Carnival of Space #370

Hi all! Here is a new edition of COS for you all to enjoy. Amazing things happen in the heavens above us all the time, so relax and find out a little about the newest stuff

From NextBigFuture

• Aquarius a nuclear thermal rocket that uses water heated to over 3000 degrees celsius to solve many human interplanetary transportation issues.Attributes of a reusable interplanetary human spaceflight transport are proposed and applied to example transits between the Earth/Moon system and Deimos, the outer moon of Mars. Because the transport is 54% water by mass at an interplanetary departure, it is christened Aquarius. In addition to supporting crew hydration/hygiene, water aboard Aquarius serves as propellant and as enhanced crew habitat radiation shielding during interplanetary transit. Key infrastructure and technology supporting Aquarius operations include pre-emplaced consumables and subsurface habitat at Deimos with crew radiation shielding equivalent to sea level on Earth, resupply in a selenocentric distant retrograde orbit, and nuclear thermal propulsion.
  
  Advancing in-space nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) technology to the point where fission reactor core temperatures exceeding 3000° C can be achieved during major translational maneuvers (burns). Under these conditions, water molecules pumped into the core will disassociate into hydrogen and oxygen atoms, and specific impulse ISP near 1000 s could be achieved. This level of efficiency, twice that attainable with chemical propulsion, dramatically reduces total mass for an interplanetary transport of specified payload mass.
• An overview about SpaceX company

From Urban Astronomer 

• south African astronomers have confirmed that a small number of distant Cepheid variable stars lie in the mysterious flared region of the Milky Way's gaseous outer rim. Further study of these stars will allow us to finally characterize this unexplored region of the galaxy.

From The Meridian Journal

• Astronomers witness asteroid smash-up around Sun-like star
• Rainfall on Titan may create propane aquifers, study suggests
• Plate tectonics may increase chances for life on Europa

 From UniverseToday

• MAVEN Mars Orbiter Ideally Poised to Uniquely Map Comet Siding Spring Composition – Exclusive Interview with Principal Investigator Bruce Jakosky
• Space Station’s Robonaut 2 Is Getting More Astronaut-Like By The Day

From CosmosQuest

• Send a message to asteroid Bennu to be included in a time capsule!

That's everything for this week, enjoy reading and remember that we are all sharing the same skies!