08 May 2020
China's prototype spacecraft lands successfully on Earth
... its return to Earth on Wednesday. Fitted with an inflatable, low-mass heat shield, the cargo re-entry vehicle was supposed to deploy its umbrella-shaped heat shield to a diameter of nearly 3 metre (10 feet), before falling back into Earth...
12 October 2016
‘Asgardia’ to become the first new Space Nation
... open up access to space for commerce, science and peoples of all countries on earth; - Key early development to include a shield against cosmic hazards [PARIS, FRANCE] Plans were announced today at a press conference in Paris to create the first...
July 2014
In thrall to a star: understanding the Sun will help us understand our own climate and environment
The Earth is bathed in the rays of the Sun, marginally protected by a sliver of atmosphere and shielded by an invisible magnetic field. We are used to the daily migration of the Sun across the sky and its ...
December 2014
India joins the major league with the Mars Orbiter Mission
... Orbiter Mission spacecraft attached to the fourth stage of the PSLV-C25 rocket, awaiting closure of the heat shield With this triumph, which won international accolades, including one from Pakistan’s nuclear weapon scientist Abdul...
December 2014
Asteroid Redirect Mission: preparing for Mars in deep space
... adapter and fairing, and vehicle-to-space adapter. The flight will also test the entry heat shield and parachute systems. Orion will travel farther into space than any human spacecraft has gone...
December 2014
Terraforming Mars: from CFCs to Total Recall
...again a daunting task, although one might conceivably be able to block the solar wind by constructing a planet-sized shield at the L1 Lagrange point. (The Lagrange points are points of neutral gravitational stability. L1 is located between the planet...
