Features

The 8th edition of the European Rover Challenge, the largest space robotics competition, concluded this Sunday. The incredibly exciting rivalry of teams from all over the world was combined with numerous attractions and surprises. The organizers managed to bring a replica of Neil Armstrong's spacesuit; the audience could travel to the seabed of the Pacific Ocean, control rovers and walking robots, or meet space agencies’ experts. The yearly attraction was the world's largest artificial Marsyard, where rover competition took place.

The Moon Village Association recently created the Benefit Sharing Project to consider the sharing of benefits from the exploration and use of outer space. Following its initial meeting, there was a recommendation that “we should make explicit the need to figure out how to handle commercial confidentiality.”

The State of the Satellite Industry Report about a decade ago had estimated global industry revenues for 2013 as $189 Billion. The same report today, in its June 2022 edition estimates the global industry to be worth about $386 Billion annually. For an industry that has been carefully regulated and closely tracked by Governments around the world, the last decade of nearly doubling annual revenues is a stellar achievement.

Imagine the rover you've built is carrying out its mission on Mars, an average of 225 million kilometers from Earth. Unfortunately, the so-far smooth process is disrupted, and you have no way to send a repair team. It is also impossible to replace the broken component. You can give up, accept defeat and abort the mission.

The word “solaris”, which until recently evoked a 1972 Soviet science-fiction movie directed by Andrey Tarkovsky, is taking on new meaning. “SOLARIS” is now a proposal for a preparatory program of technology research & development envisioned by the European Space Agency (ESA) to tackle the techno-economic feasibility of space-based solar power (SBSP).

This year, the Human Performance in Space Department of International Space University’s Space Studies Program explored further than ever before. Led by Dr. Virginia Wotring, ISU Professor, and Dr. Heather Allaway, Assistant Professor, Louisiana State University and ISU Global Faculty member,

Until recently, only a few States were able to access outer space. Since then, however, driven by technological advances, in particular by reusable orbital-class rockets and the resulting reduction in launching costs, more and more private companies have been able to enter the ‘space race’, and we can witness today the emergence of a significant commercial space economy.

The above, mischievous words, “There is life on Mars: we put it there”, are on the part of the renowned NASA Astrobiologist and member of ISU’s faculty, Dr. Chris McKay.  The reality is that we humans, via our early – and unsterile -- Martian landers have already contaminated the Red Planet.  Yes, we have; yes, we have! 

It has been long recognized that space technologies not only benefit space exploration but offer direct and tangible benefits to people on Earth.  Satellites have the capability of observing Earth’s surface from space with constant revisit times.  We have grown reliant on satellites for weather forecasting, military reconnaissance, transportation, agriculture, and many more services

The Space Studies Program (SSP) of ISU is since 1988 a unique intensive nine-week course hosted each year where participants learn about all facets of space. The SSP provides courses in all space disciplines, as well as hands-on education through workshops and professional visits.