Space research, like much else in capitalist societies, is driven by funding.  The biggest source of that funding for that space research is usually the US government.  Which is why, when US presidents release their budget proposals, the space community takes notice.  Especially because that budget affects NASA, the largest space funding agency in the world.  With a new year and new administration comes a new budget and with the 2021 proposed budget comes a nice funding increase for NASA.The was released on April 9th, and, at 58 pages, goes into high level details about...…Space research, like much else in capitalist societies, is driven by funding.  The biggest source of that funding for that space research is usually the US government.  Which is why, when US presidents release their budget proposals, the space community takes notice.  Especially because that budget affects NASA, the largest space funding agency in the world.  With a new year and new administration comes a new budget and with the 2021 proposed budget comes a nice funding increase for NASA.The was released on April 9th, and, at 58 pages, goes into high level details about...WW…

One of the least known of NASA’s funding mechanisms is the (SBIR) program.  This program, required by the , earmarks a piece of every US Federal agency’s budget (including NASA) for the development of small businesses to commercialize new technologies.  NASA’s SBIR program usually focus on commercializing technologies that are useable in space, and many times fund a university doing some work in addition to the small business that received the grant.  A company called , based in Broomfield, Colorado, recently received one of these SBIR grants, and teamed up with a mechanical...…One of the least known of NASA’s funding mechanisms is the (SBIR) program.  This program, required by the , earmarks a piece of every US Federal agency’s budget (including NASA) for the development of small businesses to commercialize new technologies.  NASA’s SBIR program usually focus on commercializing technologies that are useable in space, and many times fund a university doing some work in addition to the small business that received the grant.  A company called , based in Broomfield, Colorado, recently received one of these SBIR grants, and teamed up with a mechanical...WW…

Mars’ surface is a harsh environment for life.  But life on Earth is notoriously resilient as well.  No one is quite sure yet how microbes from Earth would fare on the Martian surface.  However, the impact of a potential transmigration of microbes to the red planet could be immense.  Not only could it skew any findings of potential real Martian life we might find, it could also completely disrupt any nascent biosphere that Mars might have.  To understand whether that much disruption is really possible, first we must understand whether any Earthly life can...…Mars’ surface is a harsh environment for life.  But life on Earth is notoriously resilient as well.  No one is quite sure yet how microbes from Earth would fare on the Martian surface.  However, the impact of a potential transmigration of microbes to the red planet could be immense.  Not only could it skew any findings of potential real Martian life we might find, it could also completely disrupt any nascent biosphere that Mars might have.  To understand whether that much disruption is really possible, first we must understand whether any Earthly life can...WW…

In the academic literature, review papers are widespread, and can help ground discussion on a specific topic by bringing new researchers up to speed as well as allowing experienced hands to catch up on some topics they might have otherwise missed.  Anytime a new one on a topic of space exploration is published, it helps move understanding of the entire discipline forward, even if it might not directly contribute to furthering research itself.  With that in mind, it can also be interesting for laymen to read them as well, as they are an excellent way to be quickly brought up to...…In the academic literature, review papers are widespread, and can help ground discussion on a specific topic by bringing new researchers up to speed as well as allowing experienced hands to catch up on some topics they might have otherwise missed.  Anytime a new one on a topic of space exploration is published, it helps move understanding of the entire discipline forward, even if it might not directly contribute to furthering research itself.  With that in mind, it can also be interesting for laymen to read them as well, as they are an excellent way to be quickly brought up to...WW…

aren’t the only ones testing out novel electric propulsion techniques recently.  Back in November, a company called Exotrail successfully tested a completely new kind of electric propulsion system in space – a small .Hall effect thrusters themselves have been around for .  However, they have been limited in their practicality, primarily because of their size.  Normally they are about the size of a refrigerator and require kilowatts of power, making them impractical for any small satellites.That’s where Exotrail’s shines. It is about the size of a 2 liter bottle of soda (or...…aren’t the only ones testing out novel electric propulsion techniques recently.  Back in November, a company called Exotrail successfully tested a completely new kind of electric propulsion system in space – a small .Hall effect thrusters themselves have been around for .  However, they have been limited in their practicality, primarily because of their size.  Normally they are about the size of a refrigerator and require kilowatts of power, making them impractical for any small satellites.That’s where Exotrail’s shines. It is about the size of a 2 liter bottle of soda (or...WW…

