talent and extraordinary originality and dedication to their creative pursuits.

Jah, an associate professor in the Cockrell School of Engineerings Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, has developed tools for more precisely determining the locations and possible orbital paths of the active and inactive satellites, rocket bodies and other debris in space. This knowledge gives scientists a better picture of where objects are related to each other and when a collision could occur.

In tracking these objects, Jah and his colleagues have built complete catalogs of space objects in orbit. These tools ASTRIAGraph and Wayfinder, a new version designed specifically for use by the general public are online visualization tools, freely available to all, that integrate information from governments, industry and researchers.

The orbital highways are getting crowded, and the services and capabilities that we depend upon are in jeopardy of being lost due to collisions from orbiting space debris, and its very difficult to predict where and when those things might happen, Jah said.

Jah is an outspoken advocate for space environmentalism, a framework for treating Earths orbit as a finite natural resource that needs to be preserved and protected. Jah has proposed policies to create a circular space economy, preventing pollution in the form of single-use satellites and incentivizing companies to reuse satellites rather than abandon them.

In addition to his research, Jah is a co-founder and chief scientist at Privateer. His fellow co-founders in the private space venture are Alex Fielding, who co-founded technology company Ripcord, and Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple. Together they focus on similar areas to Jahs research, collecting data on objects in orbit to allow space operators to move safely and effectively.

Moriba is leading the way in one of the most important areas of space exploration navigation in the increasingly crowded space above the earth and the prevention of more pollution in space, said Roger Bonnecaze, dean of the Cockrell School. He is one of a kind, and we are proud to have him in our Texas Engineering community, advancing space environmentalism and tracking orbital debris in new and incredibly impactful ways.

Jah is the 10th UT Austin faculty member awarded a MacArthur Foundation fellowship, joining: Monica Muoz Martinez (History, 2021),Livia Schiavinator Eberlin(Chemistry, 2018),Annie Baker(Theatrical Arts, 2017),Branden Jacobs-Jenkins(Theatre Arts, 2016),Jacqueline Jones(History, 1999),David Hillis(Integrative Biology, 1999),Nancy Moran(Integrative Biology, 1997),Nora C. England(Linguistics, 1993),Philip Uri Treisman(Mathematics, 1992),Thomas G. Palaima(Classics, 1985),David Stuart(Linguistics & Archeology, 1984), andKaren K. Uhlenbeck(Mathematics, 1983).

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Space Environmentalist Awarded 'Genius Grant' by MacArthur Foundation - UT News - The University of Texas at Austin

Pittsburgh has never been closer to outer space than right now. And theres a window on the North Side that you can look through to see space exploration happening in real-time.

The Moonshot Museum opens Saturday, Oct. 15, inside the headquarters of space/tech company Astrobotic, which has received more than $200 million to deliver a NASA rover to the moon.

Because the Moonshot Museum is co-located at Astrobotic, visitors will have access to all the contributors who make space exploration happen engineers, lawyers, writers, designers, says John Thornton, CEO of Astrobotic and board chair for the Moonshot Museum.

(Space lawyers! Netflix, are you listening? Dibs on that idea for a TV pilot).

Pittsburgh has a lot of great, weird museums, but getting a new one is worth celebrating.

The Moonshot Museum, which NEXTpittsburgh previewed last year, is basically an introduction to todays booming space industry, which has spawned a number of private companies such as SpaceX and Blue Origin, that often work in concert with government space agencies such as NASA.

The highlight of the museum is the glass-walled station where you can observe scientists and engineers tinkering with Astrobotics moon landers and rovers in a bright white clean room.

Moonshot Museum shows what living on the moon might be like. Photo by Mike Machosky.

A clean room is where the air is purified, more than the usual environment, says Mike Hennessy, manager of learning & programs for the Moonshot Museum. Imagine a shoebox of air might have millions of particulates in it; a clean room can get that down to 100,000 or even 10,000 particles. And when folks are working in the clean room they have to stay clean too to make sure that a speck of dust or an eyelash or a bit of makeup doesnt end up on a delicate sensor.

