Paris, France (SPX) Dec 04, 2023
The Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) is taking a significant leap in space education by partnering with the Erasmus+ program, aiming to captivate the young minds of primary and secondary students through the fascinating world of asteroids, meteors, and planetary defense. The initiative, named StudenTs As plaNetary Defenders (StAnD), is a novel approach by COSPAR's Panel on Education, dedicat

Nagoya, Japan (SPX) Dec 04, 2023
In early November of this year, the night skies were adorned with aurora borealis, visible as far south as Italy and Texas, signaling the impacts of a solar coronal mass ejection on Earth's magnetic field and atmosphere. This event, while significant, pales in comparison to the February 1872 Chapman-Silverman storm, one of the largest magnetic storms in recorded history. An international team of

Washington DC (SPX) Dec 04, 2023
In microgravity, without the continuous load of Earth's gravity, the tissues that make up bones reshape themselves. Bone cells readjust their behaviors-the cells that build new bone slow down, while the cells that break down old or damaged bone tissue keep operating at their normal pace so that breakdown outpaces growth, producing weaker and more brittle bones. For every month in space, astronau

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Dec 04, 2023
Sierra Space has commenced a comprehensive testing campaign for its Shooting Star cargo module at NASA's Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio. This significant step marks a critical phase in preparing the spacecraft for its first mission to the International Space Station (ISS), focusing on its resilience to the harsh conditions of space and the rigors of launch. The Sierra Space

Six years of hard work and dedication paid off in spectacular fashion today, as the Educational Irish Research Satellite, EIRSAT-1, successfully blasted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. Hitching a ride on a Space-X Falcon-9 launcher, the tiny satellite – measuring just 10.7cm x 10.7cm x 22.7cm – has now made history as Ireland’s first satellite!

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On 1 December 2023, at 19:19 CET (18:18 GMT), Ireland's first satellite EIRSAT-1 launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, USA. 

Built by students at University College Dublin under guidance of ESA’s Education Office, EIRSAT-1 is a 2-unit CubeSat carrying three experiments, including a novel gamma ray detector that will study some of the most luminous explosions in the universe.    

The mission has been in development since the team was accepted to the ESA Academy Fly Your Satellite! programme in 2017. Over the past six years, the students have worked with ESA experts and acquired the professional competences needed