Orlando FL (UPI) Oct 01, 2021
The Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday that Richard Branson's space tourism company can return to spaceflight after conducting an investigation into issues with the firm's July 11 launch. A probe into the flight, which included Branson as a passenger, found the company's SpaceShipTwo deviated from its assigned airspace as it descended to Spaceport America in New Mexico, accordi

Tucson AZ (SPX) Oct 01, 2021
A significant amount - at least 25 percent - of Martian valley networks formed as a result of lake breach flooding, as reported in a paper on which Planetary Science Institute Research Scientist Alexander Morgan is an author. This helps us better understand the past climate history of Mars, said Morgan, a co-author on "The importance of lake breach floods for valley incision on early Mars"

Beijing (XNA) Oct 01, 2021
The lander and rover of the Chang'e-4 probe have worked for 1,000 Earth days on the far side of the moon as of Wednesday, according to the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the China National Space Administration. The lander and rover Yutu-2 are in good condition. The payloads aboard are also working properly and will continue the scientific exploration on the far side of the m

Pomona CA (SPX) Oct 01, 2021
New data analysis has found that the sunlight filtering through Venus' clouds could support Earth-like photosynthesis in the cloud layers and that chemical conditions are potentially amenable to the growth of microorganisms. Biochemistry Professor Rakesh Mogul is the lead author of the study, Potential for Phototrophy in Venus' Clouds, published online this weekin the journal Astrobiology'

Lemont IL (SPX) Oct 01, 2021
Experiments will give scientists a closer look at how exploding stars create world's heaviest elements. How do the chemical elements, the building blocks of our universe, get built? This question has been at the core of nuclear physics for the better part of a century. At the beginning of the 20th century, scientists discovered that elements have a central core or nucleus. These nuclei con

The FAA says it is reviewing allegations about safety issues at Blue Origin raised in an explosive essay by a group of current and former employees.

SpaceNews

Out now: ESA’s third quarter in images

The Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission takes us over the Mackenzie River, a major river system in the Canadian boreal forest. Its basin is the largest in Canada and is the second largest drainage basin of any North American river, after the Mississippi.

Yesterday, ESA’s orbiting laboratory, OPS-SAT, hosted the first-ever stock trade in space. The successful experiment required developers at Europe’s leading online broker flatexDEGIRO to think far outside of the box and adapt their software to the technical demands and constrained bandwidth found on an orbiting platform at 500 km altitude.

Ahead of the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP26), climate and energy ministers are coming together this week in Milan, Italy, to discuss the key political topics to be addressed at the upcoming global summit – taking place in early November in Glasgow.

ESA will be present at both the Pre-COP and COP26, highlighting the vital importance of observing our changing world from space and showing how satellite data play a critical role in underpinning climate policy.