Category Archives: Space Exploration

KILGORE The Kilgore Public Library is blasting off into the holiday season with a NASA My Library ornament contest. A special Christmas tree at the library also has been decorated with hand-painted and personally designed space-themed ornaments.

The contest was held to celebrate the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope, which is planned to follow the Hubble Space Telescope as NASAs flagship astrophysics mission and is scheduled to be launched Wednesday, according to NASA.

Library patrons and community members designed and decorated a number of ornaments, which can be seen hanging on the space-themed tree at the library. Participants voted for their favorite ornament this past week.

Winners are:

Patron Choice Award: Anelise Green

Planet, Stars, Galaxies Winner: Milo Moehring

James Webb Space Telescope Winner: Aubrey LaDuke

Rockets Winner: Harrison Anderson

Library Director Stacey Cole said the tree and ornaments are part of the librarys year-long celebration of NASA and space exploration.

Earlier this year, the Kilgore library was selected to be part of NASA My Library, an education initiative created to increase and enhance STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) learning opportunities, including in geographic areas and populations underrepresented in STEAM education.

Kilgore Public Library is one of just 60 libraries nationwide to be part of this initiative, and were thrilled to have been selected, said Kaitlin Waldecker, library programming coordinator. We look forward to introducing STEAM concepts to our younger patrons and to exploring the universe together with people of all ages during our public programs in 2021 and 2022.

As a NASA My Library partner, the Kilgore Public Library will hold public programs that explore science and technology.

As part of this initiative, Kilgore Public Library also will receive training and resources to implement NASA events and programming, access to a university subject matter expert to support patron engagement and $1,600 for programming expenses.

Read more:

Blasting off into the holidays: Kilgore library's tree showcases space theme - Longview News-Journal

RJ Pierce, Tech Times 15 December 2021, 08:12 pm

(Photo : Artezio from Unsplash) Could China Beat NASA in Terms of Mars Exploration? Space Race Report Says it's 20 Years Ahead of the US (Photo : by NASA via Getty Images) JEZERO CRATER, MARS - FEBRUARY 18: In this handout image provided by NASA, the first high-resolution, color image to be sent back by the Hazard Cameras (Hazcams) on the underside of NASAs Perseverance Mars rover after its landing in the area known as Jezero crater on February 18, 2021 on the planet Mars. A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet's geology and past climate, paving the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith. (Photo : Getty Images )

A Mars spacecraft might have just spotted water ice hidden a few feet under the Red Planet's version of the Grand Canyon.

(Photo : Artezio from Unsplash)Could China Beat NASA in Terms of Mars Exploration? Space Race Report Says it's 20 Years Ahead of the US

According to Space.com, the discovery was made by the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) spacecraft, which is part of a joint mission by the European Space Agency (ESA) and Roscosmos called ExoMars.

The water ice was detected by virtue of the data collected by the TGO. Using a machine called a Fine Resolution Epithermal Neutron Detector (FREND), the spacecraft was able to detect high levels of hydrogen at Candor Chaos, a site located close to the Martian Grand Canyon called Valles Marineris.

To brush up on your elementary school science, hydrogen is a key component of water.

In an official statement, the ESA said that the central part of Valles Marineris is packed with "far more water than expected." They even compared it to Earth's own regions covered in permafrost. There, water ice remains under the land for a long time because of the constant cold.

The TGO Mars spacecraft was able to make the discovery from almost 250 miles above the planet's surface. But it also allows scientists to "look down" to as much as 3 feet below the dusty surface of Mars, where they hope to find water-rich regions that could go undetected by other instruments.

With this discovery, the ESA ExoMars mission hopes to better understand what happened to the planet's water in the distant past. Furthermore, it will also help them improve their techniques for finding organic materials, as well as signs of life on Mars-or any other potentially habitable exoplanet.

For now, the ExoMars mission and the TGO spacecraft will continue to study the Red Planet and find out once and for all if life ever existed there, according to the ESA.

(Photo : by NASA via Getty Images)JEZERO CRATER, MARS - FEBRUARY 18: In this handout image provided by NASA, the first high-resolution, color image to be sent back by the Hazard Cameras (Hazcams) on the underside of NASAs Perseverance Mars rover after its landing in the area known as Jezero crater on February 18, 2021 on the planet Mars. A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet's geology and past climate, paving the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith.

