Topics: Mars, Nuclear Fusion, Space Exploration, Spaceflight, Women in Science A physicist has come up with a new rocket engine thruster concept that could take people to Mars ten times more quickly. The physicist in question, Fatima Ebrahimi, is the concept’s inventor and is part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL). Ebrahimi’s studyContinue reading “Rocket Science…”
Category Archives: Spaceflight
High Flight…
Topics: Mars, NASA, Planetary Science, Space Exploration, Spaceflight “High Flight” by John Gillespie Magee, Jr. Ingenuity, a technology experiment, is preparing to attempt the first powered, controlled flight on the Red Planet. When NASA’s Perseverance rover lands on Mars on Feb. 18, 2021, it will be carrying a small but mighty passenger: Ingenuity, the MarsContinue reading “High Flight…”
Lattice Confinement Fusion…
Topics: Astrophysics, NASA, Nuclear Fusion, Propulsion, Space Exploration, Spaceflight A team of NASA researchers seeking a new energy source for deep-space exploration missions, recently revealed a method for triggering nuclear fusion in the space between the atoms of a metal solid. Their research was published in two peer-reviewed papers in the top journal in theContinue reading “Lattice Confinement Fusion…”
One Small Step…
Topics: Moonbase, NASA, Space Exploration, Spaceflight, Star Trek Cultural references: Neil Armstrong’s quote: “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” and the title of a Star Trek Voyager episode, season 6, episode 8. On August 4, 1972, the sun unleashed an incandescent whip of energy from its surface and flung it towardContinue reading “One Small Step…”
SABRE…
Topics: Aerodynamics, ESA, NASA, Space Exploration, Spaceflight The pursuit, exploration and utilization of the space environment can be misinterpreted as a luxury. History portrays space as an exclusive domain for global powers looking to demonstrate their prowess through technological marvels, or the stage for far-off exploration and scientific endeavour with little impact on daily life. However,Continue reading “SABRE…”
Tang Jet…
Topics: Aerodynamics, Futurism, Plasma, Propulsion, Spaceflight Personal note: I’ve been offline prepping for my preliminary exam presentation, and grieving the loss of a friend I had known for 40 years since our freshman year at NC A&T. I was his best man. He did not die of COVID, but a heart attack. As such, myContinue reading “Tang Jet…”
Oumuamua…
Topics: Astrophysics, Space Exploration, Spaceflight ‘Oumuamua—a mysterious, interstellar object that crashed through our solar system two years ago—might in fact be alien technology. That’s because an alternative, non-alien explanation might be fatally flawed, as a new study argues. But most scientists think the idea that we spotted alien technology in our solar system is aContinue reading “Oumuamua…”
Starliner…
Topics: NASA, Space Exploration, Spaceflight NASA and Boeing continue to make progress toward the company’s second uncrewed flight test of the CST-100 Starliner spacecraft prior to flying astronauts to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The Commercial Crew Program currently is targeting no earlier than December 2020 for launch ofContinue reading “Starliner…”
Ceres…
Topics: Asteroids, Exoplanets, Space Exploration, Spaceflight “Ceres was the Roman goddess of agriculture, grain, and the love a mother bears for her child. She was the daughter of Saturn and Ops, the sister of Jupiter, and the mother of Proserpine. Ceres was a kind and benevolent goddess to the Romans and they had a common expression, “fit for Ceres,”Continue reading “Ceres…”
Physics and Nano 