August 2016
Our changing world and the mounting risk of a calamitous solar storm
... an effective way-station for efficient transportation to other points in the Solar System such as the Moon, Mars, or asteroids. The advantage of such a way-station is that the low gravitational pull at L-1 is such that highly efficient electrical...
May 2018
Taxation of outer space: a next step for space exploration?
...irrespective of their degree of economic or scientific development...”. Asteroids could offer a lucrative resource for future space mining companies...matter. Until the end of 2015, the legality of asteroid mining was not regulated in detail. But the US...
January 2019
Saving humanity – is space up to the job?
... to our planet and life on Earth from such things as climate breakdown, solar storms, space debris and asteroid impacts. In this article Dr Joseph Pelton, a passionate advocate of using space systems to help humanity, provides an overview of the...
24 September 2018
Hayabusa2 rovers land successfully on Ryugu
...away on the bottom of Hayabusa2 during its long journey to this carbon-rich, diamond-shaped asteroid that is a kilometre in diameter. The asteroids new inhabitants weigh just over 1 kilogram, stand seven centimetres (cm) in height and have a diameter...
October 2015
Baikonur, Kibo and beyond: Japan’s leading role in space
... rocket equipped with an improved mechanism. The Soyuz TMA-17M rocket illuminated at night. And it’s not just asteroids: Japan is conducting planetary exploration too. Currently, the Akatsuki (‘Dawn’) probe is on its space odyssey - in late July...
November 2016
Rosetta - an eventful cruise phase
...started preparing for the next challenge: the first asteroid fly-by ever attempted by a European spacecraft. ...of the relative position between Rosetta and the asteroid: by taking pictures of the asteroid in the weeks before the approach and measuring...
