The final figures are in and the number of people who applied to ESA’s 2021-22 astronaut vacancy has been broken down by Member and Cooperating State.

The window to apply for ESA’s astronaut vacancy opened on 31 March 2021 and closed 18 June. It marked the Agency’s first call for new astronauts in over 10 years and the first-time candidates with a physical disability had been invited to apply.

Senators used a NASA hearing Feb. 9 to once again advocate for an authorization bill for the agency, arguing it is vital for giving the agency direction and securing funding.

The post Senators make new push for NASA authorization bill appeared first on SpaceNews.

Image: The drone has landed

Once known as “Lagrange,” ESA’s upcoming space weather mission needed a new name that would reflect its vital role: helping to protect Earth’s infrastructure, satellites, inhabitants and space explorers from unpredictable but violent solar events like solar flares and ‘coronal mass ejections’.

With 5422 submissions from across Europe and indeed around the world – and after weeks of deliberation, countless spreadsheets, three diverse and expert judges and a lively debate – a new name has been selected for our upcoming space weather mission: ESA Vigil.

Video: 00:03:07

It’s the first mission of its kind, set to monitor our active and unpredictable Sun and help protect us from its violent outbursts – and it has a new name.

Once known as “Lagrange,” ESA’s upcoming space weather mission needed a new name that would reflect its vital role: helping to protect Earth’s infrastructure, satellites, inhabitants and space explorers from unpredictable but violent solar events like solar flares and ‘coronal mass ejections’.

During the #NameTheMission campaign, 5422 entries were submitted from across Europe and indeed around the world – and after weeks of deliberation, countless spreadsheets, three diverse and

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