- British technology to turn Moon dust into oxygen
British engineers are fine-tuning a process that will be used to extract oxygen from lunar dust, leaving behind metal powders that could be 3D printed into construction materials for a Moon base.It could be an early step to establishing an extra-terrestrial oxygen extraction plant. This would help to enable exploration and sustain life on the Moon while avoiding the enormous cost of sending materials from Earth. Read more » - Supercapacitors ready to deliver maximum power to space
High-power supercapacitors – already found within terrestrial electric cars, trains, lifts and cranes – are on their way to space. Read more » - Move over plastic: desktop 3D printing in metal or ceramics
Image: Move over plastic: desktop 3D printing in metal or ceramics Read more » - ESA engineers assess Moon Village habitat
Renowned architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, originator of many of the world’s tallest skyscrapers, has been working on an even more challenging design: a habitat for a future Moon Village. Their proposal has undergone rigorous examination by ESA experts at the Agency’s mission-evaluating Concurrent Design Facility. Read more » - From the Moon to Mars, future missions studied by CDF
How would you construct an inflatable base on the Moon? What is the optimal way of providing early warnings of space weather? How would you map in the world in high resolution from geostationary orbit? What would 3D-printed CubeSats look like? Which is the best way to go to Mars? All questions recently asked of ESA’s Concurrent Design Facility – where experts comes together to make preliminary designs of mission proposals and novel technologies. Read more » - ESA seeking dust-proof materials for lunar return
When humans return to the Moon they’ll have formidable challenge lying in wait: lunar dust. The talcum-like lunar regolith is considered the biggest operational problem facing Moon colonists. Within a few days of dust exposure, Apollo spacesuits suffered obscured visors, clogged mechanisms and eroded suit layers. So an ESA team is looking into novel material options to serve as the basis of future spacesuits or protect rovers or fixed infrastructure. Read more » - Video: The world's most accurate navigation signals
Video: The world's most accurate navigation signals Read more »
Sun 29th of Nov 2020 UTC
Age: 14 days old
Phase: Waxing Gibbous
Illumination: 99%
Distance: 403,820 km