The museum also has models of spacecraft, including the rocket that will take the Peregrine Lunar Lander to the moon and Astrobotics CubeRover that will go forth on its surface.

Astrobotic selected a United Launch Alliance rocket to take its Peregrine Lunar Lander to the moon. Photo by Mike Machosky.

Peregrine, which will be the first American lunar lander in 50 years, will bring payloads to the moons surface later this year, including scientific instruments from three national space agencies (including 11 from NASA alone), a rover from Carnegie Mellon, and the Hope Moonshot from Penn State Outreach.

The Moonshot Museums grand opening celebration takes place on Saturday, Oct. 15, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with local and national leaders in attendance, giveaways and special activities presented by the Carnegie Science Center, Attack Theater, Mattress Factory, BotsIQ and the Amateur Astronomers Association of Pittsburgh. North Side residents (with proof of address in the 15214, 15233 or 15212 ZIP codes) are invited for a free preview day on Thursday, Oct. 13, from 2 to 7 p.m.

Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for children 3-17, and free for children 2 and under. The museum is located at 1016 N. Lincoln Ave. in Manchester. For more information, visit the website or call 412-314-4111.

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Pittsburgh moves closer to space when the Moonshot Museum opens Saturday - NEXTpittsburgh

Hispanic men and women paving the way in the Space Program

Updated: 6:03 PM EDT Oct 10, 2022

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CHRISTINA: I LOVE IT. ITS AN OUT OF THIS WORLD INDUSTRY, BUT IT TAKES PEOPLE FROM AROUND THE WORLD TO MAKE IT HAPPEN. WERE TALKING ABOUT THE SPACE PROGRAM. STEWART: OF COURSE. IN CELEBRATION OF HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH, WESH 2S MEGAN MELLADO SPOKE TO LEADERS AT NASA WHO ARE MAKING HISTORY. MEGAN: ITS BEEN A BIG YEAR FOR SPACE EXPLORATION, BUT THE LAUNCHES AND MISSIONS WOULDNT BE POSSIBLE WITHOUT THE TEAM MEMBERS BEHIND THEM, MANY OF WHICH ARE FROM PLACES LIKE COLOMBIA AND PUERTO RICO. WE SPOKE TO SOME OF THE HISPANIC MEN AND WOMEN HELPING US GET TO THE MOON AND BEYOND. >> IM ORIGINALLY FROM ISABELA, PUERTO RICO. >> I WAS BORN IN CARTAGENA, COLOMBIA. >> MY PARENTS GREW UP IN PUERTO RICO, SPECIFICALLY SAN GERMAN. >> I WAS BORN IN MIAMI BUT MY PARENTS ARE FROM VENEZUELA. >> I WAS BORN AND RAISED IN PUERTO RICO. I GREW UP IN A TOWN CALLED CAMUY, PUERTO RICO. I PRIMARILY SUPPORT OUR DIRECTOR, OUR PROGRAM MANAGER, AND OUR DEPUTY PROGRAM MANAGER IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ALL THE PLANS IN SUPPORT OF THE ARTEMIS MISSION. IVE BEEN IN THIS POSITION FOR ABOUT TWO YEARS. IVE BEEN WITH NASA FOR ABOUT 20 YEARS. >> I WORK WITH DEEP SPACE LOGISTICS WHICH IS ONE OF THE , VEHICLES THATLL BE PART OF THE GATEWAY THAT WILL TAKE SUPPLIES AND EXPERIMENTS TO THE LUNAR STATION. IVE BEEN WITH NASA FOR 15 YEARS AND IVE BEEN WITH DEEP SPACE LOGISTICS FROM THE VERY BEGINNING OF THE MISSION SO THATS PRETTY NEAT. >> IVE