Acta Astronautica is sponsored by the International Academy of Astronautics. Content is based on original contributions in all fields of basic, engineering, life and social space sciences and of space technology related to: The peaceful scientific exploration of space, Its exploitation for human welfare and progress; Conception, design, development and operation of space-borne and Earth-based systems. In addition to regular issues, the journal publishes selected proceedings of the annual International Astronautical Congress (IAC), transactions of the IAA and special issues on topics of current interest, such as microgravity, space station technology, geostationary orbits, and space economics. Other subject areas include satellite technology, space transportation and communications, space energy, power and propulsion, astrodynamics, extraterrestrial intelligence and Earth observations.
To quote NASA associate administrator Jim Reuter, sending crewed missions to Mars by 2040 is an "audacious goal." The challenges include the distance involved, which can take up to six months to traverse using conventional ...
Space Exploration
Feb 27, 2024
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48
Nearly 70 years after the launch of the first satellite, we still have more questions than answers about space. But a team of Berkeley researchers is on a mission to change this with a proposal to build a fleet of low-cost, ...
Space Exploration
Jan 19, 2024
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160
There are many different ways to get to Mars, but there are always tradeoffs. Chemical propulsion, proven the most popular, can quickly get a spacecraft to the red planet. But they come at a high cost of bringing their fuel, ...
Space Exploration
Jan 12, 2024
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57
One of the fascinating things about being a human in this age is that we can do more than wonder about other life and other civilizations. We can actually look for them, although there are obvious limitations to our search. ...
Astrobiology
Jan 9, 2024
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93
One of the hardest things for many people to conceptualize when talking about how fast something is going is that they must ask, "Compared to what?" All motion only makes sense from a frame of reference, and many spacecraft ...
Space Exploration
Dec 26, 2023
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95
Ever want to play a game of cosmic billiards? That's commonly how the DART mission was described when it successfully changed the orbit of a near-Earth asteroid last year. If you want an idea of how it works, just Google ...
Space Exploration
Nov 30, 2023
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0
Space exploration is always changing. Before February 2021 there had never been a human made craft flying around in the atmosphere of another world (other than rocket propelled landers arriving or departing). The Mars Perseverance ...
Planetary Sciences
Nov 29, 2023
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2
While preparing for the threat of an asteroid strike might seem like a hypothetical exercise, it's really not. The solar system has calmed down a lot from earlier times when impacts were more frequent. But it is only a matter ...
Planetary Sciences
Nov 22, 2023
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On January 3, 2019, China's Chang'e-4 lander touched down on the far side of the moon and deployed the Yutu rover. In addition to its many instruments, the rover carried an important science experiment known as the Biological ...
Space Exploration
Oct 30, 2023
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29
Before this decade is out, NASA plans to return astronauts to the moon for the first time since the Apollo Era and build the necessary infrastructure to keep sending them back. And they will hardly be alone. Alongside NASA's ...
Space Exploration
Oct 25, 2023
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