Copernical Team
LLNL gamma-ray sensor has the best resolution
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It's official. An instrument designed and built by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers is the highest-resolution gamma ray sensor that has ever flown in space.
The Livermore high-purity germanium (HPGe) gamma ray sensor is an essential part of a larger gamma-ray spectrometer (GRS) built in collaboration with researchers from Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (JHAPL) in Laurel, Maryland.
The GRS is part of a suite of instruments launched Oct.13 from the Kennedy Space Center aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket to make the first-ever visit to Psyche, the largest metal asteroid in the solar system.
NASA's Juno Observes Lava Lakes on Jupiter's Moon Io
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New observations from NASA's Juno probe reveal extensive lava lakes on Jupiter's moon Io, providing new insights into its volcanic activity. These findings come from Juno's Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) instrument, provided by the Italian Space Agency, which captures infrared light. Researchers published a paper on Juno's latest volcanic discoveries on June 20 in Nature Communications E Earth from Space: Meteor Crater
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Ahead of Asteroid Day, the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over the Meteor Crater, also known as the Barringer Meteorite Crater. Ariane 6 launches LIFI: light-speed secure communications
10 impact craters seen from space
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Have you ever wondered what an impact crater looks like from space? Today, we’re counting down some of our favourite impact craters here on Earth – captured by Earth-observing satellites.
Craters are inevitably part of being a rocky planet. They occur on every planetary body in our solar system – no matter the size. By studying impact craters and the meteorites that cause them, we can learn more about the processes and geology that shape our entire solar system.
Ariane 6: on the launch pad and ready for liftoff
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On 20 June 2024 the first Ariane 6 rocket to launch into space went through its last full ‘wet dress rehearsal’ at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana – it provided an exciting sneak peek of what’s to come, stopping just a few seconds before engine ignition and of course, liftoff.
One of the first steps was to roll back the colossal 90-m tall Ariane 6 mobile gantry building 120 m away from the launch pad – the first moment the complete rocket stood free.
The first parts of Ariane 6 began arriving in French Guiana from continental Europe in February 2024 via the Canopée ‘spaceship’.
Week in images: 24-28 June 2024
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Week in images: 24-28 June 2024
Discover our week through the lens
Take off with ESA Impact! Ariane 6 and astronaut news await
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Take off with ESA Impact! Ariane 6 and astronaut news await
Welcome to the 2024 second quarter edition of ESA Impact.
The science behind splashdown—aerospace engineer explains how NASA and SpaceX get spacecraft safely back
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For about 15 minutes on July 21, 1961, American astronaut Gus Grissom felt at the top of the world—and indeed he was.
Grissom crewed the Liberty Bell 7 mission, a ballistic test flight that launched him through the atmosphere from a rocket. During the test, he sat inside a small capsule and reached a peak of over 100 miles up before splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean.
A Navy ship, the USS Randolph, watched the successful end of the mission from a safe distance. Everything had gone according to plan, the controllers at Cape Canaveral were exultant, and Grissom knew he had just entered a VIP club as the second American astronaut in history.
Grissom remained inside his capsule and swayed on the gentle ocean waves. While he waited for a helicopter to take him onto the USS Randolph's dry deck, he finished recording some flight data. But then, things took an unexpected turn.
An incorrect command in the capsule's explosives system caused the hatch to pop out, which let water flow into the tiny space. Grissom had also forgotten to close a valve in his spacesuit, so water began to seep into his suit as he fought to stay afloat.
SpaceX knocks out morning launch with record booster from Cape Canaveral
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SpaceX got back to a quick pace between launches with another Starlink mission from the Space Coast on Thursday using its fleet-leading booster for a record flight.
A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 23 of its Starlink satellites lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Space Launch Complex 40 at 7:14 a.m.
The first-stage booster for the flight made its record-breaking 22nd trip off the pad, having previously flown crewed missions Inspiration4 and Axiom Space's Ax-1, as well as 19 other missions.
It made another landing downrange in the Atlantic on the droneship Just Read the Instructions.
That marks 325 booster recoveries for the company and 294 reflights. SpaceX has three other boosters with 20 or more flights under their belt.
The launch comes just two days since the first Falcon Heavy launch of the year at nearby Kennedy Space Center and four days since the last launch at Canaveral's SLC-40.
This was the 48th launch from all Space Coast launch pads for the year, with all but three coming from SpaceX.
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