BEEN A TEST DIRECTOR SINCE 2006, SO ITS BEEN QUITE SOME TIME. I GOT TO FLY THE LAST 25 SPACE SHUTTLE MISSIONS OR SO. I ALSO WAS A LAUNCH DIRECTOR FOR THE AIR FORCE, I WAS A RESERVIST BACK THEN AND I GOT TO FLY A LOT OF MISSIONS ON DELTA 4, ATLAS 5, AND SPACEX MISSIONS. ALWAYS WAS INTERESTED IN BUILDING THINGS AND WHATNOT, AND IT WAS A NATURAL PROGRESSION TO GO INTO ENGINEERING AND EVENTUALLY DOING SOMETHING WITHIN THE SPACE BUSINESS. >> WITH NASA, TECHNICALLY 15 YEARS, HERE AT KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, 22 YEARS. >> I WANTED TO ALWAYS BE AN AEROSPACE ENGINEER SINCE I WENT TO THE VISITORS CENTER WHEN I WAS YOUNG AND WANTED TO BE AN ASTRONAUT. SO HERE I AM, I MEAN I WAS REALLY, REALLY LUCKY I WAS AT THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME. DIDNT BECOME AN ASTRONAUT, BUT CLOSE ENOUGH. >> WERE ON THE CATWALK RIGHT NOW, THIS IS THE UPPER LEVEL OF THE CRAWLER. THIS IS WHERE WE MONITOR OUR STEERING, OUR HYDRAULICS RIGHT HERE. SOMETIMES WE COME OUT HERE, WE DO OPERATIONAL CHECKS, WE RUN MOTORS, ENGINES, SUBSYSTEMS. WE ALSO FOR A GOOD PORTION OF OUR JOB SUPPORT THE OPERATIONS OF THE INTEGRATED FLIGHT SYSTEMS BEST KNOWN FOR BRINGING THE ARTEMIS I ROCKET FROM THE VAB, TAKING IT DOWN THE 4.5 MILE TREK UP TO THE PAD. ITS CALLED A CRAWLER FOR A REASON, ITS NOT A FAST VEHICLE. IT TAKES -- TRAVEL TIME FROM OUTSIDE THE VAB TO PAD SLOPE, WE AVERAGE 7 TO 8 HOURS BUT IF YOURE TALKING ENTIRE OPERATION TIME WERE TALKING PROBABLY CLOSER TO MAYBE 16 TO 20 HOURS. ITS A HUGE VEHICLE. ITS 20 TO 26 FEET HIGH DEPENDING ON OUR LEVEL, ITS 131 FEET LONG, 114 FEET WIDE, AND ITS 6.5 MILLION POUNDS, SO DRIVING IT IS A VERY UNIQUE EXPERIENCE. I CANT REALLY COMPARE IT TO ANY SINGLE THING. >> I LOVE THE FACT I AM HISPANIC. WHEN IM IN MEETINGS, I GET VERY PASSIONATE, I AM LIKE IT IS BECAUSE IM HISPANIC. >> ITS AN HONOR FOR ME TO REPRESENT THE HISPANIC COMMUNITY AND AS PART OF MY JOB I GET THE CHANCE TO TALK TO HISPANIC STUDENTS ALL OVER THE NATION AND SHARE THE ARTEMIS STORY. >> I HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THERE HAVE BEEN HISPANICS WHO HAVE COME BEFORE ME AND THERE WILL HOPEFULLY BE MANY THAT COME AFTER ME. SO I TRY TO LEAD BY THAT EXAMPLE AND WORK TO THE BEST OF MY CAPABILITIES AND BE PART OF A SUCCESSFUL SPACE PROGRAM. MEGAN: WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IS THE MOST REWARDING PART? >> TO INSPIRE THE NEXT GENERATI

Hispanic men and women paving the way in the Space Program

Updated: 6:03 PM EDT Oct 10, 2022

Its been a big year for space exploration, but the launches and missions wouldnt be possible without the team members behind them, many of whom are from places like Colombia, Venezuela, and Puerto Rico. WESH 2 News spoke with some of the Hispanic men and women helping us get to the moon and beyond, including senior NASA Test Director Danny Zeno; NASA Landing and Recovery director, Liliana Villarreal; electrical engineer with the Crawler Transporter Group, Daniel Zapata; Exploration Ground Systems chief of staff, Sasha Sims; and Kat Vasquez with Gateway's Deep Space Logistics Project.

