AstrotalkUK

Not for profit website/blog on astronomy, space and my writing

  • Home
    • FAQ
    • Contact
    • About
    • Privacy Policy
  • Content
    • Podcast
    • All episodes
    • Book Review
    • Cyber Security
  • Events

New Spacesuit from AxiomSpace

By Gurbir Dated: October 16, 2024 Leave a Comment

Private space companies produce a wide range of products and services for the developing space economy. Today, Axiomspace announced its Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) or spacesuit here at IAC2024. This is the new generation of spacesuits for use on the lunar surface by NASA astronauts on the Artemis-iii mission.

Credit:Axiom Space

There are no “standout” major differences in appearance, but the development of technology since the 1960s will make these suits safer, longer lasting and more comfortable.Astronauts will return to the South Pole, an area not visited during the Apollo era, and there will be women, too. Some of the details that came out of the press conference and the Q&A that followed include

  • Apollo spacesuits were tailor-made. The new ones are modular and support men and women. The gloves are personalised.
  • Mitigation of the impact of lunar dust
  • Built-in nutrition.
  • The design incorporates the south pole conditions – lower temperature and the sun being mostly low in the sky.
  • Can accommodate operations for 8 hours
  • Builtin lights, HD cameras and cellular communication
  • automatic biometric monitoring

It is the product of a private company. Other companies and countries will be producing similar products. Although there is a recognition that international standards are required, none are currently established. At this early stage, the first spacesuit to attract widespread deployment will establish a foothold . That will most likely become the de facto standard.

Share this:

  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook

WEA Online Courses starting in September 2021

By Gurbir Dated: August 6, 2021 Leave a Comment

The two introductory courses below are organised by The Workers’ Educational Association (WEA), UK’s largest voluntary sector provider of adult education in England and Scotland. I will be delivering thee courses via Zoom in September. There is a cost but if you qualify that could be nil.

The New Space Age

The New Space Age

Introductory online course via Zoom. No prerequisite. Fee £64.00 or Nil.

Course dates 07/09/2021 – 09/11/2021
Ten sessions for 2 hrs per session every Tuesday starting at 7pm

Over the ten interactive sessions this course will provide an overview on:

Evolution of the space age from the beginnings with Sputnik to today
Outline the rich sources of services from space that shape society on Earth
The emergence of the private space sector in countries around the world
Space activities in India, China and Africa
Explore the concern of congestion in space from the growing number of spacecraft and the hazards of space debris.
The potential for the militarisation of space.
Humans living and working in Earth orbit. Returning to the Moon and beyond to Mars

Enrol Here


Explorers of the Cosmos

Explorers of the Cosmos

Introductory online course via Zoom. No prerequisite. Fee £64.00 or Nil.

Course dates 09/09/2021 – 11/11/2021.
Ten sessions for 2 hrs per session on Thursdays starting at 5pm

Over ten weeks the course will look at the life and work of the life and work of the following individuals

Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543)
Galileo Galilei (1564–1642) 
Isaac Newton (1643–1727)
Henrietta Swann Leavitt (1868–1921)
Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
Edwin Hubble (1899–1953)
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (1910-1995)
Vera Rubin (1928-2016)
Stephen Hawking (1942-2018) 
Jocelyn Bell (1943 – )

Enrol here

Share this:

  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook

Space and iconic scientists from history – Online Zoom series starting Jan 2021

By Gurbir Dated: January 3, 2021 Leave a Comment

So 2020 is behind us but we do have some distance to travel down the tunnel before we see the light. I reckon March should do it.  Until then why not join me on a weekly Zoom session about the latest (a) developments in space and (b)  scientific contributions from people in history.

I will be running online sessions via Zoom starting next week. They are organised by the Workers’ Educational Association and are free or £57.60 depending on your personal status for each of the two 9-week “courses” (as the WEA calls them).  Both are online via Zoom. I usually run them as Zoom meetings with lots of discussion and interaction rather than as a webinar. 


C3844979 – Explorers of the Cosmos 
9:30 to 11:30 on Wednesdays from 20/01/2021 to 17/03/2021

Our modern understanding of the universe is the end product of centuries of scientific discoveries by many individuals around the world. Whilst most have been forgotten in history, some stand out like shining stars. What was their profound scientific contribution? Why were they able to make breakthrough when they did?

