Sean Keach, Digital Technology and Science Editor
5 May 2021, 10:31
A RUGGED Nasa probe has soared across space and touched the Sun in a truly astronomical feat.
The 300,000mph Parker Solar Probe will get even closer – and is officially the fastest man-made object ever created.
3
Nasa s Parker Solar Probe is hurtling past the Sun at 300,000mphCredit: Nasa / JPL
There are many different ways to touch the Sun: the star is multi-layered, and its effects extend far from the core.
In this case, the probe has glanced the Sun s toasty outer atmosphere.
It got as close as around 6million miles from Earth s host star – but that s not the only record.
Perseverance Mars rover took a selfie with the
Ingenuity helicopter, seen here about 13 feet (3.9 meters) from the rover in this image taken April 6, 2021. Photo Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
NASA reports that its
Ingenuity experiment will soon embark on a new operations demonstration phase, exploring how aerial scouting and other functions could benefit future exploration of Mars and other worlds.
This new phase will begin after the helicopter completes its next two flights. The decision to add an operations demonstration is a result of the
Perseverance rover being ahead of schedule with the thorough checkout of all vehicle systems since its Feb. 18 landing, and its science team choosing a nearby patch of crater bed for its first detailed explorations. With the Mars Helicopter’s energy, telecommunications and in-flight navigation systems performing beyond expectation, an opportunity arose to allow the helicopter to continue exploring its capabilities with an operations d
Stratasys, nTopology sponsor 3D-printed fixture & tool design competition
Try the nTopology FDM Assembly Fixture Generator, design the best 3D-printed fixture, win prizes.
Stratasys and nTopology are excited to announce our next design competition. We are looking for the most innovative and impactful, additively manufactured, fixture or tool design.
Participants will be among the first to utilize nTopology s FDM Assembly Fixture Generator, a tool that automates the design of jigs and fixtures and enables engineers to quickly turn a part file into a ready-to-print fixture with a simple drag-and-drop. And when used with FDM printers, Product Designers, Mechanical Engineers and Manufacturing Engineers can streamline their production processes, reduce costs and improve the quality of their products.
Spaceflight Insider
Cullen Desforges
May 3rd, 2021
NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter is viewed by one of the hazard cameras aboard the Perseverance rover during the helicopter’s fourth flight on April 30, 2021. Credit: NASA
NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter has once again proven itself to be the aeronautic showstopper of 2021 with its fourth flight above the Martian surface, setting the stage for a 30-day “operations demonstration” phase.
The fourth flight of the Ingenuity helicopter took place at 10:46 a.m. EDT (14:46 UTC, 12:30 p.m. local Mars time) April 30, 2021. This was a day later than planned because the device did not transition to flight mode in order for the actual flight to occur.
May 4, 2021 5:24pm
The Dragonfly drone, the size of a small car, is designed to investigate pre-biotic chemistry on Titan, the largest moon on Saturn. The mission will last two years, with a launch from Earth set for 2027. (Johns Hopkins APL)
After Mars Helicopter Ingenuity, Dragonfly will be the next NASA drone helicopter to fly above the surface of another world when it arrives on Titan, the largest moon of Saturn, after launching from Earth in 2027.
Dragonfly will be much larger than tiny Ingenuity about the size of a small car although it is still undergoing design. It will conduct a mission lasting over two years to investigate samples on the surface of Titan’s organic oceanic world.