A Spacecraft Will Try to Power Another With Nothing but Light
Cable-free, finally. Star Catcher Industries, a US company founded in 2024, is preparing a prototype called Protostar for what it bills as a first: wireless power transfer between two spacecraft in orbit. According to Interesting Engineering, it launches in October 2026 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-18 mission. Continuer de lire A Spacecraft Will Try to Power Another With Nothing but Light
The Moon’s Water Hunt Gets a Thermometer
Cold logic, warm rocks. According to Payload, Astrolab and Interstellar Mapping are teaming up to hunt for water at the lunar south pole. Continuer de lire The Moon’s Water Hunt Gets a Thermometer
Algae on the ISS Rewrote Their Own Recipe
Forty generations in one month. That is how many times algae divided aboard the International Space Station, and the DNA they ended up with was not quite the DNA they started with. Continuer de lire Algae on the ISS Rewrote Their Own Recipe
The Pink Fuel Auditioning to Replace Hydrazine
Rocket fuel, now in pink. Hydrazine, the dominant liquid propellant used by today’s satellites, is highly flammable and corrosive, Aerospace America reports. Continuer de lire The Pink Fuel Auditioning to Replace Hydrazine
A Mars Habitat That Arrives Like Flat-Pack Furniture
Some assembly required. According to Starlust, researchers at the Indian Institute of Science have designed BHEEM, a Mars habitat concept built from panels shipped on a single Starship. Continuer de lire A Mars Habitat That Arrives Like Flat-Pack Furniture
Waste In, Salad Out: A Florida Lab Feeds Plants on Human Waste
Waste, put back to work. According to AG Information Network of the West, researchers at the University of South Florida have built a loop in which human waste goes in and plant food comes out. Continuer de lire Waste In, Salad Out: A Florida Lab Feeds Plants on Human Waste
A Pearl Necklace of 1,100 Satellites Wants to Beat the Lunar Night
Sounds like science fiction, pays like real money. A six-member team from NJIT and Stevens Institute of Technology, called Star Maker, won $15,000 in the space track of NASA’s first ORBIT Challenge in Houston, according to EurekAlert!, which carried the NJIT release. Continuer de lire A Pearl Necklace of 1,100 Satellites Wants to Beat the Lunar Night
An AI Model Just Got 22% Better at Finding Moon Ice
A map beats a guess. Continuer de lire An AI Model Just Got 22% Better at Finding Moon Ice
A Report Card for the Microbes Headed to Mars
Sterilize everything, or none of this works. Continuer de lire A Report Card for the Microbes Headed to Mars
These Solar Sails Are Steered With Ordinary TV Remotes
Flying, not just filing patents. Continuer de lire These Solar Sails Are Steered With Ordinary TV Remotes
