Image: ERS-2 buckles and bends during final farewell

ESA’s Hera spacecraft for planetary defence is being prepared for a journey to the distant asteroid moon Dimorphos orbiting around its parent body Didymos. One of the first features Hera will look for is the crater left on Dimorphos by its predecessor mission DART, which impacted the asteroid to deflect its orbit. Yet a new impact simulation study reported in Nature Astronomy today suggests no crater will be found. The DART impact is likely to have remodelled the entire body instead – a significant finding for both asteroid science and planetary defence.

Washington (AFP) Feb 24, 2024
The first American spaceship to the Moon since the Apollo era is probably lying sideways following its dramatic landing, the company that built it said Friday, even as ground controllers work to download data and surface photos from the uncrewed robot. The Odysseus spacecraft landed near the lunar south pole Thursday at 6:23 pm Eastern Time (2323 GMT), after a nail-biting final descent when

Berlin, Germany (SPX) Feb 22, 2024
In a groundbreaking study from Abdullah Gul University in Turkiye, researchers have developed a novel hemispherical shell structure for organic photovoltaic cells, significantly enhancing their light absorption and angular coverage. Published in the SPIE Journal of Photonics for Energy, this innovation could mark a pivotal shift in the quest for more efficient and sustainable solar energy soluti

Boston MA (SPX) Feb 21, 2024
Crop maps help scientists and policymakers track global food supplies and estimate how they might shift with climate change and growing populations. But getting accurate maps of the types of crops that are grown from farm to farm often requires on-the-ground surveys that only a handful of countries have the resources to maintain. Now, MIT engineers have developed a method to quickly and ac

Gottingen, Germany (SPX) Feb 22, 2024
Researchers from the University of Gottingen have shed new light on the Earth's earliest life forms by analyzing ancient rocks from the Pilbara Craton in Western Australia, one of the few places on Earth where the primordial crust is still accessible. These rocks, approximately 3.5 billion years old, contain carbonaceous particles that offer clues to the microorganisms which inhabited our planet

Moscow (AFP) Feb 20, 2024
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that he was opposed to sending nuclear weapons to space, dismissing US accusations that Moscow was developing a space-based anti-satellite weapon. Washington said last week it was worried Russia was developing the system while saying it posed no immediate threat to people on Earth. "We have always been categorically against putting nuclear w

London (AFP) Feb 21, 2024
The UK government said Wednesday that it had "absolute confidence" in its Trident nuclear deterrent system despite a reported missile test failure. Defence minister Grant Shapps admitted to parliament that "an anomaly did occur" during an exercise on January 30, following reports that a missile fired from the submarine HMS Vanguard fell into the sea. Shapps said in the written statement

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 22, 2024
Hughes Network Systems, LLC (Hughes), an EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ: SATS) affiliate, has secured a pivotal contract from SES Space and Defense, a subsidiary of SES, to deliver a sophisticated, software-defined satellite communications (SATCOM) solution tailored for the US Air Force's Defense Experimentation Using Commercial Space Internet (DEUCSI) program. This initiative, under the guidance

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 22, 2024
In an initiative poised to reshape our understanding of the celestial sphere we orbit, the SunSketcher project invites amateur astronomers and curious minds alike to partake in a unique scientific endeavor. By leveraging the collective power of citizen scientists during the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, the project aims to delve into one of astronomy's longstanding questions: What is the