SwRI-Led LAMP Instrument Sheds Light On Lunar Water Movement

March 10, 2019 – Using the Southwest Research Institute-led Lyman Alpha Mapping Project (LAMP) aboard NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), scientists have observed water molecules moving around the dayside of the Moon. A paper published in Geophysical Research Letters describes how LAMP measurements of the sparse layer of molecules temporarily stuck to the surface helped characterize lunar hydration changes over the course of a day. Read More
Ball Aerospace Selected For Second Phase Of DARPA Hallmark Program
March 9, 2019 – Ball Aerospace has been selected to continue work on the Space Evaluation and Analysis Capability (SEAC) testbed for the second phase of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Hallmark program. The Hallmark program is advancing technologies that deliver real-time space-domain awareness informing the command and control and protection of space assets. Read More
SwRI-Developed Satellites Enter Second Phase Of Operations

March 9, 2019 – NASA has extended the Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) mission for an additional year and a half. The constellation of microsatellites designed and built at Southwest Research Institute has made history over the last two years, penetrating thick clouds and heavy rains to accurately assess wind speeds and better understand hurricane intensification. Assessments confirmed that all eight spacecraft and their subsystems are healthy and ready to support two more years of operations. Read More
NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory Catches Lunar Freeze Frame

March 9, 2019 – On the evening of March 6, 2019, the Moon started to transit the Sun, then doubled back and retraced its steps in the other direction — at least, that’s what it looked like from the perspective of NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, in orbit around Earth. Read More
NASA Wants Ideas From University Teams For Future Human Space Missions

Teams of engineering students and faculty at U.S. colleges and universities have an opportunity to help NASA with innovative design ideas to meet the challenges of space exploration. The 2020 eXploration Systems and Habitation (X-Hab) Academic Innovation Challenge supports NASA’s efforts to develop technologies and capabilities that will enable future human missions to the Moon, Mars and other solar system destinations. In collaboration with the National Space Grant Foundation, NASA will offer competitively selected awards of $15,000 to $50,000 for the development of studies, functional products and solutions to enhance the human exploration of space. Entries are due April 26, 2019. Read More
Hubble’s Advanced Camera For Surveys Resumes Operations

March 9, 2019 – NASA has recovered the Hubble Space Telescope’s Advanced Camera for Surveys instrument, which suspended operations on Thursday, February 28. The final tests were conducted and the instrument was brought back to its operational mode on March 6. Read More
Kepler Space Telescope’s First Exoplanet Candidate Confirmed, Ten Years After Launch

March 5, 2019 – An international team of astronomers, led by University of Hawaiʻi graduate student Ashley Chontos, announced the confirmation of the first exoplanet candidate identified by NASA’s Kepler Mission. The result was presented today at the fifth Kepler/K2 Science Conference held in Glendale, California. Read More
CU Boulder Lands A Slot On First Orion Flight Around The Moon

March 4, 2019 – A little piece of Colorado is going to the moon. When NASA launches Orion EM-1 in 2020, its first mission to orbit the moon since 1972, experiments from the University of Colorado Boulder will be aboard. Read More
More News
SpaceX Splashdown Marks Success Of First Commercial Crew Flight Test
Source: NASA
SWIM Project Maps Potential Sources Of Mars Water
Source: Planetary Science Institute
Ultima Thule In 3D
Source: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute/National Optical Astronomy Observatory
Discovering Bonus Science With NASA’s MMS Mission
Source: NASA
NASA’s Deep Space Exploration System Is Coming Together
Source: NASA
Jupiter Jet And Brown Barge
Source: NASA
Mars InSight Lander’s ‘Mole’ Pauses Digging
Source: NASA
Space Data: Hypergiant Will Help Create An Interplanetary Internet
Source: Austin Inno
What Does The Milky Way Weigh?
Source: Source: NASA/ESO/STScI
10 Years Ago: Kepler Planet Finder Is Launched
Source: NASA
NASA Seeks New options For Science Instrument On Europa Clipper
Source: NASA
SECAF Announces Resignation
Source: Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs
What Is LCROSS, The Lunar Crater Observation And Sensing Satellite?
Source: NASA
The Slow Charm Of Brain Terrain
Source: NASA
What is BASALT? – Preparing For Human Deep Space Missions, On Earth
Source: NASA
NASA Captures Supersonic Shock Interaction
Source: NASA
Hubble’s Dazzling Display Of 2 Colliding Galaxies
Source: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
Colorado Congressional Delegation, Governor Ask Pentagon For Space Command Base
Source: The Hill
GAO Takes Weather Satellite Program Off Watch List
Source: SpaceNews
NASA And NOAA Emphasize Value Of Commercial Earth Science Data
Source: SpaceNews
UCF Research Laying Groundwork For Off-World Colonies
Source: University of Central Florida
Scientists And Dignitaries Celebrate 7 Decades Of CU Boulder In Space
Source: University of Colorado Boulder
Space Foundation Announces 2019 Space Achievement Award Recipients
Source: Space Foundation
Seminar – Swarm Technologies: Deploying The Smallest Communications Satellites For Connecting The Globe
Source: University of Colorado Boulder
Spotless February
Source: Solar Dynamics Observatory/NASA
On National Security | The SpaceX-ULA Proxy War Is Heating Up
Source: SpaceNews
EELV Is No More. It Is Now ‘National Security Space Launch’
Source: SpaceNews
Scientists Track Deep History Of Planets’ Motions, And Effects On Earth’s Climate
Source: Earth Institute at Columbia University
The Case Of The Over-Tilting Exoplanets
Source: Yale University