Washington (AFP) Mar 7, 2025
Intuitive Machines' second Moon mission ended in disappointment on Friday after the US company confirmed that its spacecraft had tipped over and was unable to recharge its solar-powered batteries - mirroring its first attempt last year. It marked a premature conclusion to a mission that had sparked excitement in the space community, thanks to its cutting-edge payloads, including a futuristi

ESA’s second group of Astronaut Reserve members has successfully completed the first block of their intensive Astronaut Reserve Training (ART) programme. Starting in January 2025, four members of the European Astronaut Reserve—Meganne Christian from the UK, Anthea Comellini from Italy, John McFall from the UK and Carmen Possnig from Austria— tarted their two months training programme at ESA’s European Astronaut Centre (EAC) in Cologne, Germany, honing essential skills required for future space exploration and scientific research.

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Europe’s human spaceflight ambitions are reaching new heights, and ESA’s Astronaut Reserve is a key part of this journey. Selected in 2022, these talented individuals are undergoing Astronaut Reserve Training (ART) to ensure they are ready for future missions.

Among these remarkable women from across Europe are Meganne Christian, a materials scientist from the UK, Anthea Comellini, an aerospace engineer from Italy, and Carmen Possnig, a medical doctor from Austria, who recently completed their first ART training block at the European Astronaut Centre (EAC) in Cologne, Germany.

Their diverse scientific backgrounds reflect the wide-ranging expertise needed for human spaceflight, whether as part of ESA’s

Image: Close-up of Proba-3’s Coronagraph, ready to dance

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Mar 06, 2025
Custom trailers have become essential for individuals and businesses looking for a tailored approach to transportation, storage, and mobile operations. Whether hauling cargo, transporting vehicles, setting up a mobile food business, or crafting a custom RV, a personalized trailer provides functionality that a standard model simply can't match. In 2025, with rising material costs and evolvi

Washington (AFP) Mar 6, 2025
Second time unlucky: A US company's lunar lander appears to have touched down at a wonky angle on Thursday, an embarrassing repeat of its previous mission's less-than-perfect landing last year. Houston-based Intuitive Machines made history in February 2024 as the first private firm to place a spaceship on Earth's nearest neighbor, though the moment was marred by Odysseus toppling over upon t

Kourou (AFP) Mar 6, 2025
Europe's new Ariane 6 rocket successfully carried out its first commercial mission on Thursday, placing a French military satellite into orbit to give the continent a new independent access to space. After delays including a last-minute postponement on Monday, the heavy-lift rocket blasted off into rainy skies from the Kourou space base in French Guiana. Around an hour after the launch

Boca Chica, United States (AFP) Mar 7, 2025
Elon Musk's SpaceX on Thursday once again lost the upper stage of its massive Starship rocket in a fiery explosion, even as the booster was successfully caught in its orbital test - a near replay of the previous attempt. Minutes after liftoff and booster separation, a live video feed showed the upper stage tumbling uncontrollably before the signal abruptly cut. Dramatic footage circulat

Europe’s newest rocket, Ariane 6, took flight for the second time from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana at 13:24 local time on 6 March (16:24 GMT, 17:24 CET). This was the first commercial flight for Ariane 6, flight VA263, delivering the CSO-3 satellite to orbit. Arianespace was the operator and launch service provider for the French Procurement agency (DGA) and France’s space agency CNES on behalf of the French Air and Space Force’s Space Command (CDE).

Image: The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over Albania’s capital Tirana and its surroundings.