Its been a big year for space exploration, but the launches and missions wouldnt be possible without the team members behind them, many of whom are from places like Colombia, Venezuela, and Puerto Rico.

WESH 2 News spoke with some of the Hispanic men and women helping us get to the moon and beyond, including senior NASA Test Director Danny Zeno; NASA Landing and Recovery director, Liliana Villarreal; electrical engineer with the Crawler Transporter Group, Daniel Zapata; Exploration Ground Systems chief of staff, Sasha Sims; and Kat Vasquez with Gateway's Deep Space Logistics Project.

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Hispanic men and women paving the way in the Space Program - WESH 2 Orlando

Venus is Earths nearest planetary neighbor. It may have been the first habitable world in our solar system, but its not any longer. The intense pressure, heat and corrosive gases of Venus surface are enough to disable even the most robust spacecraft in a matter of hours. But a few dozen miles overhead, the thick atmosphere is far more hospitable to robotic exploration.

A new space exploration concept envisions pairing a balloon with a Venus orbiter, the two working in tandem to study Earths sister planet. While the orbiter would remain far above the atmosphere, taking science measurements and serving as a communication relay, an aerial robotic balloon, or aerobot, about 40 feet (12 meters) in diameter would travel into it.

Paul Byrne, associate professor of earth and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, is a science collaborator for a prototype aerobot built by NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Near Space Corp. A scaled-down version of the aerobot that could one day take to the Venusian skies recently completed two Nevada test flights.

The success of these test flights is a huge deal for us: Weve successfully demonstrated the technology well need for investigating the clouds of Venus, said Byrne, who is a faculty fellow of the universitys McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences. These tests form the foundation for how we can achieve long-term robotic exploration high above Venus hellish surface.

The shimmering silver balloon ascended more than 4,000 feet (1 kilometer) over Nevadas Black Rock Desert to a region of Earths atmosphere that approximates the temperature and density the aerobot would experience about 180,000 feet (55 kilometers) above Venus. The prototype is about one-third the size of the future balloon that scientists envision for space flight.

The tests represent a milestone in proving the concepts suitability for accessing a region of Venus atmosphere too low for orbiters to reach, but where a balloon mission could operate for weeks or even months.

Read more about the aerial robotic balloon from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

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Venus balloon prototype aces test flights - The Source - Washington University in St. Louis

LITTLETON, Colorado, October 13, 2022 (NewSpace Global PR) For the first time in 50 years, humans are preparing to venture out beyond Earth orbit to the moon. This new era will bring exciting new commercial opportunities from Earth orbit to the lunar surface and beyond.

A new report, Cislunar Market Opportunities In-Space Business within the Earth-Moon System, provides an in-depth analysis of this emerging economy. The 161-page report provides detailed information on programs being undertaken by leading companies and space agencies around the world. There are in-depth analyses of commercial prospects as well as resources sections with links to official websites, stories, reports and press releases.

The report is broken down into five sections.

Cislunar Market Opportunities provides a comprehensive overview of all the major activities and players in the sector. It is an update on NewSpace Globals 2019 report on the cislunar sector.

The report is a must-have for anyone who wants to understand this emerging space sector. Download it today: https://cislunar.report/

About NewSpace Global

NewSpace Global, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Multiverse Media Group, has been a leading market analysis firm specializing in emerging commercial space opportunities since 2011. The new Cislunar Market Opportunities report marks the return of scheduled and timely reports from NewSpace Global, which is under new management.