Water is a critical part of life as it is known on Earth. Even in our world's harshest environments, the presence of microscopic water molecules have almost always been linked to the existence of living organisms.

Read Also: NASA Mars Rover's Rock Sample Sports 'Something No One Has Ever Seen'

It is not the first one to do so, but it further corroborates the fact that liquid water-or water ice, in this case-does flow on Mars, albeit very sparingly.

This massive confirmation was made way back in 2015 by NASA, using data from their Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) spacecraft. The probe used an instrument called an imaging spectrometer to detect signatures of so-called "hydrated minerals" on specific slopes on the planet.

On these slopes, the liquid water flows intermittently at temperatures over -10 degrees Fahrenheit, but eventually disappears when it gets colder than that.

Given that water is an essential sign of potential life, numerous theories are floating around suggesting that Mars might have been a livelier world in the distant past. But where did all the water go in the first place?

(Photo : Getty Images )

There are two places where it could have gone, as per National Geographic. One, around 30 to 99 percent of all the planet's water got trapped into minerals in its crust. Two, the rest of it just went to space. This is the conclusion of a study published last March 17th in the journal Science, which was presented at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference.

For now, the TGO spacecraft and the whole ExoMars mission will continue prodding.

Related Article: Giant Hole In Mars Atmosphere Responsible For Loss Of Water On Red Planet

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by RJ Pierce

2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.

See the rest here:

Mars Spacecraft Spots WATER ICE Under The Red Planet's 'Grand Canyon' - Tech Times

In a recent profile penned inVanity Fair,Andy Jassy comes off smelling like a rose. Without the thorns.

According to author Nick Bolton, Amazon's newly crowned CEO is the "anti-Bezos" -- an unassuming, inoffensive nice guy who really knows how to run a business. In fact, he's been at the helm of AWS (Amazon Web Services) for a while, growing the service into an operationworth hundreds of billions of dollars -- all while somehow somehow avoiding the internecine warfare that so often plagues those of his rank.

Jessy isn't perfect, Bolton explains. He's boring, too detail-oriented, and perhaps most egregious, too much of an Amazonian.

It's true that Bezos could no longer be the face of his own company. Problems withworking conditionsand wages have stained the company's reputation. Just recently, in fact, the company suffered a public lashing because ithid internal Covid-19 casesfrom its own workers. Meanwhile, Bezos racks up billions in personal wealthand targets monstrously expensive space exploration.

But is Jassy the right man to take the helm? It really seems like a thinly-veiled PR move. Bezos will still be chairman of the board, effectively calling the shots with a different title. Jassy, meanwhile, will likely toethe party line, as revealed in Bolton's lengthy interview. Despite prodding about corporate missteps over the years, he largely championed Amazon's position.

What Amazon really needs is a cultural shakeup that can only happen if a real anti-Bezos steps in. The company needs a leader who understands employee exploitation, wage imbalance, power dynamics and manipulation, and is willing to admit to wrongdoing with a plan for rectification.

Jassy just doesn't seem to be that person. While he may be a "nice guy" -- counter to the image many of us have of Bezosat this point -- it's only a matter of time until the reputation of the company is conflated with Jassy. As the face of the company, still effectively run by Chairman Bezos, Jassy will likely become another face to represent the exploitation and foibles that have come to characterize Amazon leadership.

I hope that I'm wrong. I hope Jassy is, truly, the anti-Bezos Amazon needs -- that we all need. But I'm not holding my breath.

The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.

Continued here:

The #1 Reason Amazon's New "Anti-Bezos" CEO, Andy Jassy, Is A Step In the Wrong Direction - Inc.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

This subterranean creature has 1,306 legs. Yes, that's a record.

Deep underground in an exploratory drill hole in a mining region of Australia, scientists have discovered a "marvel of evolution," a remarkably elongated blind millipede possessing the most legs - 1,306, to be precise - of any known animal. The threadlike pale-colored millipede reaches about 3-1/2 inches (95 mm) long and about four-hundredths of an inch (0.95 mm) wide, with a conical head, beak-shaped mouth and large antennae - likely one of its only sources of sensory input because it lacks eyes, scientists said on Thursday.

