Ariane 6 lifts off for the second time
Thursday, 06 March 2025 16:10
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Europe’s newest rocket, Ariane 6, took flight for the second time from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana at 13:24 local time on 6 March (16:24 GMT, 17:24 CET).
This was the first commercial flight for Ariane 6, flight VA263, delivering the CSO-3 satellite to orbit. Arianespace was the operator and launch service provider for the French Procurement agency (DGA) and France’s space agency CNES on behalf of the French Air and Space Force’s Space Command (CDE).
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Ariane 6 VA263 liftoff When two become one: engineers get Smile ready for launch
Thursday, 06 March 2025 12:00
At the European Space Agency’s technical heart in the Netherlands, engineers have spent the last five months unboxing and testing elements of Europe’s next space science mission. With the two main parts now joined together, Smile is well on its way to being ready to launch by the end of 2025.
Student teams explore ESA’s robotics labs
Thursday, 06 March 2025 09:00
To kick off this year’s ESA Academy Experiments programme, five university student teams from across Europe were invited to visit the experimental test facilities at ESTEC – ESA’s technical centre in the Netherlands – and Novespace, France.
Space: the new frontier for smartphones at trade show
Thursday, 06 March 2025 08:09
Barcelona (AFP) Mar 5, 2025
Satellite communication is taking smartphones to new orbits at this year's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, with companies showcasing gadgets connected to space in a bid to tap into the lucrative new service.
Infrastructure costs and technical and regulatory hurdles mean it will be some time yet before handsets worldwide are beaming calls and data directly to Earth orbit - even as firms
Satellite communication is taking smartphones to new orbits at this year's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, with companies showcasing gadgets connected to space in a bid to tap into the lucrative new service.
Infrastructure costs and technical and regulatory hurdles mean it will be some time yet before handsets worldwide are beaming calls and data directly to Earth orbit - even as firms SpaceX aims for Thursday Starship test flight after last-minute scrub
Thursday, 06 March 2025 08:09
Washington (AFP) Mar 6, 2025
Elon Musk's SpaceX is now aiming for Thursday to conduct the next test flight of its massive Starship rocket, following a last-minute cancellation on Monday. The world's biggest and most powerful launch vehicle is set to lift off from SpaceX's Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas, during a launch window that opens at 5:30 pm local time (2330 GMT). An earlier attempt set for Wednesday was postponed a day without explanation.
Elon Musk's SpaceX is now aiming for Thursday to conduct the next test flight of its massive Starship rocket, following a last-minute cancellation on Monday. The world's biggest and most powerful launch vehicle is set to lift off from SpaceX's Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas, during a launch window that opens at 5:30 pm local time (2330 GMT). An earlier attempt set for Wednesday was postponed a day without explanation. NASA Turns Off Voyager Science Instruments to Prolong Mission
Thursday, 06 March 2025 08:09
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Mar 06, 2025
NASA has implemented energy-saving measures to keep the Voyager spacecraft operational for as long as possible, despite their decreasing power supply.
On February 25, mission engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California powered down the cosmic ray subsystem aboard Voyager 1, and on March 24, they will deactivate Voyager 2's low-energy charged particle instrume
NASA has implemented energy-saving measures to keep the Voyager spacecraft operational for as long as possible, despite their decreasing power supply.
On February 25, mission engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California powered down the cosmic ray subsystem aboard Voyager 1, and on March 24, they will deactivate Voyager 2's low-energy charged particle instrume Lunar Data Center Demonstrates Success on Journey to the Moon
Thursday, 06 March 2025 08:09
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Mar 06, 2025
Lonestar Data Holdings has reached a critical milestone with the successful testing and operation of its commercial data center payload while traveling through space en route to the Moon. This achievement marks a major step toward establishing the first-ever commercial lunar data center, reinforcing the vision of a robust and resilient space-based data infrastructure.
Since its launch on F
Lonestar Data Holdings has reached a critical milestone with the successful testing and operation of its commercial data center payload while traveling through space en route to the Moon. This achievement marks a major step toward establishing the first-ever commercial lunar data center, reinforcing the vision of a robust and resilient space-based data infrastructure.
Since its launch on F Researchers analyze river bends to distinguish planetary channel origins
Thursday, 06 March 2025 08:09
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Mar 06, 2025
Channels carved by rivers, lava, and ice all exhibit winding, sinuous patterns, yet a new study from The University of Texas at Austin has identified a fundamental difference in the way rivers bend compared to volcanic and ice-carved channels. This discovery may provide a new method for determining the origins of planetary channels where direct observation is not possible.
