NASA has MOXIE, but rivals reckon they can do better for oxygen on Mars
Last year, NASA produced oxygen on Mars. Now, scientists experimenting here on Earth may have found a much more efficient method of doing so for future missions. The resulting equipment could be used to produce the necessary materials for human colonization, too.
Writing in the Journal of Applied Physics, an international team of boffins led by University of Lisbon physicist Vasco Guerra say they’ve managed to test a design that can do the same thing NASA’s Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) does – but without the need for intense heat and pressure.
Not only does their design improve on MOXIE’s ability to harvest breathable oxygen, it can also be used to create fuels, carbon-based fertilizers, and animal feed. It can also synthesize a variety of organic molecules, the researchers said.
Brit rocketeers Skyrora have perched a second stage of its orbital class Skyrora XL atop a stack of containers and performed a successful static fire test of the engine.
The test comes two years after the company live-tested a complete Skylark L. Testing of the engines powering the beefier Skylark XL have been ongoing; in May 2022 a 70kN rocket engine test was completed and documented, marking a key milestone in Skyrora’s contract under the European Space Agency (ESA)'s Commercial Space Transportation Services and Support Programme (CSTS.) The third stage was tested in December 2020.
NASA is pushing ahead to recruit a panel of experts and publish a much-awaited report on unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs), all with a budget of up to $100,000.
Rocket Lab CEO reflects on company’s humble beginnings as a drainpipe
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After apologizing for his virtual presence – Beck had sensed an imminent propulsive emission of his own before boarding and wisely swapped a 20-hour flight for a camera and microphone – the CEO last week gave viewers an insight into how he and his company had gone from a childhood dream to something capable of launching spacecraft to the Moon and eventually Mars and Venus.
An early look at the view of Jupiter captured by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, or JWST, hinted at how precise and detailed our new view of the planet would be. But this week, NASA released another set of photos showing the cloud cover, rings, and moons of Jupiter in remarkable detail — and it was even better than scientists were hoping for.
NASA has given the go-ahead for the first commercially owned and operated space station, Orbital Reef, to advance to design phase.
The low Earth orbit coworking and coliving space is being created in partnership with Jeff Bezos-owned Blue Origin and Sierra Space, developers of the mini-shuttle Dream Chaser as well as inflatable habitats for the space environment.
Scientists Debunk Myth That Noise From NASA’s Powerful Saturn V Rocket Melted Concrete
(I’m pretty sure I’ve read somewhere that a Saturn V launch was around 200 decibels some years ago. Can’t remember at what distance, though.)
Anyway, the study is linked to on Gizmodo; it has a video which contains NASA footage of the nighttime Apollo 17 launch. “The combination of a humid atmosphere and backlighting allow sound waves to be seen shortly after engine ignition.” Not something you see every day.
A portion of Nichols’ ashes will lift off – along with those of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, his wife and multi-role Star Trek actress Majel Barrett Roddenberry, and James Doohan, who portrayed Enterprise chief engineer Montgomery “Scotty” Scott – sometime later this year.
