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You don't know Jennifer Herman's name, but you should. She became the lead power subsystem engineer for the Spirit and Opportunity rovers. Her tireless work for months on end is, more than anything else, the reason why our twin girls survived the deadly 2007 Martian dust storms.

And now she's the lead power subsystem engineer for Voyager. In the same quiet, dedicated way, she's the one making the tough calls that'll help keep *them* alive for years to come.

https://gizmodo.com/nasa-shuts-off-voyager-science-instrument-more-power-cuts-ahead-to-keep-both-probes-going-2000572202 #space

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Tomorrow could be a great day for space robots.

Intuitive Machines' Athena lander is set to touch down on the Moon carrying the "Grace" Hopper robot, Yaoki 360° rover, and MAPP prospecting rover.

Plus a micro-rover, AstroAnt, that will ride around on top of the MAPP rover!

https://www.intuitivemachines.com/im-2 #space #science #nasa #tech

The AstroAnt robot will be operating on the top surface of the Lunar Outpost MAPP-1 rover, equipped with a thermopile on its bottom surface for contact-less temperature measurements of the MAPP-1 rover radiator. With mobility in the Lunar gravity environment, the robot can measure temperature from different positions on the radiator and help with monitoring the performance of the thermal system, which is one of the most crucial systems of the rover. Leveraging magnetic wheels, the robot can attach to and move along the top rover surface. The AstroAnt will be the first-ever miniature robotic mission on the Lunar surface.
The AstroAnt robot will be operating on the top surface of the Lunar Outpost MAPP-1 rover, equipped with a thermopile on its bottom surface for contact-less temperature measurements of the MAPP-1 rover radiator. With mobility in the Lunar gravity environment, the robot can measure temperature from different positions on the radiator and help with monitoring the performance of the thermal system, which is one of the most crucial systems of the rover. Leveraging magnetic wheels, the robot can attach to and move along the top rover surface. The AstroAnt will be the first-ever miniature robotic mission on the Lunar surface.
The AstroAnt robot will be operating on the top surface of the Lunar Outpost MAPP-1 rover, equipped with a thermopile on its bottom surface for contact-less temperature measurements of the MAPP-1 rover radiator. With mobility in the Lunar gravity environment, the robot can measure temperature from different positions on the radiator and help with monitoring the performance of the thermal system, which is one of the most crucial systems of the rover. Leveraging magnetic wheels, the robot can attach to and move along the top rover surface. The AstroAnt will be the first-ever miniature robotic mission on the Lunar surface.
The AstroAnt robot will be operating on the top surface of the Lunar Outpost MAPP-1 rover, equipped with a thermopile on its bottom surface for contact-less temperature measurements of the MAPP-1 rover radiator. With mobility in the Lunar gravity environment, the robot can measure temperature from different positions on the radiator and help with monitoring the performance of the thermal system, which is one of the most crucial systems of the rover. Leveraging magnetic wheels, the robot can attach to and move along the top rover surface. The AstroAnt will be the first-ever miniature robotic mission on the Lunar surface.

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Cross-section of a futuristic version of the SpaceX Starship, featuring an airlock, hab deck, cargo bay with robot arm and a dedicated interplanetary propulsion stage.
Stellar work!
#space #art by Liam Keating (Robots V Dinosaurs).
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/bgrvoa

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#PPOD: NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover spotted these finger-like rocks with its Mast Camera, or Mastcam, on May 15, 2022, the mission's 3,474th Martian day, or sol. These rocks likely formed as groundwater trickled through rock in the ancient past, depositing mineral cements over time. When the rock was exposed to the atmosphere many years later, wind eroded the softer material around the cemented portions. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

#space #science #scicomm

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Blue Ghost is on the Moon! Images are coming in now from what appears to be the first fully successful commercial lunar lander. Just look at that shadow.

Over the next 2 weeks, Firefly's Blue Ghost will drill, study lunar dust, and observe an eclipse of the Sun...by the Earth.

https://fireflyspace.com/news/firefly-aerospace-becomes-first-commercial-company-to-successfully-land-on-the-moon/ #space #science #tech

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NASA's Lucy mission is named after the famed hominid fossil.

