The Chinese Yutu lunar rover is in contact with the home base but the degree to which it is disabled has not yet been revealed:
Here is a gallery of panoramic views of the Chang’e 3 landing site, including shots of the rover: Video and photos of China’s lunar rover mission – Spaceflight Now
A message from the Space Frontier Foundation:
Registration is Open for NewSpace 2014, Register Today!
Registration for the Space Frontier Foundation’s NewSpace 2014 Conference is now open! Take advantage of this opportunity to learn about the commercial space industry and be a part of the NewSpace revolution. The conference will take place in Silicon Valley, CA, July 24-26, 2014. Register today at newspace.spacefrontier.org.
NewSpace 2014 will feature a distinguished list of thought-provoking panels and visionary keynote speakers. Last year’s conference drew people and organizations from a variety of sectors ranging from the space, advocacy, and technology industries to start-ups, government, and the media. NewSpace 2013 was a forum for space-minded individuals to share their ideas on how to open the high frontier, making the conference a cradle of innovation and partnership. NewSpace 2014 will build on last year’s success to create a platform for entrepreneurs, investors, industry leaders, students, young professionals, to discuss the future of commercial space exploration and development.
This year’s conference will be host to an extensive range of topics including: orbital debris, space data, space policy discussions, new space business models, launch companies and more. NewSpace 2014 will serve as the premier gathering for space industry leaders, providing an opportunity to learn about the latest issues in commercial space. Join us at NewSpace 2014 by registering today.
An announcement from Mars One:
Mars One Slashes Applicant Pool by 99.5%
Across the globe, 1058 hopefuls have been selected as candidates
to begin human life on Mars in 2025.
On December 30, 2013, Mars One announces the selection of the candidates from the applicant pool of over 200,000 hoping to establish human life on Martian soil. Mars One co-founder Bas Lansdorp describes the remaining 1058 candidates as our first tangible glimpse into what the new human settlement will truly look like. Lansdorp says “We’re extremely appreciative and impressed with the sheer number of people who submitted their applications. However, the challenge with 200,000 applicants is separating those who we feel are physically and mentally adept to become human ambassadors on Mars from those who are obviously taking the mission much less seriously. We even had a couple of applicants submit their videos in the nude!”
The selection criteria are outlined in detail on the Mars One website. All applicants were notified today via e-mail of their application status. For the applicants who were not selected in this round, there is still a chance they could reapply at a later date, which has not yet been determined. According to Lansdorp, the chance for reapplication provides hope. “US astronaut Clayton Anderson was rejected by NASA for its astronaut training program 15 times, yet in 2007 he boarded the Space Shuttle Atlantis for a trip to the International Space Station. He proved anything can happen and the door is never completely closed.”
So what’s next for the 1058 pre-selected Mars hopefuls? Norbert Kraft, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of Mars One and recipient of the 2013 NASA Group Achievement Award says, “The next several selection phases in 2014 and 2015 will include rigorous simulations, many in team settings, with focus on testing the physical and emotional capabilities of our remaining candidates. We expect to begin understanding what is motivating our candidates to take this giant leap for humankind. This is where it really gets exciting for Mars One, our applicants, and the communities they’re a part of.”
Details of the 2014 selection phases have not been agreed upon due to ongoing negotiations with media companies for the rights to televise the selection processes. Expect further information to be released in early 2014. Lansdorp says, “We fully anticipate many of our remaining candidates to become celebrities in their towns, cities, and in many cases, countries. It’s about to get very interesting.”
This announcement comes on the heels of a wild finish to 2013 for Mars One. On December 10th, Mars One launched their first ever crowd-funding campaign, focused on bringing funds and attention to the first mission, an unmanned trip to Mars scheduled for 2018. On the same day as the crowd-funding campaign launch, Mars One announced in Washington DC, agreements with aerospace titan Lockheed Martin and the world’s leading small satellite company Surrey Satellite Technology to develop mission plans for the 2018 mission. 2014 figures to be even busier for the team at Mars One than 2013, with multiple applicant selection phases, worldwide education events, and more.
About Mars One:
Mars One is a not-for-profit foundation that will establish permanent human life on Mars. Human settlement on Mars is possible today with existing technologies. Mars One’s mission plan integrates components that are well tested and readily available from industry leaders worldwide. The first footprint on Mars and lives of the crew thereon will captivate and inspire generations. It is this public interest that will help finance this human mission to Mars.
Here’s the schedule for The Space Show this week:
1. Monday, Dec. 2, 2013, 2-3:30 PM PST (5-6:30 PM EST, 4-5:30 PM CST): We welcome SCOTT LOWTHER, aerospace historian to the show regarding aerospace art and design work. Visit http://aerospaceprojectsreview.com and http://www.aerospaceprojectsreview.com/blog.
2. Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2013, 7-8:30 PM PST (10-11:30 PM EST, 9-10:30 PM CST): We welcome back ROBERT (BOB) ZIMMERMAN for space news and updates. Also, Bob will go over some of his past Space Show predictions/comments and we can see how he did using hindsight as our guide. Visit his excellent blog, behindtheblack.com.
3. Friday, Dec. 6,, 2013, 9:30-11 AM PST (11:30- 1 PM CST, 12:30PM-2:00 PM EST): We welcome back DR. BRUCE CORDELL to discuss and update us with his Maslow Windows and what’s coming up for space development.
4. Sunday, Dec. 8, 2013, 12-1:30 PM PST (3-4:30 PM EST, 2-3:30 PM CST). We welcome back JIM LEWIS of Communications Concepts at the Cape. Jim will talk about animals in space per one of his recent documentaries.
See also:
/– The Space Show on Vimeo – webinar videos
/– The Space Show’s Blog – summaries of interviews.
/– The Space Show Classroom Blog – tutorial programs
The Space Show is a project of the One Giant Leap Foundation.
Kristian von Bengtson at Copenhagen Suborbitals reports on the development of the TDS-80 capsule that they intend to fly on their HEAT2X rocket next summer: Video of TDS-80 Space Capsule Structure Assembly – and Vodka – Wired Science
Caption:
A demonstration of the very first structure assembly of the HEAT2X payload, TDS-80. A scaled down capsule for launch summer 2014 for re-entry data.