NASA’s Moon Reactor Has One Rule: No Water Allowed
Cold, dark, and picky about coolant. Pour la Science reports NASA wants a nuclear reactor running on the lunar surface by 2030, but the real engineering problem is that it can’t use water as a coolant. Continuer de lire NASA’s Moon Reactor Has One Rule: No Water Allowed
Lunar Water Math Favors Villages Over Metropolises
A billion tons of water sounds like plenty, until someone does the math. Continuer de lire Lunar Water Math Favors Villages Over Metropolises
One Algae, Two Jobs, Zero Resupply
Growing food is the easy part. Continuer de lire One Algae, Two Jobs, Zero Resupply
Space Debris Meets Its Match: The Humble Eggshell
Near-Earth orbit is not known for its subtlety, yet the fix now drawing engineers is one of nature’s most delicate structures. Continuer de lire Space Debris Meets Its Match: The Humble Eggshell
Mars Regolith, Yeast, and a Lesson From Freeze-Dried Fruit
Freeze-dried fruit did it. According to The Register, the idea behind a new way to build on Mars came from something far more mundane than rocket engineering. Continuer de lire Mars Regolith, Yeast, and a Lesson From Freeze-Dried Fruit
Strawberries Are Becoming a Commercial Space Product
A greenhouse with a price tag. Continuer de lire Strawberries Are Becoming a Commercial Space Product
York’s New Space Platform Comes With an Expiry Date
A tank with a countdown. York Space Systems has introduced the LX/V-CLASS, a spacecraft body built for very low orbit where a satellite must burn stored xenon or krypton without pause just to keep from falling. Continuer de lire York’s New Space Platform Comes With an Expiry Date
A Robot That Hops Into the Dark to Taste the Moon’s Water
A robot that hops into the dark. Chang’e-7, China’s next Moon mission, carries an unusual probe: a legged machine that hops off a sunlit ridge and drops onto a crater floor that sunlight may not have reached in a billion years or more, then tests the ground for water. Continuer de lire A Robot That Hops Into the Dark to Taste the Moon’s Water
Homesickness in Space Is Partly a Design Problem
The cure for missing Earth on a long trip to the Moon or Mars may not be more calls home, but a stronger bond with the room you live in. Continuer de lire Homesickness in Space Is Partly a Design Problem
A Crowded Orbit Runs on Small Pushes
Orbit is getting crowded, and watching it won’t fix it. Continuer de lire A Crowded Orbit Runs on Small Pushes