Russia hopeful of space rides from NASA to ISS from 2022 - agency head

Moscow expects NASA to start taking cosmonauts to the International Space Station again and is hopeful that cooperation can resume next year, the head of the Russian space agency was quoted as saying on Wednesday. Russia has been the only country capable of delivering people to the ISS since 2011, when the U.S. space agency retired its space shuttle and divert resources towards deeper space exploration.

Ground control to Maezawa: SoftBank's Son speaks to orbiting protege

SoftBank Group Corp founder and CEO Masayoshi Son said he spoke by phone to fashion magnate and protege Yusaku Maezawa, who is currently on a trip to the International Space Station. "Maezawa called my mobile but it cut out!! I tried to call him back but he was out of range," Son posted to his 2.9 million Twitters followers late on Wednesday.

Omicron thrives in airways, not lungs; new data on asymptomatic cases

The following is a summary of some recent studies on COVID-19. They include research that warrants further study to corroborate the findings and that has yet to be certified by peer review. Omicron multiplies faster in airways, slower in lungs

Zoo in Chile tests experimental COVID vaccine on lions and tigers

At the Buin Zoo on the outskirts of the Chilean capital Santiago, a veterinarian sporting a tiger-striped face mask administers an experimental COVID-19 vaccine to a tiger in a cage, as another zoo worker feeds the animal chunks of raw meat via a pair of long tongs. The Buin Zoo, like others around the world, is looking to keep its animals safe from the coronavirus. It is administering an experimental formula donated by global animal health company Zoetis Inc to its 10 most susceptible animals, zoo director Ignacio Idalsoaga said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Read the original here:

Science News Roundup: This subterranean creature has 1,306 legs. Yes, that's a record.; Russia hopeful of space rides from NASA to ISS from 2022 -...

Students engaged in integrating a payload into the small satellite on the table.

A new earth and planetary exploration technology (EPET) certificate is preparing students for the Earth and space exploration workforce in their major science or engineering discipline, and the first cohort will graduate in December from the University of Hawaii at Mnoa. The certificate program is provided by the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology (HIGP) and supported by the Hawaii Space Flight Laboratory.

The EPET certificate program is one of the only opportunities for UH students to obtain a formal education in an important growth area of the economy, space exploration and aerospace engineering, said Peter Englert, a professor in HIGP. It is also one of the few programs where science and engineering students will work together on course projects, an enriching experience, and an opportunity.

The EPET certificate program consists of four courses totaling 15 credits that are taught in four consecutive semesters starting in the spring. The courses are cross listed with mechanical engineering and form the core of the concentration in aerospace engineering of the Mechanical Engineering Department. Program goals are to provide science and engineering majors with a comprehensive understanding of scientific and engineering knowledge, in theory and practice, to successfully explore from the deepest oceans to the far reaches of our solar system.

I thoroughly enjoyed the EPET program, said Lynzee Hoegger, who is in the first cohort of the EPET certificate. Its been really great getting to be a part of the bridge between space science and technology. I also enjoyed that we didnt just hear from one professor with one area of expertise but instead many different professors from many different fields would teach us each week.

This certificate is an example of UH Mnoas goal of Enhancing Student Success (PDF), one of four goals identified in the 201525 Strategic Plan (PDF), updated in December 2020.

The EPET curriculum provides a modern learning experience by combining lecture-, laboratory-, field- and project-based approaches with effective interdisciplinary group learning strategies to integrate the nature of planetary materials and landforms with the science and engineering tools. These include sensors and scientific instruments, robotic vehicles as platforms for remote sensing and sampling, spacecraft fundamentals, and mission architecture, planning and operation.

I would recommend the certificate to other students because it gives you a chance to work with people outside of your major and to have to think outside of the box to solve problems that may arise in a space mission, said Hoegger.

The satellite that students are completing in fall 2021 will likely be part of the Pleiades Mission together with Cal Poly Pomona, Portland State Aerospace Society and Stanford University. The payload is a general radiation detector.

It is also fun to work on research projects that design and build space flight sensors, space flight missions, and finally a small functioning spacecraft, said Englert. Some of these spacecrafts will have an opportunity to be launched while students are still in school.

