if you happen to be interested in how tiny #rocks break under tiny #impact and what this means for #spacecraft, I have a new #research paper published with @springer.springernature.com in Rock Mechanic and Rock Engineering
"Fragment Size Distributions from Micro-impacts for In Situ Processing by Spacecraft"
#TachyonBeam #SpaceMission #China #LongMarch10
Yesterday, the Chinese #Menghzou #spacecraft, launched on the Long March 10 rocket's first stage, completed a suborbital flight test. The #rocket conducted its own test, with a controlled splashdown, as part of the development of a reusable launch system. At the end of the test, the Menghzou splashed down as well, but in its case, it was also recovered. Thisis a step forward toward Chinese crewed Moon missions.
Artist's view of the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission during MOI (Martian Orbit Insertion)
ℹ️ https://www.mmx.jaxa.jp/en/
📷 https://jda.jaxa.jp/result.php?lang=e&id=9589ec3981b6993ca20f4c7b7d6a55f4
Credit: JAXA
#Mars #MMX #Phobos #Deimos #JAXA #RedPlanet #space #spacecraft #astrodon #science #art #spaceart
This Startup Thinks It Can Make Rocket Fuel From Water. Stop Laughing
https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.wired.com/story/general-galactic-water-rocket-fuel-test/
Why the Artemis II Crew Stays in Quarantine Before Their Journey to Moon
NASA delays Moon mission by at least a month due to hydrogen leak
By Jacinta Bowler
A hydrogen leak has pushed back NASA's plans to launch the Artemis II mission to send humans around the Moon to March, at the earliest.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2026-02-04/artemis-2-mission-delayed-hydrogen-leak/106302956
#SpaceExploration #ScienceandTechnology #Science #Space #TheMoon #Spacecraft #JacintaBowler
#OnThisDay The Soviet Union's #Luna 9 became the first #Spacecraft to make a soft landing on the Moon (1966).
The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, guaranteeing #Voting rights to male citizens regardless of race (1870).
#Benelux Economic Union was founded (1958), creating a testing ground for a later European Economic Community.
In addition to #space exploration and #science I do wonder if going back to the moon will be an adventure we can share that helps bring people together 💫
Fingers crossed the Feb8 launch goes forward! #ArtemisII #artemis #lunar #moon #spacecraft #spaceexploration #astronomy #Astrodon #launch #liftoff
Is the SpaceX representative aware that radiating heat into #space is extremely slow? Like, dramatically slower than even air cooling, let alone water cooling. And most data centers these days are using water cooling.
Space is basically a giant Thermos bottle, and we all know how slowly heat leaks out of a Thermos bottle. One of the main engineering problems in designing a #spacecraft is to keep its energy usage low so it doesn't cook itself.
Top level peeps at Blue Origin told employees they are "pausing" flights of its New Shepard rocket to focus resources on "human lunar capabilities" aka future missions to land humans on the moon. Employees indicate they think this is the cancellation of the program. https://www.npr.org/2026/01/30/nx-s1-5694644/blue-origin-pauses-space-tourism-flights-to-focus-on-lunar-lander #Space #BlueOrigin #NewShepard #Moon #MoonLanding #Rocket #SpaceTravel #SpaceCraft #SpaceTourism
Orbital House of Cards – CRASH Clock Metric
Researchers have updated the possibility that satellites in low earth orbit (LEO) could collapse after accidental collisions quickly cascade into a vicious cycle where initial collisions create a huge vortex of dangerous space debris, which creates even more collisions, and then even more collisions – just like a massive vehicle pileup on an ice covered interstate highway…this cascading collision scenario is known as the Kessler syndrome.
The researchers propose a new metric, the CRASH Clock, that measures the timescale for a possible Kessler like scenario to occur after a severe loss of space situational awareness. They propose the CRASH Clock is currently 5.5 days, which is the window of opportunity to recover/stop a wide spread cascading collision event. https://futurism.com/space/earths-lower-orbit-rapidly-collapse
DL full paper here: https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.09643 #Space #Satellites #LEO #KesslerSyndrome #Kessler #SpaceCraft #CrashClock #SatelliteCollision #SpaceJunk
NASA Is Watching a Huge Anomaly Growing in Earth's Magnetic Field [SAA]
--
https://www.sciencealert.com/nasa-is-watching-a-huge-anomaly-growing-in-earths-magnetic-field <-- shared technical article
--
https://youtu.be/qpdQcw_52iM?si=Hn0EZkOGJOMihC71 <-- shared @nasa video - “NASA Explores Earth's Magnetic 'Dent'”
--
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Atlantic_Anomaly <-- shared SAA wiki
--
https://youtu.be/6hD52H7rQak?si=OBGYbK8Czbi0uwlc <-- shared video – “Watch [a visualisation of how the] Earth's magnetic shield protect[s] the planet from a pelting by the solar wind…” [narrated so well (of course!) by #liamneeson !!!!]
--
#GIS #spatial #mapping #remotesensing #earthobservation #geology #structuralgeology #magneticdent #magneticanomaly #magneticfield #SouthAtlanticAnomaly #SAA #spaceweather #geomagnetism #satellite #SWARM #orbitalspacecraft #spacecraft #risk #hazard #hardening #magneticfieldstrength #protection #CME #coronalmassejection #sun #solar #solarwind #NASA #ESA
@nasa@social.beachcom.org @esa
Today we have a short paper in Acta Astronautica arguing that retroreflective coatings on #spacecraft surfaces might be a partial solution to the ongoing satellite brightness problem affecting #astronomy.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0094576526000512
#QuizOfTheDay: #Lunar #Module is a small craft used for travelling between the moon's surface and an orbiting #Spacecraft.
What is the name of the Lunar Module that served as the crewed lunar lander of Apollo 11, which was the first mission to land humans on the Moon.
A. Altair
B. Starship
C. Eagle
D. Gemini
https://knowledgezone.co.in/resources/quiz?qId=63ca194e828be9d179384f21
Over the years, passing #spacecraft have observed mystifying weather patterns at the poles of #Jupiter and #Saturn The two #planets host very different types of polar vortices, which are huge #atmospheric whirlpools that rotate over a planet’s polar region
#PlanetaryScience #Atmospheric Physics #sflorg
https://www.sflorg.com/2026/01/ps0192601.html
NASA Has Some Very Bad News About Its Mars Spacecraft - Yahoo
https://atlas.whatip.xyz/post.php?slug=nasa-has-some-very-bad-news-about-its-mars-spacecraft-yahoo
NASA Has Some Very Bad News About Its Mars SpacecraftYahoo NASA pessimistic about odds of recovering
#spacecraft #about #maven #yahoo
Sick astronaut starts journey to Earth from International Space Station
The Crew Dragon capsule has undocked from the International Space Station carrying four astronauts, one of whom has a "serious medical condition", and is on its way back to Earth.
The recently launched SpainSat NG-2 satellite was struck by a "space particle," while on its was on its way to geostationary orbit.
This was the second military communications satellite launched by Spain designed to pair with SpainSat NG-1 (Airbus-built) satellite to create an "advanced government communications system" in Europe. The extent of the damage is currently unknown.
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/spains-newest-communications-satellite-suffers-space-particle-strike-high-above-earth #Space #Spain #SpainSatNG-2 #SpaceCraft #Satellite #Communications #CosmicParticles
