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Copernical Team
Ariane 6 first flight planned for fourth quarter of 2023
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Ariane 6, the new heavy-lift launch system being developed by the European Space Agency, will make its inaugural flight as soon as the fourth quarter of 2023. Briefing media gathered at ESA’s Paris Bertrand headquarters on 19 October, Director General Joseph Aschbacher said sufficient progress had been made over the past several months to anticipate a Q4 2023 first flight, pending the realization of three key milestones before April next year.
International Space Station experiments reveal risks for future human space flights
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![Frozen mouse embryonic stem cells were launched from the ground to the International Space Station, stored for a long period of time, recovered on the ground, and examined for chromosome aberrations. Credit: Takashi Morita, OMU International Space Station experiments reveal risks for future human space flights](https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/800a/2022/international-space-st.jpg)
An international team of researchers has conducted a long-term experiment aboard the International Space Station to test the effect of space radiation on mouse embryonic stem cells. Their findings will contribute to helping scientists better assess the safety and risks related to space radiation for future human space flights.
The team published their findings in the journal Heliyon on August 18, 2022.
In their study, the team performed a direct quantitative measurement of the biological effect of space radiation by launching frozen mouse embryonic stem cells from the ground to the International Space Station, exposing them to space radiation for over four years, and quantifying the biological effect by examining chromosome aberrations.
Algae could be instrumental in making human exploration of Mars possible
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![(A) Design of low-pressure growth chamber used for pressures of 330 mbar and below, (B) Photograph of the experimental setup for low-pressure growth experiments of 330 mbar and below using the SlickVacSeal aluminum vacuum chamber. Credit: <i>Frontiers in Microbiology</i> (2021). DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.733244 Algae could be instrumental in making human exploration of Mars possible](https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/800a/2022/algae-could-be-instrum.jpg)
While the world is marveling over the first images and data now coming from NASA's Perseverance rover mission seeking signs of ancient microscopic life on Mars, a team of UNLV scientists is already hard at work on the next step: What if we could one day send humans to the Red Planet?
There's a lot to consider when sending people, though.
Zoom into Webb’s view of the Pillars of Creation
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The Pillars of Creation are set off in a kaleidoscope of colour in the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope’s near-infrared-light view. The pillars look like arches and spires rising out of a desert landscape, but are filled with semi-transparent gas and dust, and ever changing. This is a region where young stars are forming – or have barely burst from their dusty cocoons as they continue to form.
Protostars are the scene-stealers in this Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) image. These are the bright red orbs that sometimes appear with eight diffraction spikes. When knots with sufficient mass form
Treemetrics signs 1.2M euro contract with ESA
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Chinese satellite in-flight calibration research approved by World Meteorological Organization
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Viewing Earth from space at night: tracking our changing black marble
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NASA dust detective delivers first maps from space for climate science
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Orion Space Solutions to develop EO processing system for NOAA
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2023 Suborbital researchers conference to spotlight burgeoning rocket, balloon opportunities
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