LacunaSat-2B successfully completes mission and deorbits sustainably
Thursday, 20 June 2024 08:02![](/plugins/content/jlexcomment/assets/icon.png)
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A nanosatellite that supported global connectivity by collecting data from Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices in remote locations, LacunaSat-2B, has successfully completed its three-year mission and deorbited into Earth's atmosphere in late April. During its mission, the satellite demonstrated a commitment to sustainability and provided previously inaccessible data for various sectors, including environmental studies, agriculture and wildlife monitoring.
Too young to be so cool: lessons from three neutron stars
Thursday, 20 June 2024 08:00![](/plugins/content/jlexcomment/assets/icon.png)
![A neutron star](https://www.esa.int/var/esa/storage/images/esa_multimedia/images/2024/06/a_neutron_star/26168555-1-eng-GB/A_neutron_star_card_full.jpg)
ESA’s XMM-Newton and NASA’s Chandra spacecraft have detected three young neutron stars that are unusually cold for their age. By comparing their properties to different neutron star models, scientists conclude that the oddballs’ low temperatures disqualify around 75% of known models. This is a big step towards uncovering the one neutron star ‘equation of state’ that rules them all, with important implications for the fundamental laws of the Universe.
Scientists spot hidden companions of bright stars
Thursday, 20 June 2024 06:00![](/plugins/content/jlexcomment/assets/icon.png)
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Photographing faint objects close to bright stars is incredibly difficult. Yet, by combining data from ESA's Gaia space telescope with ESO’s GRAVITY instrument on the ground, scientists managed just that. They took the first pictures of so far unseen dim companions of eight luminous stars. The technique unlocks the tantalising possibility to capture images of planets orbiting close to their host stars.
Hubble Telescope now relying on single-gyro 'pointing mode'
Thursday, 20 June 2024 05:51![](/plugins/content/jlexcomment/assets/icon.png)
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ESA takes first step to modify georeturn policies
Thursday, 20 June 2024 01:39Drone racing prepares neural-network AI for space
Wednesday, 19 June 2024 18:13![](/plugins/content/jlexcomment/assets/icon.png)
![Flying test drone against time](https://www.esa.int/var/esa/storage/images/esa_multimedia/images/2024/06/flying_test_drone_against_time/26171095-2-eng-GB/Flying_test_drone_against_time_card_full.gif)
Drones are being raced against the clock at Delft University of Technology’s ‘Cyber Zoo’ to test the performance of neural-network-based AI control systems planned for next-generation space missions.
Researchers investigate the impacts of space travel on astronauts' eye health
Wednesday, 19 June 2024 15:25![](/plugins/content/jlexcomment/assets/icon.png)
![Credit: Texas A&M Engineering Researchers investigate the impacts of space travel on astronauts' eye health](https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/800a/2024/researchers-investigat-15.jpg)
As space travel becomes more common, it is important to consider the impacts of space flight and altered gravity on the human body. Led by Dr. Ana Diaz Artiles, researchers at Texas A&M University are studying some of those impacts, specifically effects on the eye. The findings are published in the journal npj Microgravity.
Gravitational changes experienced by astronauts during space travel can cause fluids within the body to shift. This can cause changes to the cardiovascular system, including vessels in and around the eyes.
As the commercialization of space flight becomes more common and individual space travel increases, astronauts will not be the only ones experiencing these changes. Individuals traveling to space with commercial companies may not be as fit or healthy as astronauts, making it even more important to understand the role that fluid shift plays in cardiovascular and eye health.
"When we experience microgravity conditions, we see changes in the cardiovascular system because gravity is not pulling down all these fluids as it typically does on Earth when we are in an upright position," said Diaz Artiles, an assistant professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and a Williams Brothers Construction Company Faculty Fellow.
New training programs will prepare astronauts to perform medicine while thousands of miles away from Earth
Wednesday, 19 June 2024 14:52![](/plugins/content/jlexcomment/assets/icon.png)
![During Mars missions, astronauts will be away from Earth for long periods of time, with limited access to medical resources. Credit: CU/LASP EMM/EXI ITF/Kevin M. Gill, CC BY Keeping astronauts healthy in space isn't easy − new training programs will prepare students to perform medicine while thousands of miles away from Earth](https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/800a/2024/keeping-astronauts-hea.jpg)
In the coming decade, more people will go to space than ever before as human spaceflight enters a new era. NASA, the European Space Agency and other governmental agencies are partnering to develop crewed missions beyond the moon. At the same time, these agencies are collaborating with private companies using new technologies to drive down the price of space exploration.
Companies such as SpaceX, Blue Origin and Sierra Space have developed vehicles with reusable boosters, automated flight systems and lightweight materials to support these deep space missions.
327th ESA Council : Media information session at ESA HQ
Wednesday, 19 June 2024 13:30![](/plugins/content/jlexcomment/assets/icon.png)
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ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher and ESA Council Chair Renato Krpoun brief journalists on decisions taken at the ESA Council meeting held in Paris on 18 and 19 June 2024.
Space Force takes another swing at modernizing satellite ground systems
Wednesday, 19 June 2024 13:19High winds delay SpaceX launch after a switch to Cape Canaveral
Wednesday, 19 June 2024 11:52![](/plugins/content/jlexcomment/assets/icon.png)
![Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain SpaceX](https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/800a/2020/spacex.jpg)
A late scrub due to weather on June 18 means it will have been at least 12 days since SpaceX last lit up the Space Coast sky with a rocket launch, the longest run between launches in more than a year.
It's not for a lack of trying, though. Bad weather and a scrub as the countdown clock hit 0 last week led to SpaceX taking down a Falcon 9 rocket for a Starlink mission and switching it up with a Falcon 9 to launch a European TV satellite. The first try on Tuesday night, though, faced high winds at the launch site.
The SES 24 mission flying the ASTRA 1P communication satellite for Luxembourg-based communications company SES will now try to launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Space Launch Complex 40 on Wednesday during a two-hour, 49-minute window that opens at 5:25 p.m. The satellite will service TV markets in Germany, Spain and France.
Space Launch Delta 45's weather squadron forecasts only a 45% chance for good conditions for June 19.
If it does launch, the first-stage booster will be making its ninth flight and will aim for a landing downrange on the droneship.
America’s first Black astronaut candidate finally flew. Now it’s time to make more
Wednesday, 19 June 2024 11:00Monitoring marine litter from space is now a reality
Wednesday, 19 June 2024 06:51![](/plugins/content/jlexcomment/assets/icon.png)
![Mediterranean marine litter mapped by satellite](https://www.esa.int/var/esa/storage/images/esa_multimedia/images/2024/06/mediterranean_marine_litter_mapped_by_satellite/26169874-1-eng-GB/Mediterranean_marine_litter_mapped_by_satellite_card_full.png)
Every 60 seconds the equivalent of a lorry-load of plastic enters the global ocean. Where it goes after that remains largely unknown. But a new ESA Discovery study reported in Nature Communications has proven the concept of monitoring floating plastic litter using satellites.
Redwire to Lead DARPA SabreSat VLEO Mission
Wednesday, 19 June 2024 06:01![](/plugins/content/jlexcomment/assets/icon.png)
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