Copernical Team
NASA, JAXA bounce laser beam between moon's surface and lunar orbit
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NASA's LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) has twice transmitted a laser pulse to a cookie-sized retroreflector aboard JAXA's (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) SLIM lander on the moon and received a return signal.
As LRO passed 44 miles above SLIM (Smart Lander for Investigating Moon) during two successive orbits on May 24, 2024, it pinged the lander with its laser altimeter instrument as it had done eight times before. But, on these two attempts, the signal bounced back to LRO's detector.
This was an important accomplishment for NASA because the device is not in an optimal position. Retroreflectors are typically secured to the top of landers, giving LRO a 120-degree range of angles to aim toward when sending laser pulses to the approximate location of a retroreflector.
SpaceX returns to flight with Falcon 9 launch from Kennedy Space Center
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After more than two weeks grounded by the Federal Aviation Administration, SpaceX returned to launching its workhorse Falcon 9 lifting off early July 27 from Kennedy Space Center.
The rocket took off at 1:45 a.m. carrying 23 of the company's Starlink internet satellites from KSC's Launch Pad 39-A.
The first-stage booster made its 17th trip to space and managed another recovery landing on the droneship Just Read the Instructions stationed downrange in the Atlantic.
It was the 51st launch from the Space Coast for the year, with all but three coming from SpaceX. Including California, it was the 71st operational mission for SpaceX, not including two test launches of its Starship and Super Heavy rocket from Texas.
The company's frenetic launch pace this year was ground to a halt by the FAA after a July 11 launch from California ended in a failure of the Falcon 9's upper stage.
The failure was due to liquid oxygen leak that caused its second stage engine to ice over in between its initial burn and a planned second burn to raise its orbit before deploying its payload.
What could a future sovereign Mars economy look like?
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What would the economy of a future Mars society look like, and how could it be self-sustaining while being completely sovereign from Earth and its own economy? This is what a recent study submitted to Space Policy hopes to address as a sole researcher discusses a model that could be used for establishing economic freedom on Mars, enabling both monetary and political stability across all Red Planets settlements.
This study, posted on the arXiv preprint server, holds the potential to help scientists, economists, and world leaders better understand plausible governmental systems used by human settlers on other worlds while maintaining sovereignty from Earth and its own governmental law and order.
Here, Universe Today discusses this incredible study with Dr. Jacob Haqq-Misra, who is the Director and a Senior Research Investigator of Blue Marble Space Institute of Science (BMSIS) and sole author of the study, regarding the motivation behind the study, significant ideas presented in the study, the importance of establishing a sovereign economic system on Mars, eliminating capital exchange between Mars and Earth, how Mars can become a sovereign entity from Earth after humans settle there, and how an economic system can be established on a sovereign Mars.
Juice returns for a lunar-Earth flyby
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Video:
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ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) is coming back to Earth.
Our fearless traveller is getting a nudge from Earth this summer, in the first of four ‘gravity assist manoeuvres’ that will put Juice on precisely the right path to arrive at Jupiter with the correct speed and direction in July 2031.
This is the second big milestone in Juice’s journey to Jupiter, with the first being the launch into space on 14 April 2023. This second helping hand takes a very different form, with Juice flying past the Moon on 19 August, lining it up to fly past
Two meteor showers will flash across the sky around the same time in late July
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Get ready for a meteor shower doubleheader.
The Southern Delta Aquariid meteor shower peaks in late July. And this year, it will coincide with a second smaller meteor shower, the Alpha Capricornids.
The Delta Aquariids occur every year in North America's late summer. This year's peak activity happens early Tuesday morning, with an expected 15 to 20 meteors visible per hour in the Northern Hemisphere, under dark skies. Viewing should be even better in the Southern Hemisphere. The shower lasts through August 21, according to the American Meteor Society.
Around the same time, the Alpha Capricornid meteor shower should produce around five meteors per hour and lasts through August 15.
Here's what to know about the Delta Aquariids and other meteor showers.
What is a meteor shower?
Multiple meteor showers occur annually and you don't need special equipment to see them.
Most meteor showers originate from the debris of comets. The source of the Delta Aquariids is thought to be from the comet 96P/Machholz. The Alpha Capricornids originate from the comet 169P/NEAT.
When rocks from space enter Earth's atmosphere, the resistance from the air makes them very hot.
ESA blasts off at Gamescom
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Calling all space dreamers and game developers! ESA is back at Gamescom, the world's biggest video game event, kicking off in Cologne from 21 to 25 August. Our stand is in the careers area of Koelnmesse in Hall 10.2, so buckle up for a galaxy of opportunities!
USPACE introduces 6 new commercial optical satellites
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USPACE Technology Group Limited ("USPACE" [1725.HK]) has announced the launch of six new commercial optical satellites and related aerospace products. The Group aims to tap into the global market and attract more customers, focusing on the growing demand from emerging markets and SMEs. This marks a significant step in USPACE's efforts toward satellite mass production and commercialization, furth AST SpaceMobile Prepares to Ship First Five Commercial Satellites
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AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASTS) has announced the completion of its first five commercial satellites, named Bluebirds. These satellites, each equipped with communications arrays spanning 693 square feet, are set to be shipped to Cape Canaveral in the first week of August. A 7-day launch window is scheduled for September.
"This is a momentous occasion for AST SpaceMobile. These first f China's Climate and Carbon Monitoring Satellites Now Operational
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China's new atmospheric environment monitoring satellite and terrestrial ecosystem carbon monitoring satellite are now officially operational, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA).
"During their in-orbit testing, these satellites demonstrated favorable application results across multiple areas, including ecological environment, forestry and grassland, geographic surv Kepler's 1607 Sunspot Sketches Shed Light on Early Solar Cycles
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Researchers have utilized modern techniques to revisit Johannes Kepler's historic sunspot drawings from 1607, uncovering new insights into solar cycles prior to the grand solar minimum. Led by Nagoya University in Japan, the international team reexamined Kepler's observations using Sporer's law and modern statistical methods. They accurately pinpointed the sunspot group's position, identifying i