About the Multiverse Media Group

The Multiverse Media Group is a media company focusing on space exploration, science, and technology. Multiverse Media has three divisions: digital news and intelligence, publishing, and film. Our film division created the multiple award-winning documentary, The High Frontier: The Untold Story of Gerard K. ONeill, which is now available on Blu-ray, DVD, and Apple TV.

Media Contact: cislunar.report@newspaceglobal.com

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From the Earth to the Moon (and Beyond): New In-depth Report Provides Detailed Review of Commercial Opportunities in Cislunar Space Parabolic Arc -...

NASA and SpaceX recently announcedthat they had signed a Space Act Agreement to study the possibility of reboosting and even servicing the Hubble Space Telescope with the Crew Dragon. Its welcomed news for those who care about space exploration and science. Hubble has returned an incredible amount of scientific data, not to mention beautiful images, in the over 30 years it has scanned the heavens.

NASA designed the Hubble Telescope to be serviceable by the space shuttle. The decision was fortuitous when the Hubbles mirror turned out to have a flaw in it soon after it was launched in 1990. The first shuttle service mission in 1993 fixed the flaw and implemented several other enhancements. In all, NASA performedfive Hubble service missions, the last taking place in 2009, soon before the space shuttle program ended.

NASA had planned to use the Hubble as long as possible.According to Ars Technica, the space telescopes orbit is slowly decaying.Three out of the Hubbles six gyroscopeshave failed. NASA estimates that the Hubble Space Telescope will have to be retired in a controlled reentry at the end of the current decade.

The SpaceXCommercial Crew program, which replaced the space shuttle to take astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS), is in its third presidential administration. After suffering a bumpy start, thanks to Obama administration political missteps and congressional hostility, the initial Commercial Crew flights took place during the final year of the Trump administration. Currently, SpaceXs Crew Dragon is not only keeping the ISS staffed with astronauts, but it has also started to fly private flights, such as last years Inspiration4. The much-delayed Boeing Starliner is also scheduled to start launching to the ISS in 2023.

Against the backdrop of a successful commercial space industry, SpaceX and billionaire philanthropist Jared Isaacman made NASA an intriguing offer to study the possibility of sending a Crew Dragon to reboost and possibly service the Hubble Space Telescope. NASA and SpaceX signed an agreement to conduct a six-month study for just such a mission.

Isaacman already financed theInspiration4 missionthat raised an incredible amount of money for St. Judes Childrens Research Hospital. He has started a series of Crew Dragon missions called the Polaris Program, the first of which is scheduled to occur in March 2023. A future Polaris mission could visit the Hubble Space Telescope.

If NASA approves a Crew Dragon mission to the Hubble, the iconic space telescope could see 15 to 20 years added to its useful life. That is upwards of two decades more of useful science and mind-blowing images returned for scientific advancement and inspiration for the general public.

A private reboost and servicing mission to Hubble will have several challenges. The space telescope is a delicate instrument and any crew visiting it will have to be careful with it. The space shuttle crews that conducted Hubble servicing missions trained for many months to make sure they would not damage the space telescope. A private mission would entail some measure of risk.

Still, if SpaceX and NASA undertake a Hubble mission, the wisdom of commercializing space travel will have been proven once again. Commercial spacecraft are already keeping the ISS supplied and crewed at a fraction of the cost of NASAs space shuttle. Extending the Hubble Space Telescopes useful life by two decades for a fraction of a space shuttle servicing missions cost is a compelling notion.

Recently, NASAs James Webb Space Telescope successfully launched and deployed. The James Webb is already returning its own treasure trove of science and images. If the Hubbles life is extended, the two telescopes can work in tandem. The Hubble can image celestial targets in the visible light spectrum. The James Webb can image the same targets in infrared. Together, the Hubble and James Webb telescopes can unlock the secrets of the universe.

