Fuelled largely by climate change, our planet is being subjected to environmental changes that are having an unprecedented global impact on humans, animals and plants. Shockingly, in certain locations these changes are occurring at a rate never before witnessed.

To keep pace with the challenges we face, ESA is embarking on a new Earth observation science strategy – and has reached out to the scientific community at this early stage in the process to help guide the Agency’s scientific agenda for the coming years.

Beijing (XNA) Jul 18, 2023
China's Shenzhou XVI astronauts recently worked with researchers on the ground in a number of in-orbit experiments including fluid physics experiments and cold atom interferometer set-up, according to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. In the microgravity environment of space, fluid physics research has a wide range of applications, such as spacecraft thermal managemen

Sydney (AFP) July 18, 2023
A bulky barnacle-encrusted cylinder has baffled authorities since washing up on an Australian beach, with the country's space agency suggesting Tuesday it could be debris from a foreign rocket launch. The object, which measures some two metres (six feet) high with cables dangling from the top, was recently spotted near remote Jurien Bay, a coastal region two hours' drive north of state capi

Flagstaff AZ (SPX) Jul 18, 2023
We know less about the rainforest canopy, where most of the world's species live than we do about the surface of Mars or the bottom of the ocean. However, that is about to change thanks to GEDI-a NASA space laser that has provided a detailed structure of the world's rainforests for the first time ever. "Tropical forests are mainly unstratified especially in Amazonia and regions with lower

San Antonio TX (SPX) Jul 18, 2023
A team led by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) has found that NASA's Juno spacecraft orbiting Jupiter frequently encounters giant swirling waves at the boundary between the solar wind and Jupiter's magnetosphere. The waves are an important process for transferring energy and mass from the solar wind, a stream of charged particles emitted by th

Pasadena CA (JPL) Jul 18, 2023
Earth Planning Date: Friday, July 14, 2023: In human spaceflight, it's a tradition to wake the crew up with a "wake-up song" to let them know "Wake up, it's time to get to work!" For decades, this tradition has also been adopted by the Mars rover teams, with the tactical team at JPL choosing wake-up songs to play in the downlink room at the start of the planning day for us Earth-based "crew memb

Beijing (XNA) Jul 18, 2023
The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) on Monday released an announcement to solicit proposals for payloads of the country's manned lunar mission, which will be used for scientific exploration on the moon's surface. To make full use of the mission's resources and promote lunar exploration and scientific research, the lunar lander will carry scientific payload for relevant exploration activit

Troy NY (SPX) Jul 18, 2023
The International Space Station (ISS) will soon become the focal point for an expanded scientific experiment, aiming to delve further into the physics of protein solutions. The study will be conducted using a unique piece of equipment known as the ring-sheared drop module, a tool that capitalizes on the microgravity environment aboard the ISS. The announcement was made by researchers from Rensse