Staying afloat in space can be deceptively hard.  Just ask the characters from , or any number of the hundreds of small satellites that fall into the atmosphere in a given year.  Any object placed in low Earth orbit () must constantly fight against the drag caused by the small number of air molecules that make it up to that height.  Usually they counteract this force by using small amounts of propellant.  However, smaller satellites don’t have the luxury of enough propellant to keep them afloat for any period of time. But now a team of students from the University...…Staying afloat in space can be deceptively hard.  Just ask the characters from , or any number of the hundreds of small satellites that fall into the atmosphere in a given year.  Any object placed in low Earth orbit () must constantly fight against the drag caused by the small number of air molecules that make it up to that height.  Usually they counteract this force by using small amounts of propellant.  However, smaller satellites don’t have the luxury of enough propellant to keep them afloat for any period of time. But now a team of students from the University...WW…

Planetary system formation is a process that involves astounding and complex forces.  Humans have only just started trying to understand what goes on in this extraordinarily important phase of the development of new worlds.  As such, we are continuing to make new discoveries and come up with better models that better fit the observations that our instruments are able to collect.The most recent of those improved models was announced by a research team at the .  A in Astrophysical Journal Letters explores possible reasons for why there is a lack of spiral structures in newly...…Planetary system formation is a process that involves astounding and complex forces.  Humans have only just started trying to understand what goes on in this extraordinarily important phase of the development of new worlds.  As such, we are continuing to make new discoveries and come up with better models that better fit the observations that our instruments are able to collect.The most recent of those improved models was announced by a research team at the .  A in Astrophysical Journal Letters explores possible reasons for why there is a lack of spiral structures in newly...WW…

is the technology that is thirty years away, and always will be – according to skeptics at least.  Despite its difficult transition into a reliable power source, the nuclear reactions that power the sun have a wide variety of uses in other fields.  The most obvious is in weapons, where are to this day the most powerful weapons we have ever produced. But there’s another use case that is much less destructive and could prove much more interesting – space drives.The concept fusion drive, called a direct fusion drive (or ) is in development at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory...…is the technology that is thirty years away, and always will be – according to skeptics at least.  Despite its difficult transition into a reliable power source, the nuclear reactions that power the sun have a wide variety of uses in other fields.  The most obvious is in weapons, where are to this day the most powerful weapons we have ever produced. But there’s another use case that is much less destructive and could prove much more interesting – space drives.The concept fusion drive, called a direct fusion drive (or ) is in development at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory...WW…

Exoplanets have been a particularly hot topic of late.  More than 4000 of them have been discovered since the in 1995.  Now one more can potentially be added to the list. This one is orbiting Gliese 3470, a red dwarf star located in the constellation Cancer.  What makes this discovery particularly interesting is that this planet wasn’t discovered by any professional astronomers using high tech equipment like the .  It was found entirely by amateurs.Not just any amateurs though – they are part of an effort organized by Alberto Caballero of the on Youtube.  The group...…Exoplanets have been a particularly hot topic of late.  More than 4000 of them have been discovered since the in 1995.  Now one more can potentially be added to the list. This one is orbiting Gliese 3470, a red dwarf star located in the constellation Cancer.  What makes this discovery particularly interesting is that this planet wasn’t discovered by any professional astronomers using high tech equipment like the .  It was found entirely by amateurs.Not just any amateurs though – they are part of an effort organized by Alberto Caballero of the on Youtube.  The group...WW…