Tag: space

Chinese space probe carrying lunar samples returned to Earth: state media

BEIJING, China (AFP) — An unmanned Chinese spacecraft carrying rocks and soil from the Moon returned safely to Earth early Thursday in the first mission in four decades to collect lunar samples, the Xinhua news agency said. The return module of the space probe known as Chang’e-5 landed in northern China’s Inner Mongolia region, Xinhua said, quoting the China National Space Administration. Beijing is looking to catch up with the US and Russia after taking […]

China to open giant telescope to international scientists

by Ludovic EHRET PINGTANG, China (AFP) — Nestled among the mountains in southwest China, the world’s largest radio telescope signals Beijing’s ambitions as a global centre for scientific research. The Five-hundred-metre Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) — the only significant instrument of its kind after the collapse of another telescope in Puerto Rico this month — is about to open its doors for foreign astronomers to use, hoping to attract the world’s top scientific talent. The […]

Japan space agency hails return of asteroid dust on Earth

by Kyoko HASEGAWA / Sara HUSSEIN TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan space agency officials on Sunday hailed the arrival of rare asteroid samples on Earth after they were collected by space probe Hayabusa-2 during an unprecedented mission. In a streak of light across the night sky, a capsule containing the precious specimens taken from a distant asteroid arrived on Earth after being dropped off by the probe. Scientists hope the samples, which are expected to […]

NASA buying Moon dust for $1

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US space agency NASA awarded contracts to four companies on Thursday to collect lunar samples for $1 to $15,000, rock-bottom prices that are intended to set a precedent for future exploitation of space resources by the private sector. “I think it’s kind of amazing that we can buy lunar regolith from four companies for a total of $25,001,” said Phil McAlister, director of NASA’s Commercial Spaceflight Division. The contracts […]

Chinese probe lands on Moon to gather lunar samples

BEIJING, China (AFP) — China landed a probe on the Moon on Tuesday, said Beijing’s space agency, which aims to bring back to Earth the first lunar samples in four decades. China has poured billions into its military-run space program, with hopes of having a crewed space station by 2022 and of eventually sending humans to the Moon. The latest mission’s goal is to collect lunar rocks and soil to help scientists learn about the […]

China launches Moon probe to bring back lunar rocks

BEIJING, China (AFP) — China on Tuesday launched an unmanned spacecraft to bring back lunar rocks — the first attempt by any nation to retrieve samples from the Moon in four decades. A Long March 5 rocket carrying the Chang’e-5 probe, named after the mythical Chinese moon goddess, blasted off from the Wenchang Space Center on the southern island province of Hainan at 4:30 am (2030 GMT Monday), the official Xinhua news agency reported. Beijing […]

SpaceX launches four astronauts to ISS

by Issam Ahmed and Ivan Couronne WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Four astronauts were successfully launched on the SpaceX Crew Dragon “Resilience” to the International Space Station on Sunday, the first of what the US hopes will be many routine missions following a successful test flight in late spring. Three Americans — Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker — and Japan’s Soichi Noguchi blasted off at 7:27 pm (0027 GMT Monday) from the Kennedy […]

Moon richer in water than once thought

by Juliette Collen and Kelly Macnamara PARIS, France (AFP) — There may be far more water on the Moon than previously thought, according to two studies published Monday raising the tantalizing prospect that astronauts on future space missions could find refreshment — and maybe even fuel — on the lunar surface. The Moon was believed to be bone dry until around a decade ago, when a series of findings suggested that our nearest celestial neighbor […]

NASA probe Osiris-Rex ‘boops’ asteroid Bennu in historic mission

by Ivan Couronne WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — After a four-year journey, NASA’s robotic spacecraft Osiris-Rex briefly touched down on asteroid Bennu’s boulder-strewn surface on Tuesday to collect rock and dust samples in a precision operation 200 million miles (330 million kilometers) from Earth. The so-called “Touch-And-Go” or TAG maneuver was managed by Lockheed Martin Space in Denver, Colorado, where at 6:12 pm (2212 GMT) an announcer said: “Touchdown declared. Sampling is in progress,” and […]

Nokia and NASA to install 4G on the Moon

HELSINKI, Finland (AFP) —  With competition among Earth’s telecoms providers as fierce as ever, equipment maker Nokia announced its expansion into a new market on Monday, winning a deal to install the first cellular network on the Moon. The Finnish equipment manufacturer said it was selected by NASA to deploy an “ultra-compact, low-power, space-hardened” wireless 4G network on the lunar surface, as part of the US space agency’s plan to establish a long-term human presence […]

New crew reaches ISS in record time

by Christopher RICKLETON ALMATY, Kazakhstan (AFP) — A three-person crew successfully reached the International Space Station on Wednesday aboard a Russian rocket after the fastest ever journey from Earth of just over three hours. The mission of the Soyuz space craft carrying two Russian cosmonauts and one NASA astronaut was of immense importance to Russia’s space agency Roscosmos, coming as the SpaceX programme relaunches manned spaceflight from the United States and ignites fresh talk of […]

ISS moves to avoid space debris

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Astronauts on the International Space Station carried out an “avoidance maneuver” Tuesday to ensure they would not be hit by a piece of debris, said US space agency NASA, urging better management of objects in Earth’s orbit. Russian and US flight controllers worked together during a two-and-a-half-minute operation to adjust the station’s orbit and move further away, avoiding collision. The debris passed within about 1.4 kilometers (nearly one mile) […]