Lucy (the spacecraft) just got its first look at 4-km-wide asteroid Donaldjohanson, named after the anthropologist who co-discovered Lucy's remains.

https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/goddard/nasas-lucy-spacecraft-takes-its-1st-images-of-asteroid-donaldjohanson/ #space #science #nature

Donaldjohanson. The asteroid is outlined with a square in the right image to guide the eye. Credit: NASA/Goddard/SwRI/Johns Hopkins APL

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Lucy is a crazy ambitious mission that will visit a total of 11 asteroids (and maybe more).

Close-up views of Donaldjohanson are coming April 20.

https://lucy.swri.edu/mission/Targets.html #space #science #nasa

The Lucy mission will travel to eight Trojan asteroids and three main belt asteroids. No other space mission is history has been launched to as many different destinations in independent orbits around the Sun!

Lucy launched in October 2021. Its trajectory first takes it by the Earth for two gravity assists before it begins its journey out to the Trojan Asteroids.

Before its second Earth gravity assist, Lucy will travel through the inner edge of the main asteroid belt and fly by its first asteroid on November 2023. It will fly by the small asteroid (152830) Dinkinesh and its satellite.

Later, on its way out to the Trojan asteroids, Lucy will travel through the main belt again and fly by anoter main belt asteroid on April 2025. It will fly by (52246) Donaldjohanson, an asteroid that the Lucy team named after one of the co-discoverers of the Lucy fossil.
The Lucy mission will travel to eight Trojan asteroids and three main belt asteroids. No other space mission is history has been launched to as many different destinations in independent orbits around the Sun! Lucy launched in October 2021. Its trajectory first takes it by the Earth for two gravity assists before it begins its journey out to the Trojan Asteroids. Before its second Earth gravity assist, Lucy will travel through the inner edge of the main asteroid belt and fly by its first asteroid on November 2023. It will fly by the small asteroid (152830) Dinkinesh and its satellite. Later, on its way out to the Trojan asteroids, Lucy will travel through the main belt again and fly by anoter main belt asteroid on April 2025. It will fly by (52246) Donaldjohanson, an asteroid that the Lucy team named after one of the co-discoverers of the Lucy fossil.

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A Seattle-area space startup that started out as #LumenOrbit has changed its name to #Starcloud - and has brought in an additional $10 million in funding for its plan to create data centers in orbit. https://www.geekwire.com/2025/lumen-orbit-starcloud-10m-space-data-centers/#Space#Tech#Cloud

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"This potential treasure hunt in space has sparked discussions about ownership laws, space ethics, and environmental implications. As these celestial bodies could herald an era where space becomes a frontier for industry and sustainable energy, they invoke questions about the regulation of extraterrestrial resource claims."

https://www.scimag.news/news-en/130047/asteroids-to-power-the-future-space-mining-revolution-begins/

#Space#SpaceMining#SpaceLaw#SpaceEthics#SpaceEnvironment#SpaceEnvironmentalism#SpaceSustainability

• 📆 2018, #ISS became the first facility to produce #BECs ⚛️ in #space 🌌
• In #space, so-called cool flames 🔥 can burn for minutes
#ISS water 💦 purification system deployed across #India 🇮🇳, #Mexico 🇲🇽, #Pakistan🇵🇰
#StemCells regenerative medicine ⚕️ could repair/replace failing organs and cells
• Higher quality protein crystals
#Microbes 🦠 can extract metals from #regolith
• Tissue/organ-on-a-chip effects faster in #microgravity
#3Dprinting
• Organ growth
https://interestingengineering.com/lists/13-science-breakthroughs-experiments-iss

#NASA

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“The case for sending humans into #space gets weaker and weaker every year as #robots 🤖 get cleverer and more sophisticated,. They can do the #science ⚗️ 🔬 and assemble large structures in space and are much, much cheaper 💵 📉 to operate in space. We don’t need humans 👨‍🔬 to do #research in space.” https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/oct/29/international-space-station-25-years

#SpaceRobot#HumanSpaceflight

Content Warning

• 📆 2018, #ISS became the first facility to produce #BECs ⚛️ in #space 🌌
• In #space, so-called cool flames 🔥 can burn for minutes
#ISS water 💦 purification system deployed across #India 🇮🇳, #Mexico 🇲🇽, #Pakistan🇵🇰
#StemCells regenerative medicine ⚕️ could repair/replace failing organs and cells
• Higher quality protein crystals
#Microbes 🦠 can extract metals from #regolith
• Tissue/organ-on-a-chip effects faster in #microgravity
#3Dprinting
• Organ growth
https://interestingengineering.com/lists/13-science-breakthroughs-experiments-iss

#NASA