The EPET certificate program is for students enrolled in science and engineering undergraduate degree programs at UH Mnoa, other parts of the UH System, and other universities. The program can also accommodate professionals working in the community who wish to upgrade knowledge and skills.

The next cohort of students for the EPET certification program will begin in spring 2022. For more information, see HIGPs website.

Continued here:

First space research, exploration certificate cohort graduates | University of Hawaii System News - UH System Current News

image:Saski and postdoctoral research scientist Sonika Kumar in the lab. view more

Credit: Clemson University

Clemson researcher Chris Saski admits sending the Universitys iconic Tiger Paw to space aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft is, quite literally, an out-of-this-world experience.

But its the potential for the experiments in the flight hardware to which the Paw is attached that truly excites him.

Saskis cotton regeneration research, adorned with Clemson stickers, intends to take off Dec. 21 from NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida bound for the International Space Station (ISS). Upon arrival, Saskis research project titled Unlocking the Cotton Genome to Precision Genetics will be conducted in microgravity with the goal of facilitating the ability to directly edit the genome of elite cotton varieties, quickly adding traits like disease resistance or drought tolerance without the need for the lengthy conventional breeding process that can take over a decade.

Understanding gene function and subsequent genome engineering technology has the potential to change the lives of everyone and everything on the planet, said Chris Saski, associate professor of systems genomics in Clemsons Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences.

With no solution yet in place to satisfy a growing demand for fuel, food and fiber as the global population continues to expand, Saski believes this research is a large step in the right direction toward solving that problem.

Conducting these experiments in microgravity gives us a unique environment to disentangle the genetics ofsomatic embryogenesis regenerating a whole plant from a single cell and we believe we can translate this research into application, he said. This project will lead to new understanding of the genes involved. As we understand it now, this genetic program is encoded in all crop genomes, but it is suppressed. This research could ultimately allow us to switch on this genetic program in other crops and be able to do genome editing and engineering more readily and directly on commercial varieties and eventually provide an accelerated path to food, fuel and fiber for a growing population of people on Earth.

Food for thought or living on another planet

But if potentially addressing issues such as global hunger wasnt enough, the possibilities go far beyond, said Saski, who admitted he never imagined space missions would one day be part of his work.

When I started my position as a researcher here at Clemson, I quickly realized that there really are no boundaries to the questions that one can ask, he said. I just created a vision, worked hard and tried to set the bar high. I envision that translation of this research into application could enable deep space exploration missions, it could allow for plants to be stored as single cells and you could store and supply a diversity of plant species for astronauts that are doing research or even living on another planet.

Broadly, the project seeks to explore the cotton genome and how it reacts in microgravity and normal gravity. It was selected as a winner in theCotton Sustainability Challenge, which was run by the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) and funded by Target Corporation, providing researchers and innovators the opportunity to propose solutions to improve crop production on Earth by sending their concepts to the ISS U.S. National Laboratory. CASIS is the organization tasked by NASA to manage the ISS National Lab.

One of Saskis collaborators is Jeremy Schmutz, faculty investigator at HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology since 2008, who said the project aims to understand how callus cells divide and regenerate in space and how this affects the quality of transformed cells.

We have shown that cotton has very little diversity as a species, which greatly limits the possibilities of improving the sustainability of cotton through traditional breeding techniques, Schmutz said. Accelerating the speed at which we can transform cotton opens up the ability to rapidly test genes linked to beneficial traits and also make positive targeted modifications in important cotton lines for U.S. growers and the many industries that depend on high-quality cotton production.

Embryogenesis in microgravity

Conventional breeding process currently takes more than a decade

And why does conducting research in microgravity make a difference?

Microgravity is the condition in which people or objects appear weightless. Plants have evolved at a force of 1g the force of gravity on Earth, responsible for things such as keeping our feet planted firmly on the ground but without that force, or in microgravity, there can be a drastic effect on gene expression.

Studying developmental programs like embryogenesis in microgravity allows us to disentangle what genes are involved by comparing experiments on the ISS and on Earth, according to Saski.

Our experiment is aimed at understanding the genetic architecture and coordination of embryogenesis, he said. Understanding this program could facilitate the ability to directly edit the genome of elite breeding germplasm, adding traits such as disease resistance or drought tolerance without the need for the long conventional breeding process.

