Information World Area: Pleased eclipse day!

Hiya and welcome again to Information World Area. Pleased Eclipse Day for everybody celebrating! I’m lucky to be residing in part of the nation that’s within the path of totality, so I’ll be away from my desk for a lot of at present, soaking all of it in.

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NASA has given three house firms the prospect to design the next-generation moon buggy — however just one design will go to house. Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost and Venturi Astrolab are creating rugged automobiles supposed for astronauts to drive round on the lunar floor, from which NASA might select as early as subsequent yr.

The three teams will now enter right into a 12-month “feasibility part” that can culminate in a preliminary design evaluation. At that time, there will probably be a subsequent aggressive request for proposals, the place the trio of firms will compete for an indication activity order. At that time, a closing awardee will probably be chosen. The chosen firm will probably be accountable not just for designing the lunar terrain car (LTV) but in addition for launching and touchdown it on the moon previous to the Artemis V mission, which is presently slated for no sooner than 2029.

Picture Credit: Intuitive Machines

Footage obtained by Information World reveals the catastrophic ending that Astra’s Rocket 3.0 suffered throughout prelaunch testing in March 2020.

The explosion, which occurred at Alaska’s Pacific Spaceport Complicated, was merely reported as an “anomaly” on the time, an business time period for just about any concern that deviates from the anticipated consequence.

Picture Credit: Information World

Blue Origin introduced the crew of the subsequent New Shepard launch — and 90-year-old Ed Dwight is among the many names listed. I’m embarrassed to confess that I didn’t acknowledge the identify, however this story over at GeekWire helped fill within the lacking items to his story and its significance to the historical past of human spaceflight.

Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin grew to become the primary man in house on April 12, 1961. From NASA: “His car, Vostok 1 circled Earth at a velocity of 27,400 kilometers per hour with the flight lasting 108 minutes. Vostok’s reentry was managed by a pc. Not like the early U.S. human spaceflight applications, Gagarin didn’t land within capsule. As an alternative, he ejected from the spacecraft and landed by parachute.”

Gagarin on the way in which to the launch web site of Vostok I, April 12, 1961. Picture Credit: Sovfoto/Common Pictures Group by way of Getty Pictures