Social Media for the snowflake generation! New messaging app Morale only lets users send COMPLIMENTS to.

Scientists decode the origins of Earth's minerals to inform our understanding of other planets - including.

China denounces NASA's claims it is taking over the moon: American space agency says the nation has stolen.

NASA scientist designs albatross-inspired SPACE GLIDER with 11ft wingspan that could soar above the surface.

Botanical 'wonder of the world': New species of giant waterlily with leaves that can reach over 10ft wide.

Hit by major funding issues, a mission to the moon was always seen as a low priority although some officials previously indicated Nasa may send future missions to orbit the dusty satellite. However, the plans were scrapped in 2010 favour of landing on an asteroid in an announcement by US President Barack Obama. Nasa had been planning to return humans to the lunar surface as part of its long-term plans to send astronauts to Mars. In a fact sheet provided alongside the budget summary notes Nasa says some of the human exploration budget will go toward 'early-stage public-private partnerships leading to the development of habitation capabilities near the moon.' The Verge points out that the budget summary suggests that as well as Mars, Nasa may be focusing on the moon. The SLS program has only been allotted $1.3 billion, lower than the $2 billion it was given for 2016. Human exploration programs will include boosting Nasa's partnerships with companies such as SpaceX and Boeing.īoth Orion and the SLS are getting less funding in 2017. While that's more than the $18.5 billion requested for the space agency last year, it's also $300 million less than was received in the 2016 Omnibus Bill.Ī large chunk of the funds - $8.4 billion - will be put towards human exploration programs, with hints that Nasa is getting serious about a return to the moon.īut overall Obama's proposed Nasa budget includes a 17 per cent cut in spending on human exploration from $4 billion to $3.3 billion. The White House is requesting $19 billion from Congress to fund Nasa in 2017. In this first flight, SLS will launch the Orion spacecraft to a stable orbit beyond the moon to demonstrate it works before the first crewed flight.Įarlier this week, it was revealed that President Obama's proposed Nasa budget includes a 17 per cent cut in spending on human exploration from $4 billion to $3.3 billion, with Orion and SLS being allotted less funding in 2017.

'The 13 CubeSats that will fly to deep space as secondary payloads aboard SLS on EM-1 showcase the intersection of science and technology, and advance our journey to Mars,' said Nasa Deputy Administrator Dava Newman. SLS' first flight, referred to as Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1), provides the rare opportunity for these small experiments to reach deep space. The CubeSats will be ejected with a spring mechanism from dispensers on the Orion stage adapter. The BioSentinel mission will be the first time living organisms have travelled to deep space in over 40 years and the spacecraft will operate in the deep-space radiation environment throughout its 18-month mission.Īnother CubeSat called SkyFire will do a flyby of the moon, collecting data with on-board sensors.

This will help scientists understand the effects of the deep-space environment on biological systems as we plan to send humans farther into space than ever before.

Nasa space shuttle drawing