Paris, France (SPX) Jun 27, 2024
Look Up Space has reported a significant milestone in space history with over 10,000 active satellites now in orbit. As of June 19, 2024, the company counted 10,019 active satellites, with two-thirds (6,646) belonging to Starlink, SpaceX's satellite constellation founded by Elon Musk. Most of these satellites (9,254) are situated in low-Earth orbits, primarily between 400 and 1,200 kilometers fr

Sydney, Australia (SPX) Jun 27, 2024
Space Machines Company, an Australian-Indian in-space servicing firm, has signed a significant Launch Service Agreement with NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), a government entity under the Department of Space and the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). This collaboration will facilitate the launch of Space Machines Company's second Optimus spacecraft, weighing 450

ESA’s Hera mission is due to launch in October this year on a quest to survey the Didymos binary asteroid system and study the results of the first-ever test of asteroid deflection.

The spacecraft is currently undergoing its final system tests in the Netherlands in preparation for transport to its launch site in the USA. Meanwhile, in Germany, Hera’s Mission Control Team recently began launch preparations of their own.

The two Proba-3 satellites were set facing each other across a cleanroom as cameras, LEDs, a laser and shadow sensors were activated in turn, testing the systems that will let the pair sense their precise positions relative to each other, allowing them to line up precisely in orbit down to a single millimetre.

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jun 27, 2024
Atmospheric scientists are eager to analyze the air enclosed with each rock and soil sample collected by NASA's Perseverance rover, viewing it as a treasure trove for atmospheric studies. With each rock core sealed in its titanium sample tubes by NASA's Perseverance Mars rover, atmospheric scientists find themselves increasingly excited. These samples, which will be delivered to Earth as p

Sydney, Australia (SPX) Jun 27, 2024
The reentry capsule of the Chang'e 6 mission was opened in Beijing on Wednesday afternoon, reported China Central Television. The capsule was transported to Beijing earlier on Wednesday morning by airplane and subsequently taken to the China Academy of Space Technology, where it was designed and constructed. During a brief ceremony at the academy on Wednesday afternoon, engineers ope

Hong Kong (AFP) June 27, 2024
A historic lunar mission has demonstrated China's growing scientific prowess, but the feat has set off a torrent of misinformation targeting the United States that researchers say reflects their bitter competition in space. China is celebrating the return of the Chang'e 6 probe to Earth on Tuesday bearing rock-and-soil samples from the little-known far side of the Moon, following a 53-day mi

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jun 27, 2024
A detailed analysis of rocks and dust from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu, collected by NASA's University of Arizona-led OSIRIS-REx mission, has unveiled significant discoveries. The OSIRIS-REx Sample Analysis Team found that Bennu contains the primary components that formed our solar system. The dust from Bennu is rich in carbon, nitrogen, and organic compounds, essential for life. The sam

Santa Barbara CA (SPX) Jun 27, 2024
Researchers continue to expand the case for the Younger Dryas Impact hypothesis. The idea proposes that a fragmented comet smashed into the Earth's atmosphere 12,800 years ago, causing a widespread climatic shift that, among other things, led to the abrupt reversal of the Earth's warming trend and into an anomalous near-glacial period called the Younger Dryas. Now, UC Santa Barbara emeritu

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jun 27, 2024
Scientists have eagerly anticipated the analysis of the 4.3-ounce (121.6-gram) pristine asteroid Bennu sample collected by NASA's OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security - Regolith Explorer) mission since it arrived on Earth last fall. Researchers hoped this material would reveal secrets of the solar system's past and the prebiotic chemistry that could