Sydney, Australia (SPX) Mar 22, 2024
On Thursday afternoon, the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation announced the successful launch of a Long March 2D carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. This launch marked the deployment of the second batch of Yunhai 2-series satellites into orbit, further bolstering China's capabilities in atmospheric monitoring and space environment observation. The satel

Tokyo (AFP) Mar 26, 2024
Japan's space agency said on Tuesday it will try to revive its Moon lander after a second frigid, two-week lunar night, following a surprising awakening last month. The unmanned Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) touched down in January at a wonky angle that left its solar panels facing the wrong way. As the sun's angle shifted, it came back to life for two days and carried out s

Greenbelt MD (SPX) Mar 26, 2024
From the atmosphere down to the surface of the ocean, data from NASA's PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) satellite benefits ecosystems, human health, and underrepresented communities. Years before the launch in February 2024, mission leaders from NASA teamed with dozens of applied scientists and environmental professionals to prepare for the many practical uses that could be

The Sun erupted over the weekend, flinging electromagnetic radiation towards Earth, even illuminating skies with spectacular aurora borealis. For the first time, ESA’s unlikely space weather duo of SMOS and Swarm tracked the severe solar storm — which warped Earth’s magnetic field.

Unveiling the all-new ESA Impact: Dive into our Q1 2024 edition

Welcome to the 2024 first quarter edition of ESA Impact – your interactive gateway to the most important stories and images from the European Space Agency

A newly devised procedure to de-ice Euclid's optics has performed significantly better than hoped. Light coming in to the visible ‘VIS’ instrument from distant stars was gradually decreasing due small amounts of water ice building up on its optics. Mission teams spent months devising a procedure to heat up individual mirrors in the instrument’s complex optical system, without interfering with the finely tuned mission’s calibration or potentially causing further contamination. After the very first mirror was warmed by just 34 degrees, Euclid's sight was restored.

Washington (AFP) Mar 25, 2024
FTX, the bankrupt company once run by disgraced crypto king Sam Bankman-Fried, will sell two-thirds of its shares in hot AI startup Anthropic for $880 million, a court filing said on Monday. The shares in Anthropic were considered plum assets in the remains of the FTX empire that collapsed in late 2022, when revelations showed occurrences of massive fraud by Bankman-Fried and his close assoc

Washington DC (UPI) Mar 25, 2024
SpaceX on Monday successfully launched a Falcon 9 rocket carrying a batch of 23 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The craft took off as scheduled from Space Launch Complex 40 at 7:42 p.m. The Falcon 9's first stage landed on the A Shortfall of Gravitas drone ship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean following the launch, SpaceX

Berlin, Germany (SPX) Mar 26, 2024
In a landmark partnership, Aerospacelab and Xona Space Systems have committed to a collaboration that will significantly impact the satellite navigation sector. This alliance aims to drive forward the development and deployment of cutting-edge satellite technology, combining Aerospacelab's expertise in satellite design, manufacturing, and operations with Xona's innovative navigation solutions.