Copernical Team
China's Tianwen 2 Mission Targets Asteroid and Comet Exploration
China's Tianwen 2 probe is set to launch aboard a Long March 3B rocket in May 2025. This mission aims to collect samples from a near-Earth asteroid and deliver them to Earth, followed by a journey to study a comet in deep space.
The probe's first target is the near-Earth asteroid 469219, known as Kamo'oalewa in Hawaiian. After reaching the asteroid, Tianwen 2 will perform remote sensing
Hera's Propulsion System Passes Critical Leak Test
ESA's Hera asteroid mission, designed for planetary defense, has successfully undergone a crucial phase in its test campaign by being placed back in its transport container.
The spacecraft will remain at the ESTEC Test Centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, until the end of August. During this period, Hera's container was used for a global leak test to confirm the integrity of its propulsio i-Space Rocket Test Faces Setback with SQX-1 Y8 Launch
The recent test flight of the SQX-1 Y8, a commercial carrier rocket developed by the Chinese private aerospace firm i-Space, ended in failure on Thursday.
The rocket launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 7:40 am Beijing Time. Shortly after liftoff, the SQX-1 Y8 exhibited abnormal performance, leading to an unsuccessful mission.
The SQX-1, also known Leidos secures $476M NASA contract for ISS and Artemis Cargo Support
Leidos (NYSE: LDOS) has been awarded a significant contract to continue providing cargo mission engineering and integration services for NASA's International Space Station (ISS) Program and Artemis campaign. The contract, which holds a total potential value of $476 million, includes a base performance period of two years. The primary work will be conducted at Leidos' facilities in Webster, Texas Virgin Galactic Unveils New Spaceship Manufacturing Facility in Arizona
Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: SPCE) has announced the completion of a new manufacturing facility in Phoenix, Arizona. This facility will handle the final assembly of the Company's next-generation Delta spaceships, with production slated to start in Q1 2025.
The initial team, comprising Virgin Galactic's technical operations and manufacturing personnel, is currently preparing the fa Real-life 'stillsuit': Dune-inspired upgrade for spacesuits allow astronauts to recycle urine into water
Astronauts on spacewalks famously have to relieve themselves inside their spacesuits. Not only is this uncomfortable for the wearer and unhygienic, it is also wasteful, as—unlike wastewater on board the International Space Station (ISS)—the water in urine from spacewalks is not recycled.
A solution for these challenges would be full-body 'stillsuits' like those in the blockbuster Dune franchise, which absorbed and purified water lost through sweating and urination, and recycled it into drinkable water. Now, this sci-fi is about to become reality, with a prototype novel urine collection and filtration system for spacesuits.
The design, by researchers from Cornell University, is published in Frontiers in Space Technology.
"The design includes a vacuum-based external catheter leading to a combined forward-reverse osmosis unit, providing a continuous supply of potable water with multiple safety mechanisms to ensure astronaut well-being," said Sofia Etlin, a research staff member at Weill Cornell Medicine and Cornell University, and the study's first author.
Ariane 6 defies gravity in breathtaking first flight
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Ariane 6 defies gravity in breathtaking first flight Ariane 6 cuts a vertical path up, up and away
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Ariane 6 cuts a vertical path up, up and away Mpemba effect at Concordia
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Freezing boiling water in Concordia against the sunset YPSat: the view from Ariane 6
If there had been an astronaut aboard the historic first launch of Europe’s Ariane 6 launcher, this is what they would have seen: images and videos from key phases of the flight were captured by the YPSat payload, a project led and undertaken by ESA Young Professionals in their own time.
