Propulsion Archives - Defence Monitor

24 Feb

What NASA is doing to help cut aviation emissions

Washington: Through partnership with the industry, NASA wants to advance design and modelling tools pertinent to future aircraft products with an Electrified Aircraft Propulsion (EAP) system.EAP electrical systems are being developed to replace or boost fuel-burning aircraft propulsion systems, analogous to how electric or hybrid motors are used in automobiles. The US space agency is also seeking proposals for ground and flight demonstrations of integrated megawatt-class powertrain systems for subsonic aircraft. The deadline for proposals for this solicitation is 5 p.m. EST on April 20, NASA said on Tuesday. The demonstrations will help rapidly mature and transition integrated EAP technologies and…

08 Apr

ISS infested with bacteria like gym on Earth: NASA

Washington: A team of NASA researchers, including an Indian-origin scientist has found the surface inside the International Space Station (ISS) is littered with microbes just like in a gym or office on Earth -- threatening astronauts' health at the orbiting laboratory. The knowledge of the composition of the microbial and fungal communities on the ISS can be used to develop safety measures for NASA for long-term space travel or living in space, said the researchers in a paper that appeared in the open access journal Microbiome. Specific microbes in indoor spaces on Earth have been shown to impact human health."This is…

01 Nov

NASA InSight landed 4 degrees tilted on Mars

Washington: Though NASA's InSight landed safely on the surface of Mars, but the spacecraft sits about 4 degrees tilted, the US space agency said.Early last week, InSight touched down on a lava plain named Elysium Planitia on the Red Planet. The vehicle sits tilted slightly in a shallow dust-and sand-filled impact crater known as a "hollow". But, InSight has been engineered to operate on a surface with an inclination up to 15 degrees, NASA said in a statement on Friday. "The science team had been hoping to land in a sandy area with few rocks since we chose the landing site, so…

21 Mar

SpaceX studying landing spots on Mars with NASA

New York: US-based aerospace company SpaceX is working with NASA to identify landing spots on Mars for its spacecraft. "We are working with scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and elsewhere, have identified several potential landing sites, including one that looks particularly promising," SpaceNews quoted SpaceX's Paul Wooster as saying. Wooster oversees Dragon spacecraft guidance, navigation and control systems and also works on the company's higher-level Mars plans.According to Wooster, the site selection is based on several criteria like access to large quantities of ice near the surface that could, ultimately, support human settlements. "Another is to be close to the…