November 28, 2024

Sidus Space Announces LizzieSat-2 Ready for Launch (Source: Sidus Space)
Sidus Space announced the successful completion of the launch processing of LizzieSat-2 at the Astrotech Space Operations facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. LizzieSat-2 has been turned over to SpaceX and is ready for launch on the Bandwagon-2 rideshare mission, which is targeted for no earlier than December of 2024.

LizzieSat-2 was designed and manufactured at Sidus Space’s state-of-the-art facility on Florida’s Space Coast. The satellite is equipped with an advanced sensor suite that includes AIS, multi-spectral methane detection, and high-resolution visual spectrum sensors, as well as the HEO Holmes Imager, provided by HEO (USA), a subsidiary of Australian-based HEO.

NASA Is Making SpaceX Boldly Fly a Toyota to the Moon, Not a Tesla (Source: Daily Galaxy)
NASA has tasked SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, with transporting an unlikely passenger to the moon: a Toyota Lunar Cruiser. The unpressurized rover, developed by Toyota and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), is set to play a crucial role in the upcoming Artemis program. But where’s Tesla in all this?

Forget Tesla’s futuristic designs—this rover is built for rugged lunar terrain. First unveiled in 2019, the Toyota Lunar Cruiser is engineered to tackle extreme lunar environments. The vehicle features an unpressurized cabin capable of accommodating two astronauts in full suits while carrying over 1,000 pounds (0.45 ton) of scientific equipment, tools, and cargo. The Lunar Cruiser is expected to function as a key asset for extended surface operations.

The rover’s fuel-cell technology, based on Toyota’s expertise in hydrogen-powered vehicles, ensures high efficiency and long-range capability. Designed for reliability in temperatures that swing between 120 °C (248 °F) in the sun to -173 °C (-279.4 °F) in shadow, the vehicle can traverse vast expanses of lunar terrain. Scheduled for launch in 2032, the Lunar Cruiser aligns with Artemis’ long-term goals. It is expected to be deployed during Artemis 6, a mission targeting advanced exploration of the moon’s South Pole. (11/27)

What’s Next for NASA’s Giant Moon Rocket? (Source: MIT Technology Review)
NASA’s huge lunar rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS), might be in trouble. As rival launchers like SpaceX’s Starship gather pace, some are questioning the need for the US national space agency to have its own mega rocket at all—something that could become a focus of the incoming Trump administration, in which SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is set to play a key role.

“It’s absolutely in Elon Musk’s interest to convince the government to cancel SLS,” says Laura Forczyk from the US space consulting firm Astralytical. “However, it’s not up to him.” SLS has been in development for more than a decade. The rocket is huge, 322 feet (98 meters) tall, and about 15% more powerful than the Saturn V rocket that took the Apollo astronauts to the moon in the 1960s and 70s. It is also expensive, costing an estimated $4.1 billion per launch. (11/28)

There May Be 5,000-Mile Deep Oceans On Uranus And Neptune (Source: Forbes)
The ice giants in the outer solar system are rather dull-looking. Earlier this year, the revelation that their surfaces are a similar shade of greenish blue hasn't done much to move them up the pecking order. However, a new theory about what’s inside the seventh and eighth planets from the sun threatens to make it a little more interesting, not least because it involves water — and a lot of it.

Since gas giants like Uranus and Neptune are the most commonly found planets in the broader Milky Way, the discovery could have massive relevance for the search for life. A new study relying on computer simulations proposes that inside Uranus and Neptune — far below their thick, bluish, hydrogen-and-helium atmospheres — are layers of material that, like oil and water, don't mix.

Over the years, planetary scientists have suggested that the ice giants contain diamond rain within them. The new theory suggests that instead, a deep ocean of water lies just below layers of clouds in the hydrogen-helium atmosphere. Below the water, goes the theory, is a layer of hydrocarbons — a highly compressed fluid of carbon, nitrogen and hydrogen. The layers are about 5,000 miles (8,000 kilometers) thick. (11/25)

A New Giant in Space? Planet 9 Could Be Seven Times Bigger Than Earth (Source: Times of India)
Planet Nine is a theory about a massive planet that could be located far beyond Neptune, as per the studies and reports presented by various online sources. It is believed that it might be an icy or gas planet, around seven times the size of Earth. (11/28)

Life Found On Ryugu Asteroid Sample, But It Looks Very Familiar (Source: Hackaday)
Samples taken from the space-returned piece of asteroid Ryugu were collected and prepared under strict anti-contamination controls. Inside the cleanest of clean rooms, a tiny particle was collected from the returned sample with sterilized tools in a nitrogen atmosphere and stored in airtight containers before being embedded in an epoxy block for scanning electron microscopy.

It’s hard to imagine what more one could do, but despite all the precautions taken, the samples were rapidly colonized by terrestrial microorganisms. Only the upper few microns of the sample surface, but it happened. Obtaining a sample from asteroid Ryugu was a triumph. Could this organic matter have come from the asteroid itself? In a word, no. Researchers have concluded the microorganisms are almost certainly terrestrial bacteria that contaminated the sample during collection, despite the precautions taken. (11/27)