Farther in the future, astronauts returning to the moon on private lunar landers such as theSpaceX Starshipwould be able to erect telescopes on the moons surface, starting with theLunar Crater Radio Telescope. Such telescopes would become even greater windows through which humanitys knowledge of the heavens can flow, expanding that knowledge and inciting awe and wonder.

MarkR.Whittingtonis the authorofspace explorationstudiesWhy is It So Hard to Go Back to the Moon?as well asThe Moon, Mars and Beyond,andWhy is America Going Back to the Moon?He blogs atCurmudgeons Corner.

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SpaceX studies extending the life of NASAs Hubble Space Telescope - The Hill

The United Arab Emirates Rashid rover which is to be sent to regions of the Moon unexplored by humans has cleared all tests, pushing the mission one step closer to its launch into outer space.

As part of the Emirates Lunar Mission, the 10-kilogram robotic explorer which has been built in the UAE by Emirati engineers working with the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) - will send back images and collect data on lunar soil and dust once it reaches the Red Planet.

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The mission is expected to launch from a spaceport in Cape Canaveral, Florida, next month on board a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

Congratulations to the ELM team that worked tirelessly to get Rashid Rover ready for the launch, said Salem AlMarri, Director General of MBRSC. The lunar mission will engineer a new scientific reality for Emiratis and pave the way for more space exploration missions by MBRSC.

This mission also exemplifies the nation's spirit of innovation and scientific progress, while also contributing to global space science research and explorations.

Over the last four months, the rover was exposed to a series of rigorous internal and external reviews, state news agency WAM reported Thursday.

The reviews were designed to test out every one of the multitudes of systems and subsystems of the rover during the launch stage, cruise stage, and descent stage.

At the beginning of the year, the ELM rover completed the assembly and first set of full functional tests of the flight model in the laboratories of MBRSC. This phase of testing included assessments of all the functionality of the hardware and software within all the possible on-surface (lunar) scenarios.

This phase also included a heavy vibration test of the model at the EDGEs Electro-Optics Centre of Excellence (EOCE) laboratories based in Abu Dhabi.

In the second phase, the Rashid rover completed a series of environmental tests in Toulouse, France.

This included two sections of the evaluation: The first was the final thermal and vacuum tests within the Airbus facility, in which the Rover was heated and cooled to simulate the pressures and temperatures of its journey through space and on the Moon's surface.

The second and last section of the environmental tests included rigorous vibration and shock checks of the flight model at the CNES Labs.

The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre's Rashid rover, the UAEs first mission to the lunar surface, officially cleared all required tests, pushing the mission one step closer to its launch pad rollout and liftoff. (Supplied)

For this, the rover was shaken on a vibration table simulating the environment the rover will encounter during the launch atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as well as be subjected to the same shocks it will experience decelerating in the lunar atmosphere, the intense impact of deployment and touchdown.

The tests campaign concluded in Germany with the final phase of checks on the interfaces with the ispace lander that will safely deliver the rover to the Moon's surface. This phase also included instrument alignment checks, such as imaging systems, and a final functional test of the integrated system following the environmental campaign.

Dr. Hamad AlMarzooqi, Project Manager of the Emirates Lunar Mission added: MBRSC cant wait to see Rashid rover begin its long-awaited flight to the moon. We are now all cleared and ready for the next step, which is the launch vehicle integration process, which is the final stage of our lunar mission before launch.

The science and technology of this mission are going to help us address major questions about the geologic and surface science of the moon that weve been working on for years, and were excited to share our journey with the world.

Rashid Rover is now ready for the final integration process with the launch vehicle before its launch window of November 9 15, 2022.

The primary goal of the mission is to study the moons plasma and to provide answers about moon dust, the lunar surface, mobility on the moons surface, and how different surfaces interact with lunar particles.

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Dubais space center to simulate life on Mars in the Metaverse

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UAEs Moon rover passes final tests before heading to outer space - Al Arabiya English