Don Jones, director of Breeding, Genetics and Biotechnology at Cotton Incorporated, echoed Saskis sentiment that this understanding could be a direct and immediate benefit of sending the project to space but said the potential for longer-term benefits is also vast.

Past space exploration has resulted in benefits for all of humanity that oftentimes far exceeds the expectations of those who were conducting the initial research. Conventional breeding now takes at least a decade to deliver improved varieties to cotton growers that can withstand drought and disease, both of which will increase with climate change, Jones said. Understanding and improving embryogenesis will allow such varieties to be developed significantly faster, and when the payoff is faster, more companies and institutions become interested in investing real dollars into cotton research with a shortened payoff time horizon.

Low Earth Orbit: Falling around the planet

The effects of microgravity can be seen when astronauts and objects float in space. But the prefix micro- means very small, not nonexistent, so microgravity refers to the condition where gravity seems to be very small.

The ISS operates in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) or about 200 to 250 miles high. At that height, Earths gravity is still very strong, thus a person who weighs 100 pounds on the ground would weigh 90 pounds there.

Earths gravity pulls objects, including the space station, toward its surface. As a result, the ISS is constantly falling toward Earth. But the station also is moving very fast so fast it matches the curve of the Earths surface.

If you throw a baseball, gravity will cause it to curve down; it will hit the ground soon, Saski said. A spacecraft in orbit moves at the right speed so that the curve of its fall matches the curve of Earth. For the space station, that speed is 17,500 miles per hour. The spacecraft keeps falling toward the ground but never hits it. Instead, it falls around the planet. The moon stays in orbit around Earth for this same reason.

For the purposes of this research, however, that difference between 1g gravitational force and microgravity can have a significant effect.

Microgravity is a different environment its different from the Earth, said Saski. Plants, for example, have been adapted in Earths 1g gravitational pull. Now we live in an era when we have unprecedented technological capabilities, and we can study things in adverse environments like microgravity to help understand the genetics underlying certain developmental programs or traits.

Saski and Clemson postdoctoral research scientist Sonika Kumar are studying plant cells analogous to human stem cells; in this case, plants cells that are not de-differentiated not a certain part of the plant allowing for complementary experiments to disentangle the genetic architecture of somatic embryogenesis.

That disentanglement would enable scientists to turn on this programming in other crops and do genome editing and genome engineering more readily. The potential, then, is for growers to feed a growing and expanding population of people on Earth.

Genetic and epigenetic changes control the process of somatic embryogenesis, Kumar said. Discovering the mechanism and genetic factors behind somatic embryogenesis will open new avenues to stimulate the cellular reprogramming of somatic embryogenesis that will be helpful in fast delivery of cotton varieties having a combination of multiple traits like excellent fiber quality, climate resilience and tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses. This project with the objective of cotton sustainability challenge will improve the social and economic development of growers, stakeholders and industries.

Power of the Paw

As for the Tiger Paw, Saski said the ISS-required custom flight and operations hardware the payload that will be aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft looked largely bare and boring in its original state.

Mission Director Dave Reed and his team at Techshot, a company recently acquired by space infrastructure company Redwire, are converting Saskis experiments into a payload for space travel and designing the operational hardware they are also responsible for putting the Clemson stickers on the flight hardware.

The evolution from scientific proposal to spaceflight is typically referred to as payload development, andthe Redwire payload development team has the challenging task of merging the scientific investigation with the capability of spaceflight hardware and the constraints of resources such as upmass, astronaut time and cold stowage return of harvested material.

On behalf of our whole payload development team, we are proud to be supporting this exciting investigation that promises to yield new discoveries for the benefit of life on Earth, Reed said. Much of our work on ISS is about exploring how microgravity can positively impact industries, people and systems back on Earth, and this investigation supports this mission.

Saskis project represents the first time that a plant tissue culture experiment will be performed on orbit in NASAs Advanced Plant Habitat, which is designed to provide sunlight-strength illumination in order to grow plants such as radishes, peppers and tomatoes.