While the specif
Channels carved by rivers, lava, and ice all exhibit winding, sinuous patterns, yet a new study from The University of Texas at Austin has identified a fundamental difference in the way rivers bend compared to volcanic and ice-carved channels. This discovery may provide a new method for determining the origins of planetary channels where direct observation is not possible.
While the specif US firm targets Moon landing with drill, rovers, hopping drone
Thursday, 06 March 2025 08:09
Washington (AFP) Mar 6, 2025
A drill to search for ice. A 4G network test. Three rovers and a first-of-its-kind hopping drone.
After becoming the first private firm to land on the Moon last year, Intuitive Machines is aiming for its second lunar touchdown on Thursday, carrying cutting-edge payloads to support future human missions.
The Houston-based company is targeting no earlier than 12:32 pm ET (1732 GMT) at Mons
A drill to search for ice. A 4G network test. Three rovers and a first-of-its-kind hopping drone.
After becoming the first private firm to land on the Moon last year, Intuitive Machines is aiming for its second lunar touchdown on Thursday, carrying cutting-edge payloads to support future human missions.
The Houston-based company is targeting no earlier than 12:32 pm ET (1732 GMT) at Mons MSSA and ESA Partner to Drive Integration of Satellite and Terrestrial Networks
Thursday, 06 March 2025 08:09
Madrid, Spain (SPX) Mar 06, 2025
The Mobile Satellite Services Association (MSSA) and the European Space Agency (ESA) have announced a strategic alliance aimed at enhancing the future of 5G and 6G open architecture, standards-based satellite Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTNs). This collaboration seeks to integrate satellite and terrestrial networks for Direct-to-Device (D2D) services, expanding connectivity solutions while ensurin
The Mobile Satellite Services Association (MSSA) and the European Space Agency (ESA) have announced a strategic alliance aimed at enhancing the future of 5G and 6G open architecture, standards-based satellite Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTNs). This collaboration seeks to integrate satellite and terrestrial networks for Direct-to-Device (D2D) services, expanding connectivity solutions while ensurin Developing materials for stellar performance in fusion power plants
Thursday, 06 March 2025 08:09
Boston MA (SPX) Mar 05, 2025
When Zoe Fisher was in fourth grade, her art teacher asked her to draw her vision of a dream job on paper. At the time, those goals changed like the flavor of the week in an ice cream shop - "zookeeper" featured prominently for a while - but Zoe immediately knew what she wanted to put down: a mad scientist.
When Fisher stumbled upon the drawing in her parents' Chicago home recently, it fel
When Zoe Fisher was in fourth grade, her art teacher asked her to draw her vision of a dream job on paper. At the time, those goals changed like the flavor of the week in an ice cream shop - "zookeeper" featured prominently for a while - but Zoe immediately knew what she wanted to put down: a mad scientist.
When Fisher stumbled upon the drawing in her parents' Chicago home recently, it fel Lunar Research Facility Lands on Moon for Regolith Study
Thursday, 06 March 2025 08:09
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Mar 04, 2025
The Regolith Adherence Characterization (RAC) experiment has successfully arrived on the lunar surface, where it will operate for one full lunar day-equivalent to 14 Earth days-conducting research on how lunar dust adheres to various materials under the Moon's harsh environmental conditions.
"Sunday morning marked a defining moment in both our company's journey and the future of commercial
The Regolith Adherence Characterization (RAC) experiment has successfully arrived on the lunar surface, where it will operate for one full lunar day-equivalent to 14 Earth days-conducting research on how lunar dust adheres to various materials under the Moon's harsh environmental conditions.
"Sunday morning marked a defining moment in both our company's journey and the future of commercial Japan startup targets June 6 Moon landing
Thursday, 06 March 2025 08:09
Tokyo (AFP) Mar 4, 2025
Japanese startup ispace on Tuesday set a June 6 target touchdown date for its Moon lander, following the success of its rocket "rideshare" buddy, a spacecraft from a US firm.
ispace's unmanned Resilience lander was launched in January on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket together with Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost - which aced its lunar landing on Sunday.
Blue Ghost is only the second private
Japanese startup ispace on Tuesday set a June 6 target touchdown date for its Moon lander, following the success of its rocket "rideshare" buddy, a spacecraft from a US firm.
ispace's unmanned Resilience lander was launched in January on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket together with Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost - which aced its lunar landing on Sunday.
Blue Ghost is only the second private Growing Algae on Mars
Thursday, 06 March 2025 06:57
It's a long way to Mars, and explorers headed there will either have to take enough food and supplies to last the whole trip or use in-situ resources to make what they need. A recent ESA Discovery project led by the Universitat de València explored whether microalgae extracted from lichen could survive on Mars and be used to produce oxygen, food and other useful substances.