Aerospace & Defence

Exceptionally thin and lightweight, Alpha Wire’s new ThermoThin Hook-Up Wire offers outstanding performance for a wide range of demanding applications and environments. It is now available from distributor Aerco. ThermoThin Hook-Up Wire delivers 600V performance across an exceptionally wide temperature range of -150degC to +300degC, and is well suited for applications where premium performance must be matched with space and weight savings.

Developer of Radio-Frequency (RF)-based ultra-miniature wireless modules for integration into microchips, Insight SiP, has announced that its RF ISP130301 module went into space as a key component of the BodyCap e-Tact wearable device used by the European Space Agency (ESA) as part of its health monitoring programme.

  There are no mechanics on Mars, so the next best thing for NASA's Curiosity rover is careful driving. A new algorithm is helping the rover do just that. The software, referred to as traction control, adjusts the speed of Curiosity's wheels depending on the rocks it's climbing.

  University of Michigan researchers have developed a concept for ferrofluid-based propulsion. As the trend for miniaturisation of electronic technology continues, more spacecraft and satellites are becoming smaller, with typical sizes reducing from about that of a fridge or small car to approaching a shoebox or even a smartphone.

Stanford researchers have for the first time captured the freezing of water, molecule-by-molecule, into a strange, dense form called ice VII (“ice seven”), found naturally in otherworldly environments, such as when icy planetary bodies collide. In addition to helping scientists better understand those remote worlds, the findings – published in Physical Review Letters – could reveal how water and other substa...

Just like early explorers, NASA Twins Study investigators are venturing into new territory. Conducting human omics research on twin astronauts as part of the One Year Mission that took place aboard the International Space Station is one such venture. As technology evolves so does the research. NASA is evaluating more efficient and innovative research techniques to prepare for the journey to Mars.

  Aerospace gearing specialist, Harmonic Drive UK, will address the issue of gear lubrication in the space industry during a presentation at this year’s European Space Mechanisms and Tribology Symposium (ESMATS) at the University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield from 20-22nd September. The session will present the findings of the company’s research into dry lubrication.

NASA hopes to send a manned mission to Mars in the mid-2030s. On a planet where temperatures can fall to -125ºC generating energy presents a key challenge and new techniques are about to be tested. The best equipment needs the people to use it, so resilience experiments are also under way. To tackle the challenge of energy generation, NASA will test two-meter high reactors, developed as part of the ‘Kilopower’ project, in th...

  Only days after celebrating its first anniversary in Jupiter orbit, NASA's Juno spacecraft will fly directly over Jupiter's Great Red Spot, the gas giant's iconic, 10,000m wide (16,000km wide) storm. This will be humanity's first up-close and personal view of the gigantic feature - a storm monitored since 1830 and possibly existing for more than 350 years.

NASA has moved forward with a plan to develop a refrigerator-sized spacecraft capable of deflecting asteroids and preventing them from colliding with Earth. The Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART, is being designed and would be built and managed by scientists at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. NASA approved a move from concept development to the preliminary design phase on June 23.