Home ›
Aerospace
Information on this department

Aeronautical and space technology
Synthetic Life to Aid in Colonizing Space?
Sep 23, 2010
"When packing for a manned mission to Mars or the Moon, the best thing to bring may not be food or fuel, but specially-designed organisms that can create those things for you."
Testing NASA Equipment in the Desert
Sep 21, 2010
NASA's Desert RATS -- or Research and Technology Studies -- are making their 13th trip to the desert this fall for another round of analog testing. The Earth-based project is helping NASA plan future human missions to locations like Mars where humans will play a scientific role in the search for life in our solar system.
"Data Clippers" to Provide Communications to Outer Solar System?
Sep 20, 2010
"A new golden age of sailing may be about to begin -- in space. Future missions to explore the outer planets could employ fleets of 'data-clippers' -- manoeuvrable spacecraft equipped with solar sails, to ship vast quantities of scientific data to back Earth."
Plastics That Harden in Space
Sep 14, 2010
"Space radiation might finally be good for something. The high-energy particles that degrade spacecraft and threaten astronauts' health could actually help make a new material useful for inflatable space habitats, a flight test suggests."
The Pyschological Stress of Months in Space
Sep 3, 2010
"Volunteers in Russia are approaching the three-month mark in their record 520-day Mars spaceflight simulation. Meanwhile, researchers will continue to pay close attention to how the six volunteer "astronauts" physically and psychologically cope throughout the mock mission to the red planet."
A New Training Device for Astronauts
Aug 27, 2010
"A new contraption artificially induces the dizzying effects of spaceflight in human brains without the pesky need to actually leave Earth."
Solar Sailing in Earth Orbit
Jul 29, 2010
"Solar sails could push satellites into previously impossible orbits"
Tiny Satellites Provide Cheap Space Experiments
Jul 28, 2010
"The shrinking technology of cell phones, laptops and cameras are now leading to palm-sized satellites."
Why Launch Spacecraft From Florida
Jul 24, 2010
"Rockets have been blasting off from Florida for 60 years, but why is the Space Coast a prime spot for launches?"
A New Supersonic Passenger Jet?
Jul 23, 2010
"Supersonic passenger travel was grounded in 2003 when British Airways and Air France cancelled their transatlantic Concorde service because of falling revenues and rising maintenance costs. The Aerion Supersonic Business Jet (SBJ) promises to help travelers break the sound barrier again."