The study, led by researchers from Bar-Ilan and supported by the Israel Space Agency, uses microorganisms adapted to the Dead Sea and the Arava.

TEL AVIV (Israel Space Agency PR) — One of the challenges facing manned missions in outer space, such as those planned by NASA for the Moon and Mars, is the supply of food and oxygen production for subsistence. Researchers are developing, with the assistance of the Israeli Space Agency in the Ministry of Science, an unique system that will provide oxygen, food and water for staff to use in manned remote space stations. At the same time, the system will be used to recycle carbon dioxide (CO2) and human waste, in a resource-limited environment.

MDA receives $35.3 million [US $28.1 million] contract for long-lead Gateway External Robotics Interfaces as part of multi-year, multi-phase $billion+ program

BRAMPTON, Ont. (MDA PTR) — MDA Ltd. (TSX:MDA), a leading provider of advanced technology and services to the rapidly-expanding global space industry, today announced that it has been awarded a $35.3 million [US $28.1 million] contract from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) for the design of the Gateway External Robotics Interfaces (GERI), a key component of Canadarm3 which will be installed on the international Lunar Gateway.

WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — NASA has expanded its contract with two space-based imagery companies, Planet and Spire Global, to broaden access to Earth imagery data and enable scientific research across the federal government. Broader access to this satellite data will help answer questions about how Earth is changing and how those changes may impact people and communities.

MOSCOW (Roscosmos PR) — In accordance with the flight program of the Russian segment of the International Space Station, today, on July 26, 2021, the Progress MS-16 transport cargo vehicle with the Pirs docking module undocked from the ISS.

This week on The Space Show with Dr. David Livingston: July 27 Tuesday, July 27 — 7 PM PDT (9 PM CST; 10 PM EDT): We welcome back BOB ZIMMERMAN for a comprehensive space policy discussion on multiple topics and stories. July 28 Wednesday, July 28 — Hotel Mars pre-recorded. See the Upcoming Show Menu at www.thespaceshow.com for details. Friday, July 30 — 9:30-11 AM PDT; 11:30 AM- 1 PM […]

Editor’s Note: The Government Accountability Office is due to announce a ruling on Aug. 4 concerning the protests lodged by the Blue Origin-led National Team and Dynetics over NASA’s decision to award SpaceX a single-source contract for the Human Landing System that will take astronauts to the lunar surface. The letter below seems as much aimed at Congress, which could provide funds for a second contract, as it is to NASA.

Jeff Bezos Letter to NASA Administrator Bill Nelson

In an open letter to the NASA Administrator, Jeff Bezos offers to restore competition to the Human Landing System program by closing NASA’s near-term budgetary shortfall and producing a safe and sustainable lander that will return Americans to the surface of the Moon – this time to stay.

TEL AVIV (Israel Space Agency PR) — The Israeli company Helios, which develops technology for extracting oxygen from the lunar soil, signed the first Israeli-Japanese agreement for technological cooperation on July 19. Helios, with the support of the Israel Space Agency in the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology, will be integrated into the mission to the moon of the Japanese company ispace. As part of the mission, the Israeli company will conduct a demonstration of technology for extracting oxygen and metal from the lunar regolith.

Editor’s Note: The undocking of the Pirs module from the International Space Station had been scheduled for Friday to make way for the new Nauka science module. The delaty is due to problems with Nauka’s engines and docking system after launch from Baikonur Cosmodrome last week. Those issues have apparently been resolved. MOSCOW (Roscosmos PR) — Based on the results of an operational meeting of the control group at the […]

UK companies and research organisations can bid for funding to develop technologies or data processing capabilities to reduce the risks of collisions in space

SWINDON, UK (UK Space Agency PR) — One of the biggest challenges facing the space sector is orbital congestion and space debris. There are currently around 3,000 working satellites in orbit, and an estimated 130 million other pieces of debris, including old satellites, spent rocket bodies and even tools dropped by astronauts.

FASSBERG, Germany (DLR PR) — After the successful test of the new hybrid rocket engine “AHRES-B” in spring 2019, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) carried out two more successful tests with the significantly larger VISERION variant on June 17 and July 7, 2021. The test preparations and commissioning were carried out by a team from the Spacecraft Department of the Institute for Aerodynamics and Flow Technology at the test bench for hybrid rocket engines at the Trauen site.

OBERPFAFFENHOFEN, Germany (DLR PR) — There are no easy comparisons to show how accurate the clocks on the Galileo satellites are. Is it a matter of fractions of seconds, or of milliseconds, perhaps? That is far too imprecise. The Galileo system uses atomic clocks that are accurate to the nanosecond. One nanosecond is a billionth of one second.

PARIS (ESA PR) — Companies with small satellites are set to benefit from a new end-to-end space transportation service offering additional in-orbit flexibility proposed by D-Orbit and supported through ESA’s Boost! programme.

This commercial service proposal is the first within ESA’s Boost! programme to enable in-orbit transportation services.