Copernical Team
Next-generation NASA technologies tested in flight
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Teams of NASA researchers put their next-generation technologies to the microgravity test in a series of parabolic flights that aim to advance innovations supporting the agency's space exploration goals.
These parabolic flights provide a gateway to weightlessness, allowing research teams to interact with their hardware in reduced gravity conditions for intervals of approximately 22 seconds. The flights, which ran from February to April, took place aboard Zero Gravity Corporation's G-FORCE ONE aircraft and helped to advance several promising space technologies.
Under the Fundamental Regolith Properties, Handling, and Water Capture (FLEET) project, researchers tested an ultrasonic blade technology in a regolith simulant at lunar and Martian gravities. On Earth, vibratory tools reduce the forces between the tool and the soil, which also lowers the reaction forces experienced by the system.
Ariane 6: the launch zone
Hypersonic vehicles for Europe’s fast future into space
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When hypersonic aeronautics and space exploration meet, European engineers dream of a future fast-track return-ticket to space.
LacunaSat-2B successfully completes mission and deorbits sustainably
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A nanosatellite that supported global connectivity by collecting data from Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices in remote locations, LacunaSat-2B, has successfully completed its three-year mission and deorbited into Earth's atmosphere in late April. During its mission, the satellite demonstrated a commitment to sustainability and provided previously inaccessible data for various sectors, including environmental studies, agriculture and wildlife monitoring.
Webb snaps first image of aligned jets from newborn stars
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For the first time, a phenomenon astronomers have long hoped to image directly has been captured by the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope’s Near-InfraRed Camera (NIRCam). In this stunning image of the Serpens Nebula, the discovery lies in the northern area of this young, nearby star-forming region.
Summer solstice 2024
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Summer officially begins in the Northern Hemisphere today 20 June, marking the longest day of the year. The summer solstice, which is when the Sun reaches the most northerly point in the sky, is set to occur tonight at 21:50 BST/22:50 CEST.
During the summer solstice, the Northern Hemisphere will experience the longest period of sunlight in a day or the longest day of the year. This is because of Earth’s position in orbit around the Sun and the way the North Pole is tilted towards the Sun during the solstice.
The Sun’s rays hit the Northern Hemisphere at their most direct angle, resulting in the
Hubble Telescope now relying on single-gyro 'pointing mode'
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NASA on Tuesday released a Hubble Space Telescope image captured by using a new pointing mode that uses just one gyroscope. The telescope resumed operations June 14 after a gyro issue took it offline for several weeks.
The new image is of NGC 1546, a nearby Dorado constellation galaxy.
According to NASA scientists, Hubble is expected to be capable of most of it science observatio Too young to be so cool: lessons from three neutron stars
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ESA’s XMM-Newton and NASA’s Chandra spacecraft have detected three young neutron stars that are unusually cold for their age. By comparing their properties to different neutron star models, scientists conclude that the oddballs’ low temperatures disqualify around 75% of known models. This is a big step towards uncovering the one neutron star ‘equation of state’ that rules them all, with important implications for the fundamental laws of the Universe.
Scientists spot hidden companions of bright stars
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Photographing faint objects close to bright stars is incredibly difficult. Yet, by combining data from ESA's Gaia space telescope with ESO’s GRAVITY instrument on the ground, scientists managed just that. They took the first pictures of so far unseen dim companions of eight luminous stars. The technique unlocks the tantalising possibility to capture images of planets orbiting close to their host stars.
Researchers investigate the impacts of space travel on astronauts' eye health
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As space travel becomes more common, it is important to consider the impacts of space flight and altered gravity on the human body. Led by Dr. Ana Diaz Artiles, researchers at Texas A&M University are studying some of those impacts, specifically effects on the eye. The findings are published in the journal npj Microgravity.
Gravitational changes experienced by astronauts during space travel can cause fluids within the body to shift. This can cause changes to the cardiovascular system, including vessels in and around the eyes.
As the commercialization of space flight becomes more common and individual space travel increases, astronauts will not be the only ones experiencing these changes. Individuals traveling to space with commercial companies may not be as fit or healthy as astronauts, making it even more important to understand the role that fluid shift plays in cardiovascular and eye health.
"When we experience microgravity conditions, we see changes in the cardiovascular system because gravity is not pulling down all these fluids as it typically does on Earth when we are in an upright position," said Diaz Artiles, an assistant professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and a Williams Brothers Construction Company Faculty Fellow.
