Copernical Team
NASA prepares final rocket tests for first Artemis moon mission launch
NASA is preparing the huge Space Launch System moon rocket for final tests on a Kennedy Space Center launchpad in February that would clear the way for a moon launch as early as late March. The 322-foot-tall SLS rocket for the Artemis I mission is the largest since the last Saturn V rocket rolled out to a launch pad in 1972. The first lunar mission in decades will help NASA understan
NASA Offers $1 Million for Innovative Systems to Feed Tomorrow's Astronauts
As NASA prepares to send astronauts further into the cosmos than ever before, the agency aims to upgrade production of a critical fuel source: food. Giving future explorers the technology to produce nutritious, tasty, and satisfying meals on long-duration space missions will give them the energy required to uncover the great unknown. In coordination with the Canadian Space Agency, NASA is
NASA solar sail mission to chase tiny asteroid after Artemis I launch
Launching with the Artemis I uncrewed test flight, NASA's shoebox-size Near-Earth Asteroid Scout will chase down what will become the smallest asteroid ever to be visited by a spacecraft.
A un año del mandato de Biden, la NASA mira hacia el futuro
NASA to Discuss Webb’s Arrival at Final Destination, Next Steps
Update on Yutu-2 rover findings from far side of the moon
China satellite in close encounter with Russian debris: state media
A Chinese satellite had a near collision with one of the many chunks of debris left by the fallout of a recent Russian anti-satellite missile test, state media reported.
Moscow blew up one of its old satellites in November in a missile test that sparked international anger because of the space debris it scattered around the Earth's orbit.
US officials accused Moscow of carrying out a "dangerous and irresponsible" strike that had created a cloud of debris and forced the International Space Station's crew to take evasive action.
Russia dismissed those concerns and denied that the space debris posed any danger but a new incident with a Chinese satellite suggests otherwise.
In the latest encounter, China's Tsinghua Science Satellite came as close as 14.5 metres from a piece of debris, the state-run Global Times reported late Wednesday.
The "extremely dangerous" event happened on Tuesday, the report added, citing a social media post by Chinese space authorities that has since been removed.
Space debris expert Liu Jing told the Global Times that it was rare for debris and spacecraft to be just a dozen metres apart, adding that the probability of collision this time was "very high" and should theoretically have called for evasive action.
How scientists tested the supersonic dynamic characteristics of the Tianwen-1 Mars Entry Capsule
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Russia's only female cosmonaut to travel to space in September
Russia's sole active female cosmonaut, Anna Kikina, is due to travel to the International Space Station in September on a Soyuz rocket, the national space agency said Thursday.
Kikina, a 37-year-old engineer, will be only the fifth professional woman cosmonaut from Russia or the Soviet Union to fly to space.
Last year, the Russian space agency Roscosmos said "our beauty" Kikina would fly aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon as part of a cross-flights deal between Roscosmos and NASA.
On Thursday, Roscosmos said that if the two countries finalise the deal, Kikina will fly to space with the Americans in August, while NASA's Francisco Rubio will travel on a Soyuz.
But if the deal does not work out, she will travel to the ISS on a Soyuz rocket in September.
The last Russian woman to fly to space was Elena Serova, who spent 167 days aboard the ISS from September, 2014 to March, 2015.
Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space when she travelled into orbit on June 16, 1963.
Svetlana Savitskaya was the second woman in space, and the first woman to perform a spacewalk in July, 1984.