solar-panels

Odysseus spacecraft comms from moon expected to halt on Wednesday

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Odysseus, the first U.S. spacecraft to land on the moon in half a century, was expected to go dark on Wednesday, six days after an off-kilter touchdown that hindered its communications and solar-charging capability, NASA and the company that flew the vehicle said. Despite persistent difficulties in communicating with the lander and keeping it charged, … Read more

Japan’s Moon Lander: Possibility of Power Restoration |

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TOKYO: Japan switched off its Moon lander almost three hours after a historic touchdown to allow for a possible recovery of the craft when the sun hits its solar panels, the space agency said Monday.With its unmanned Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) mission — dubbed “Moon Sniper” for the craft’s precision landing capabilities — … Read more

Entrepreneur Recycles Metal and Other Parts of Old Solar Panels

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Yuma, Arizona —  As the world pivots from planet-warming fossil fuels to renewable energy, a new pollution problem is rearing its head: What to do with old or worn-out solar panels? Thousands of photovoltaic slabs are being installed across the United States every day, particularly in the sunny west and south of the country, as … Read more

30 years ago, astronauts completed the Hubble telescope’s first repair. Here’s how

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Thirty years ago, an 11-day space shuttle mission involving seven veteran astronauts performed the first servicing mission to correct the Hubble Space Telescope’s blurred vision. The unprecedented flight involved five spacewalks and would not have been possible without the assistance of the shuttle’s robotic Canadarm. The multi-billion dollar Hubble Space Telescope was a crown jewel … Read more

Mini-satellite constructed by N.B. university students set to orbit Earth

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A group of New Brunswick university students is one step closer to launching a mini-satellite into space. Satellite Violet is named after New Brunswick’s provincial flower and is about the size of a loaf of bread. It successfully passed the testing phase at the Canadian Space Agency in Montreal and is headed to the International Space Station … Read more