NASA is pursuing six wacky new concepts. The agency's Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program has selected six conceptual studies for additional funding and development. These visionary projects aim to revolutionize aspects of space exploration and utilization. They include a propulsion system that uses plasma packets generated by fission to propel, a mega constellation of autonomous SmallSats to measure the magnetic fields emitted by exoplanets and the cosmic dark ages, a lunar railway system and further. Pictured: a collage of artistic concepts from the six projects. Image credits: NASA. From left: Edward Balaban, Mary Knapp, Mahmooda Sultana, Brianna Clements, Ethan Schaler.
NASA asks Congress for extra money to deorbit the ISS. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson spoke today before members of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee. asking them to approve it money to build a deorbit vehicle for the International Space Station, separate from NASA's regular budget request. The estimated cost of the deorbit vehicle has risen to $1.5 billion over six years.
Chang'e-6 takes a surprise vehicle to the Moon. After launching the Chang'e-6 spacecraft On May 3, China shared an image that showed what seemed to be a small rover attached to the lander. The rover had not previously been revealed as a payload. It may carry an infrared imaging spectrometer, which could be used to determine the composition of lunar rocks and soil, including the presence of water.
A new report warns of increased orbital congestion. One of the findings of a new report The status of Slingshot Aerospace's satellite deployments and orbital operations is that a total of 12,597 spacecraft were in orbit at the end of 2023. This represents a 12.4% increase in the total number of satellites deployed compared to 2022 and includes 3,356 inactive satellites. . All this congestion increases the danger of collisions between spacecraft.
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