Plant tissue culture requires very, very low daytime light levels, just enough to maintain a circadian rhythm in the culture and a tiny fraction of what Plant Habitat was designed to produce, Reed said. To provide such a low light level, Redwire engineers developed an elegantly simple sun shade akin to one you would find at a terrestrial plant nursery.

As the team began to work on developing a payload to such specifications, Saski also inquired about the possibility of putting a Tiger Paw sticker on any of the hardward a request Reed said was not trivial.

In spaceflight, labels are serious business. Everything from font size to color to label material is prescribed, Reed said. Our team worked with the label approval team to find a spot where the sticker could be acceptably placed. For Dr. Saski, it was all a part of the great revelation about the intricacies of the spaceflight experience.

Because competition for research space aboard the ISS, which is roughly the size of a football field, is on a global scale, the presence of the Paw is no small feat.

Being able to send the beloved Tiger Paw to space has been an amazing experience, Saski said. Being selected for this opportunity and conducting research and being able to put it out there as far as it could possibly go has been a vision of my research program and aspirations since Ive joined the faculty here at Clemson.

Go here to read the rest:

Unlocking the cotton genome: Space-bound research 'large step' toward feeding Earth's rapidly growing population - EurekAlert

Cathie Wood-led Ark Invest has nearly cut all its exposure in Boeing Co (NYSE: BA) and now owns just100 shares in the Chicago-based planemaker, data from the popular money managers daily trades reveal.

The St. Petersburg, Florida-based Ark Invest bought shares in the maker of 737 MAX commercial planes in April this year via the then newly launched Ark Space Exploration & Innovation ETF (BATS: ARKX).

No other Ark Invest ETFs own shares in Boeing.

ARKX owned 74,056 shares in Boeing at the end of July this year, as per the investment firms annual report.

Ark Invest in September sharply reduced its exposure in Boeing after the planemaker failed to secure a large order from European budget airline Ryanair Holdings Plc (NASDAQ: RYAAY) due to differences over pricing.

See Also: Amazon, Pfizer, Roku, Boeing And More: These Are Cathie Wood's Key Trades From Tuesday

The beleaguered 737 MAX after two years of a global banwas cleared to fly again by most aviation regulators of countries around the world.

The worlds second-largest planemaker was earlier among the top 15 holdings in the ARKX portfolio, which currently counts Trimble Inc (NASDAQ: TRMB) and The 3D Printing ETF (BATS: PRNT) among its top holdings.

Boeing's Defense, Space, and Security segment is also involved in NASA's Space Launch System, a heavy-lift rocket meant for human space exploration. Boeing, which draws most of its sales from making planes, also builds satellites and software systems for commercial, military, and scientific exploration.

Boeings Space Launch System project has however been mired in delays.

Just last week, Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) CEO Elon Musks SpaceX secured fresh commercial crew flights to the International Space Station as Boeing further delayed certificates for the Starliner spacecraft due to technical issues.

Boeing may now not be able to fly astronauts for NASA until 2023 more than three years behind schedule. The Starliner spaceship is already grounded for the rest of the year due to hardware issues.

See Also: NASA Signs Up SpaceX For 3 More Commercial Flights To ISS Amid Boeing's Starliner Delays

NASA said it still plans to alternate missions between SpaceX and Boeing, once both are operational.

Price Action: Boeing shares closed 0.96% lower at $195.50 a share on Tuesday. The stock is down 16% over the past month.

2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

Here is the original post:

Cathie Wood's Ark Has Nearly Exited Its Boeing Position - Benzinga

A new executive director has taken over at the helm of Space Park Leicester.

Prof Richard Ambrosi has joined the new 100 million complex on the outskirts of Leicester which was recently opened by the University of Leicester to drive collaboration between the private sector and academic in space science.

It is already home to local, national and international teams, with offices, shared laboratories, teaching facilities and co-working spaces focusing primarily on research, development and applications of space.

Prof Ambrosi is an expert in space instrumentation and space nuclear power systems and will lead the development of the innovative research, enterprise and education cluster.

He joined the University of Leicester in 2000, after completing a PhD in Physics at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Since then he has lent his expertise to a number of international space missions, including the Swift Gamma Ray Burst Mission and ExoMars, and over the past decade, has lead the development of radioisotope power systems for the European Space Agency.