  1. Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543)
  2. Galileo Galilei (1564–1642) 
  3. Isaac Newton (1643–1727)
  4. Henrietta Swann Leavitt (1868–1921)
  5. Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
  6. Edwin Hubble (1899–1953)
  7. Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (1910-1995)
  8. Stephen Hawking (1942-2018) 
  9. Jocelyn Bell (1943 – )

C3845094 Astronomy -The New Space Age

17:00 to 19:00  on Thursdays from 21/01/2021 to 28/03/2021

What value does space technology and exploration have for us as individuals, communities and countries? The series of talks has been developed and enlarged from the first successful run in 2020. Topics include:

  1. From the Space Race to the New Space Age. How has human space exploration evolved since the launch of Sputnik in 1957?
  2. Services from space. All those satellites in space, what impact do they have on the quality of lives of people on Earth? 
  3. The Private Space sector. It has been emerging for many years. Has it finally arrived?
  4. Managing the Space Environment.  Can the international community apply the lessons of climate change on Earth to the space environment around Earth and beyond?
  5. Rocket Science. A summary of rocket propulsion. How it all started and how it’s done now.
  6. Militarisation of space. Humans on Earth have always fought on land, sea and air. Is war in space inevitable?
  7. Humans in Space.  In this decade, will humans walk on the Moon again? Will this decade finally deliver the promise of space tourism?
  8. Exploration of the Solar System. Spacecraft have now visited all the 8 planets of the solar system, along with comets and asteroids. What have we learnt?
  9. The Search for Life. It’s been going on for more than half a century. How is it going?

Share this:

  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook

Online Course – The New Space Age

By Gurbir Dated: March 3, 2020 Leave a Comment

A new online introductory (yes – for beginners) course from the Workers’ Educational Association supported by the Royal Astronomical Society. Enrolment requirements include:

  • You have been resident in the UK, EU or EEA for the last 3 years
  • You are aged 19 years or older on 1st September 2019
  • Starts at 19:00 on Tuesday 10th March 2020. Cost is £20 or free if eligible
International Space Station
Credit ESA

Over six weekly ninety-minute sessions online, the course will look at space programmes and missions being conducted by many countries and companies right now.  Starting 10th March 2020. The six sessions will cover

  1. From the Space Race to the New Space Age. How has human space exploration evolved since the launch of Sputnik in 1957?
  2. Services from space. All those satellites in space, what impact do they have on the quality of lives of people on Earth?
  3. The Private Space Sector. It has been emerging for many years. Has it finally arrived?
  4. Environmental control in space.  Can the international community apply the lessons of climate change on Earth to the space environment around Earth and beyond?
  5. Militarisation of space. Humans on Earth have always fought on the land, sea and the air. Is war in space inevitable?
  6. Humans in Space.  In this decade, will humans walk on the Moon again? Will this decade deliver, finally the promise of space tourism?
More info and Signup Here




Share this:

  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
Next Page »

Find me online here

  • E-mail
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Vimeo
  • YouTube

subscribe to mailing list and newsletter

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Browse by category

Recent Comments

  • Frank Pleszak on Episode 117 – Early Aviation in Manchester
  • Gurbir Singh on Episode 111 – Chandrayaan-3
  • Lunar Polar Exploration Mission: Difference between revisions – भोजपुरी on Episode 82: Jaxa and International Collaboration with Professor Fujimoto Masaki
  • Gurbir on Public Event. Anglo Indian Stephen Smith – India’s forgotten Rocketeer
  • Sandip Kumar Chakrabarti on Public Event. Anglo Indian Stephen Smith – India’s forgotten Rocketeer

Archives

Select posts by topic

apollo astrobiology Astrophotography BIS Book Review Carl Sagan CCD CCSK China Cloud Computing cnsa commercial Cosmology curiosity Education ESA Gagarin History India Infosec ISRO jaxa Jodrell Bank Mars Media Moon NASA podcast radio astronomy Rakesh Sharma rocket Rockets Roscosmos Science Science Fiction seti Solar System soviet space space spaceflight titan USSR video Vostok Yuri Gagarin

Copyright © 2008–2025 Gurbir Singh - AstrotalkUK Publications Log in