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NASA plans to obtain additional data under customary scientific use licenses. That means NASA is unable to purchase as much data as it could with more restrictive licenses Fremont, CA : Program Executive for NASA's Earth Science Data System, Kevin Murphy, said that NASA would continue to buy Earth observation data collected by commercial satellite constellations as a result of a pilot program. If the information collected will be of sufficient quality and utility, NASA will try to obtain more data from the Planet and Maxar satellites, Murphy said on Dec 10 at the American Geophysical Union Conference. The space agency is continuously evaluating the Spire Global data. NASA has announced its plans to purchase Earth science data from Planet, Maxar, and Spire earlier in 2018. The space agency directed the principal investigators to assess the value of data and imagery for advancing Earth system science research. Essential questions were, "Can we do new stuff? Or can we do the stuff we already do better with this information," Murphy said. The imagery and data were helpful, but warning licenses were a sticking point. The data obtained by NASA under the pilot program was through scientific case licenses with limitations on publication. "Standard scientific collaborations were inhibited by the license agreement," Murphy said. "Being able to share information and collaborate is highly important." NASA plans to obtain additional data under customary scientific use licenses. That means NASA is unable to purchase as much data as it could with more restrictive permissions, but the transformation is "necessary both for our ability to manage the interactions with principal investigators and their expectations," Murphy said. The Commercial Smallsat Data Acquisition program of NASA may bring additional vendors into the process. "We're going to offer opportunities to on-ramp new vendors continuously," Murphy said. "This will happen every year to year and a half." Apart from Maxar, Planet, and Spire, Teledyne Brown Engineering is providing Earth imagery and data to NASA from the DLR Earth Sensing Imaging Spectrometer, a hyperspectral imager mounted on the outer part of the International Space Station . "We've agreed in the last week or so that we're going to have unlimited access to those products for a period about a year and a half, including about 50 percent of the tasking capability," Murphy said. See Also:  Top   Rapid Engagement for Accelerated Learning at NASA ...Read more

Gene editing could make humans more capable of traveling farther into space and even to planets such as Mars. Radiation is one of the significant concerns with space travel. Scientists are yet to discover a way to overcome the hurdle of radiation Long spaceflight journeys tend to leave an aftereffect on astronauts. Chris Mason, geneticist and associate professor of physiology and biophysics at Weill Cornell University in New York, recently investigated the genetic effects of spaceflight and how humans might overcome these challenges to expand our species farther into the solar system . According to his findings, one of the ways to protect future astronauts on missions to places like Mars may involve the DNA of tardigrades, tiny micro-animals that can survive the most extreme conditions, even the vacuum of space. In 2015, Mason led one of the ten teams of researchers chosen by NASA to study twin astronauts Mark and Scott Kelly. Scott Kelly spent nearly a year on the International Space Station , while Mark stayed back on Earth. Scientists aimed to learn more about how long-duration missions affect the human body by studying how the two astronauts biologically reacted to their vastly different environments during the same period. Mason and his team of researchers uncovered a wealth of data that has so far revealed many new findings about how space affects the human body. The research, which involved studying how specific genes are expressed during the different stages of spaceflight, could provide useful insights for future efforts to mitigate the dangers of spaceflight. However, the findings from the research are not conclusive enough as it involved just two people and inadequate data. Scientists rely on data that can be justified, both qualitative and quantitative, to draw conclusions and suggest suitable methods to answer the research question. Mason believes that some of these changes are part of how the body needs to respond to space travel. According to Mason, medicines can be prescribed to the future astronauts to mitigate the effects they have discovered through the study. However, new studies have suggested that gene editing could make humans more capable of traveling farther into space and even to planets such as Mars. Radiation is one of the significant concerns with space travel. Scientists are yet to discover a way to overcome the hurdle of radiation. If found, astronauts could remain healthier for longer durations in space, and also help to combat the efforts of radiation on healthy cells during cancer treatments on Earth. Also see:-  Top Aviation Technology Consulting/ Services Companies ...Read more

Sixty years since the launch of Sputnik, the human race is now on the brink of commercial crewed space flights. The space industry is no more exclusive to government enterprises, companies like Boeing, SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic have revolutionized the space industry in ways that no one would have imagined. Satellites are now capable of servicing robotic spacecraft at rendezvous points Space has proved to be one of the most opportunistic fields of exploration for humankind. Since the very beginning, space has proved to be grounds for contention for different nations. In the 1950s, then superpowers Russia and the U.S.A. were the only two competitors for space domination, but the scenario has changed quite a lot since then. Almost every rising economy is investing heavily in space exploration , reaching new heights, and leveraging space technology to make life on Earth simpler. Sixty years since the launch of Sputnik, the human race is now on the brink of commercial crewed space flights . The space industry is no more exclusive to government enterprises, companies like Boeing, SpaceX, Blue Origin , and Virgin Galactic have revolutionized the space industry in ways that no one would have imagined. Satellites are now capable of servicing robotic spacecraft at rendezvous points. Satellite constellations to boost internet speeds and make it accessible in any corner of the world is also becoming a reality. Satellite imagery fed to Earth via artificial intelligence algorithms has show scope for powerful insights into all manner of human activity. Over the years, the U.S. has continued its dominance for a very long period. After decommissioning the Space Shuttle in 2011, the U.S. was left without a launch vehicle until recently, when Elon Musk owned SpaceX delivered the Falcon range to launch American Spacecraft into space. The company is currently working on the Crew Dragon spacecraft that is set to carry astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) . The Crew Dragon is built with features to complete missions to the Moon and Mars as part of the Artemis program. The second generation of the space race has already begun; only this time, its the U.S. and China who have locked horns. However, the space programs by both nations do not show any of the usual characteristics of a space race. This could be because of the Communist Chinese government's steadfast determination not to face the same fate as the Soviet Union. The communist leaders understand that unsustainable fiscal spending poses a more significant threat to national security than the U.S. lead in space capabilities. The Chinese government does not disclose its space budget, but even the more generous estimates show the budget to be not more than one-fourth of the U.S. space budget. The U.S. government, on the other hand, understands their position in the global space race and believes not much can be achieved by getting things done in a rush. Since George W. Bush, all the U.S. presidents have taken major turns when it comes to space missions. Bush orchestrated the beginning of deep space exploration while Obama took a different approach by shifting the focus on asteroid exploration. The Trump administration changed the space exploration agenda all over again by focusing on returning man to Moon and crewed missions to Mars. Trump also intends to land the first woman on the Moon in 2024. While laying out these missions, the Trump administration has shown a sense of urgency that was last seen during the Apollo missions. The Chinese space artillery has been portrayed as a significant threat to the U.S. government. However, that does not seem to be the case when the numbers are compared. The U.S. outnumbers the Chinese satellites 1000 to 300, while SpaceX alone boasts of 60 percent of the commercial space launch market compared to China's 10 percent. The U.S. arsenal also has more powerful launch vehicles than its counterpart. SpaceX's reusable Falcon Heavy can lift 64 tonnes into low Earth orbit , while China’s most powerful rocket, the single-use Long March 5B, can lift just 25 tonnes, and remains out of service following a launch failure in 2017. Check This Out:-  Top Aerospace Manufacturing Companies ...Read more