Tag: Proxima mission
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Breakthrough Starshot tests smallest space probes for interstellar mission
Russian billionaire Yuri Milner holds a “Sprite” mini-probe like the ones that are being tested in low Earth orbit. (Breakthrough Starshot via YouTube / SciNews) Breakthrough Starshot says it’s been testing prototype interstellar spacecraft no bigger than postage stamps in orbit for the past month, and they seem to be working just fine. Six of…
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Proxima’s progress: Why it’ll take years to learn what closest exoplanet is really like
An artist’s conception shows a view of the surface of the planet Proxima b, with the red dwarf Proxima Centauri near the horizon. (Credi:t: M. Kornmesser / ESO) University of Washington astronomer Rory Barnes says Proxima Centauri b is the biggest discovery in 20 years for planet hunters like himself, but it could take another 20…
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Shields up! Scientists tweak design of Alpha Centauri probes to minimize damage
An artist’s conception suggests how light from a battery of laser-equipped antennas can power a sail to the Alpha Centauri system. (Credit: Breakthrough Initiatives) The scientists behind the Breakthrough Starshot mission are already fine-tuning the design for their nano-probes to increase the odds they’ll survive the trip to Proxima Centauri b. In a paper posted…
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Abort, retry, fail? Astronaut pokes fun at Windows XP during space training in Russia
French astronaut Thomas Pesquet undergoes training in a Soyuz spacecraft simulator in 2014 at Russia’s Star City cosmonaut training center. (Credit: ESA) Moscow, we have a problem: Russia’s cosmonaut training center in Star City might need to upgrade its Soyuz spacecraft simulators to Windows 10. Based on some snapshots tweeted by French astronaut Thomas Pesquet,…