He has also previously chaired the UK Space Agencys Space Exploration Advisory Committee and serves on a number of national and international committees.

He said: I feel honoured to be taking on the role of Space Park Leicester executive director.

Having worked on the project from the beginning, it is very rewarding to have been part of the team that transformed an idea into the state-of-the-art facilities we see today.

I am looking forward to the opportunity of realising the ambition of Space Park Leicester, which ranges from enabling discovery science, to changing the economics of access to space, to transforming how we use data to address global challenges and driving innovation through collaboration with our industry partners.

The University of Leicester has an exceptionally talented team of people working in space research and together we can create new opportunities for Leicester, the UK and the next generation of space scientists and engineers"

As well as bringing together academia and industry, Space Park Leicester acts as the headquarters of the National Centre for Earth Observation.

Prof Sarah Davies, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Head of the College of Science and Engineering at the University of Leicester, said: Space Park Leicester is a landmark project, not only for our University and region, but for the UK space sector and for our collaborators across the globe.

In Richard, we have appointed an executive director who matches our ambition to advance world-leading excellence in space research, inclusive education and training, and space-enabled industry as we look to consolidate Leicesters role as a space city.

We are hugely proud of our long-standing heritage in space research and exploration expanding to the real-world impacts of space-based technology development and manufacture with downstream application of space-derived data, including tracking and combating climate change.

With Richard at the head of a team of talented scientists, researchers and engineers, Space Park Leicester will play a key role in further developing the crucial links between industry and academia and supporting the skills pipeline required to expand the UKs space ambitions.

Other partners involved in Space Park Leicester include the European Union European Regional Development Fund, Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership (LLEP), Leicester City Council, The Wolfson Foundation, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).

A recently second phase will provide laboratories and workshops focused on advanced design and manufacturing of space systems, enabling technologies for space exploration, advancing the use of machine learning and automation in the space sector.

It houses one of the largest university-based clean room facilities in the UK.

There are also plans for a further development on the Leicester site, with a commercial Low Cost Access to Space (LoCAS) payload and satellite manufacturing facility for the manufacture of mid-range satellites.

The satellite production line will address the UKs need for facilities to make satellites and payloads for UK space tech companies and lower the barriers to new entrants in the market.

See the article here:

Space mission specialist Prof Richard Ambrosi appointed as head of Space Park Leicester - Business Live

Strahan, others take brief flight in space capsule

Football star and TV celebrity Michael Strahan caught a ride to space with Jeff Bezos' rocket-launching company Saturday, sharing the trip with the daughter of America's first astronaut. (Dec. 11)

AP

Ocean Township High School alumnus Lane Besshas boldly gone to space.

It's been three days since heblastedover what's known as the Krmn line and he's trying to put the experience into words for curious minds. So far, he's come up with"tranquil."

"What you see is a beautiful planet that's been here for billions of years and looks so peaceful. And it just really gives you a calming feeling. It brings to your mind the question, 'Why can't the earth be as peaceful on the planet as it seems from up here?'" Bess said.

TheKrmn line isthe internationally recognized boundary of space. It's62 miles, or330,000 feet, from the ground.

He flew on Blue Origin's spacecraft New Shepard. On the flightwashis son Cameron, 23;Laura Shepard Churchley, the daughter of the late astronaut Alan Shepard, the first American to travel into space;former New York Giant and co-host of "Good Morning America"Michael Strahan;Dylan Taylor, chairman & CEO of Voyager Space;and Evan Dick, a venture capitalist and airplane pilot.

Blue Origin was created by Jeff Bezos, the billionaire founder of retailing giant Amazon.

Space tourism: Ocean Township H.S. alum Lane Bess heading to space on Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin

Bess said one of the thingsthey did when they were weightless was tosssmall footballs to each other, courtesy of Strahan.

Blue Origin named theirspace flight "The Original Six," because it was the first of New Shepard's flights to carry a full passenger manifestof sixastronauts. The rocket was controlled from the ground. The flight was the rocket's 19th, though most of thosewere unmanned test launches.

Bess, a 1979 graduate of Ocean Township High School,andhis son Cameronalso made a bit of space history as the first parent/child combo to fly into space.

