The California-based company, #ArxPax, has developed a real-life #hoverboard using a technology called #MagneticFieldArchitecture (MFA) - http://clapway.com/2015/09/03/space-hoverboard-developed-by-nasa-arx-pax-099/

NASA teams up with Arx Pax to find a way to manipulate tiny satellites called cubesats without actually touching them. The California-based company, Arx Pax, has developed a real-life hoverboard using a technology called Magnetic Field Architecture (MFA). Unfortunately, there won’t be any astronauts landing tricks in space. The team plans to use this technology in the hopes of developing a new device to control satellites, meaning they won’t have to bump into each other when needing to pair up and used for data, imaging and other applications.

NASA AND ARX PAX COLLABORATE

The collaboration between NASA and Arx Pax is one of a Space Act Agreement (SAA), announced yesterday in a press release. “The device will draw as well as repel satellites at the same time, meaning it will hold a satellite at a distance and won’t allow it to move away or toward the capture device. This hoverboard tech will enable the capture and possibly manipulate micro-satellites or other objects without making physical contact with them,” Arx Pax representatives said in the statement.

CUBESAT USED FOR SPACE RESEARCH

Cubesats are a class of research spacecraft called nanosatellites, according to NASA. They are part of NASA’s Cubesat Launch initiative, which provides opportunities for small satellite payloads to fly on rockets planned for upcoming launches. The cubesats are piggybacked as auxiliary payloads on earlier planned missions.

USING MAGNETIC FIELD ARCHITECTURE

The technology company Arx Pax invented the patented technology and its hover engines. The hover engines generate directional thrust between an electric engine and a passive conductive surface such as copper or aluminum. This has proved an efficient way to transmit electromagnetic energy. The initial proof of concept for MFA was the Hendo Hoverboard, launched in October 2014. The MFA technology used in space could also allow satellites to dock with less mutual risk.

HOVERBOARD CONCLUSIONS

The device Arx Pax and NASA will potentially develop would enhance propulsion systems of micro-satellites. The focus on micro-satellites may reflect the growing role played by cubesats in the space industry. Arx PAx plans to co-develop a prototype with NASA over the next few years.The potential for the future device beyond this is far reaching, according to Arx Pax. Marty McFly’s hoverboard from Back to the Future Part II may help researchers of the future after all.

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LOSE THE FAT WHILE YOU WAIT TO FLOAT

 

https://youtu.be/RQvv6ThzPoU

Space Hoverboard Developed by NASA & Arx Pax

First Plane on Mars Potentially to Come! - http://clapway.com/2015/07/02/first-plane-on-mars-potentially-to-come870/

Why is NASA planning the first plane on Mars?

While the world’s attention towards space news was focused mainly on the furor of the third launch of the Space X rocket and its explosion as well as the planetary conjunction that would happen on Tuesday night, news was released about a future plane that could fly on Mars. This first plane on Mars news was released on the NASA website on the 29th of June. According to the post on their website, a prototype of the Preliminary Research Aerodynamics Design to Land on Mars is an aircraft that is shaped like an arrow without the stem attached.

What will it do?

The aircraft will be sent to Mars in order to survey the Mars landscape for likely places to land for future Mars missions. This intent to survey the still quite alien landscape is evident from the name of the aircraft. But first, the prototype must pass its first test at 100,000 feet high above Earth before it becomes the first plane on Mars. Once it survives the test at 100,000 feet in the sky, it will be tested a few more times to work out any additional kinks or add any other features before it is then ready to be sent to Mars. The high altitude is supposed to be very similar to the thin atmosphere present on Mars, thereby helping to gauge whether or not this aircraft will do its job sufficiently well on the red planet.

Al Bowers, the NASA Armstrong chief scientist and Prandtl-m program manager said, “The Prandtl-m could overfly some of the proposed landing sites for a future astronaut mission and send back to Earth very detailed high resolution photographic map images that could tell scientists about the suitability of those landing sites.”

First plane on mars will get there via cubesat

The plan is that once it ready to be launched to Mars, the aircraft will be folded up and squeezed into a CubeSat, from which it can unfold and deploy. Also to be attached to that CubeSat is a Mars rover. But let’s take one thing at a time for now.

 

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First Plane on Mars Potentially to Come!

NASA is Putting CubeSats on Mars - http://clapway.com/2015/06/13/nasa-is-putting-cubesats-on-mars-654/

Administration bets big on tiny satellites.

According to statements made yesterday, NASA is looking to put two CubeSats on Mars. The plan is to have the two nanosatellites piggyback on an Atlas V booster and join NASA’s InSight mission, which seeks to study the interior of Mars using a geophysical lander. The idea to take two CubeSats along for the ride is part of a larger move NASA is making towards more widespread use of the tiny satellites. Towards that end, the administration also has filed a request for proposals meant to promote a commercial launch industry dedicated to CubeSats.

 

What are CubeSats?

CubeSats are very small, modular, cube-shaped satellites. Each side is 10 centimeters (4 inches) long, and the cubes can weigh up to 1.33 kilograms (3 pounds). They are typically launched aboard larger spacecraft carrying multiple payloads, and feature a spring-loaded mechanism that allows them to separate from the spacecraft. Thanks to their handy size (as well as the availability of decommissioned Russian rockets), CubeSats are currently cheap to launch, at about $40,000 per cube. They have been used for research in the past, though their destination is usually lower Earth orbit.

 

Why bring CubeSats to Mars?

The CubeSat nanosatellites that will be sent to Mars with the InSight Lander are specifically designed for the mission. The nanosatellites, called MarCO (Mars Cube One) feature two radio antennae and two solar panels, allowing them to quickly relay information about the landing to Earth. If, for whatever reason, the cubes fail, the team can still fall back on the InSight lander to communicate with the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) overhead, which in turn would beam the information to Earth. The only downside would be a delay of over an hour as the MRO transmits the information. So, while NASA hopes to use the CubeSats to eliminate a nail-biting delay, no major catastrophe would come of their failure. Scientists have high hopes that this mission will help us better understand the processes behind planet formation, so it’s a relief to see backup communications in place. If the CubeSats work as planned, though, NASA will likely have more “bring-your-own” communications equipment in future Mars missions.

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Don’t have $40,000 for a CubeSat launch, but still want to get your kids interested in space? Check out the Space Scouts Summer Adventure.

NASA is Putting CubeSats on Mars