News Summaries for January 22

Sticky Airbags and Grapples: Kinetic ASATs Without the Debris (Source: Space Review)
One of the biggest arguments against the use of kinetic anti-satellite weapons is the large amount of potentially dangerous space debris they can create. Taylor Dinerman discusses some new approaches that can be just as effective but without creating debris. Visit http://www.thespacereview.com/article/789/1 to view the article.

Dose of Crystals Could Make Moon Base Self-Sufficient (Source: New Scientist)
When NASA sets up its permanent base on the moon, how will the colonists keep themselves going? How will they get oxygen to breathe, and where will they find building materials, not to mention silicon for all the solar panels they will need? Easy, says Geoffrey Landis of NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. All these materials can be made from moon dust. Landis's plan is to use just one chemical shipped from Earth - potassium fluoride, in crystal form - to extract a range of useful materials from the "regolith" that makes up the moon's surface.

Indian Space Capsule Splashes Down (Source: Intl. Herald Tribune)
An Indian space capsule splashed down in the Bay of Bengal on Monday, giving engineers a chance to test technology needed to return astronauts to Earth, an official said. The capsule orbited earth for 11 days before re-entering the atmosphere. The 550-kilogram (1,210-pound) Space-Capsule Recovery Experiment was intended to test the organization's ability to track and recover a returning space capsule.