The flight was scheduledto launch from West Texas last Thursday, but due to strong winds was delayed until Saturday morning. They flew during the day so Bess said they did not see the moon or the stars, just vast darkness out toward space. The earth glowed several hues of blue.

"It was a day launch so you don't really see the stars. You see black. You see darkness, you see every shade of blue from the earth's sky," Bess said

Since they shot up from Texas, Bess said he could make out certain features of the United States, such as theRocky Mountains to theGulf of Mexico. They could see about one eighth of the earth's circumferencefrom their position.

They traveled at a speed of 2,800 mphon departure. They reached space in less than threeminutes. When they returned, the capsule floated down with parachutes and touched down in the soft desert sand, about four miles from the launch pad. The total flight time was about 11 minutes.

Blue Origin said itsvision ismillions of people living and working in space for the benefit of Earth.

Bess said he already wants to go up again, and said it's very possible that in the future people willcommute to space on short flights such as the one he took. Space exploration and the search for resources have already begun toaccelerate now that private investors are getting involved.

Blue Origin hasn't disclosed the ticket cost for New Shepard, and Bess has said he's not permitted by the company to reveal what he paid.

"These trips aren't about joy rides. It's about improving thetechnology," said Bess, who made his wealth providing venture capital to tech start-ups in the Silicon Valley.

Today, he'sthe principal and founder of Bess Ventures and Advisory, a family fund supporting technology firms, andlives in Miami Beach and Silicon Valley with his wife and three kids. He still has family at the Jersey Shore.

When Jersey Shore native Dan Radel is not reporting the news, you can find him in a college classroom where he is a history professor. Reach him @danielradelapp; 732-643-4072; dradel@gannettnj.com.

Read more from the original source:

'Every shade of blue': Ocean Township alum reveals what he saw on Blue Origin space flight - Asbury Park Press

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

Geologists uncover 'treasure trove' of dinosaur tracks in Poland

Hundreds of dinosaur footprints, so well-preserved that even the scaly skin can be seen, have been found in Poland, giving an insight into a complex ecosystem around 200 million years ago, geologists said. Described by the Polish Geological Institute-National Research Institute as a treasure trove, the fossilised tracks and bones were found in an opencast clay mine in Borkowice, 130 km (80 miles) south of Warsaw.

NASA's Webb telescope promises an 'amazing journey' for astronomy

It was finished years late at a cost far higher than planned, but NASA's James Webb Space Telescope due for launch next week may usher in a new era in astronomy as it gathers information on the universe's earliest stages, star formation, and whether planets beyond our solar system may be suitable for life. The orbiting infrared observatory, designed to be about 100 times more sensitive than its Hubble Space Telescope predecessor, is due to blast off on Dec. 22 on an Ariane 5 rocket from a site in French Guiana on South America's northeastern coast.

Vaccines appear weak at blocking Omicron infection; shots may reduce long COVID burden

The following is a summary of some recent studies on COVID-19. They include research that warrants further study to corroborate the findings and that has yet to be certified by peer review. Vaccines appear weak vs Omicron infection, better vs severe disease

U.S. Space Force holds war game to test satellite network under attack

The United States is testing satellite resiliency to threats from China and Russia miles above the earth's surface, just weeks after Russia shot down an aging communications satellite. The computer-aided simulations included potential shooting down of U.S. missile-tracking satellites, satellite jamming, and other electronic warfare "effects" that are possible tactics in space warfare. Actual satellites are not used.

Low staff vaccination tied to nursing home COVID deaths; experimental vaccine targets multiple coronaviruses

The following is a summary of some recent studies on COVID-19. They include research that warrants further study to corroborate the findings and that has yet to be certified by peer review. Staff vaccination rates tied to nursing home COVID-19 deaths

Russia hopeful of space rides from NASA to ISS from 2022 - agency head

Moscow expects NASA to start taking cosmonauts to the International Space Station again and is hopeful that cooperation can resume next year, the head of the Russian space agency was quoted as saying on Wednesday. Russia has been the only country capable of delivering people to the ISS since 2011, when the U.S. space agency retired its space shuttle and divert resources towards deeper space exploration.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Originally posted here:

Science News Roundup: Geologists uncover 'treasure trove' of dinosaur tracks in Poland; NASA's Webb telescope promises an 'amazing journey' for...