Copernical Team
A self-sufficient Mars garden? How cyanobacteria-based fertilizer could grow edible biomass
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NASA hauls its repaired moon rocket from the hangar back to the pad for an early April launch
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Seven scientific benefits of ESA’s Genesis mission
Genesis is the European Space Agency’s (ESA) navigation mission to measure Earth down to the millimetre. This precise measurement of Earth will have wide-ranging benefits, from satellite navigation to orbit determination to Earth science.
3 weeks and 3 cargo departures for εpsilon
Video:
00:01:57
This video was published on social media by ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot with the following caption:
Day 035, orbit 0541 – Three cargo vehicles departing the Station in just three weeks… and since I recorded this video, we also waved goodbye to a Progress!
The Northrop Grumman Cygnus NG23 was named S.S. William “Willie” McCool in honor of the NASA astronaut and naval aviator test pilot who perished in the 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia accident. Following a U.S. Navy tradition, Jack – who shares the same professional background – rang the Station bell to mark the spacecraft’s departure.
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Week in images: 16-20 March 2026
Week in images: 16-20 March 2026
Discover our week through the lens
Artemis II rolls again
Image:
Artemis II rocket back at its launchpad after a second rollout at NASA's Kennedy Space Center NASA returns moon rocket to pad, eyeing April 1 launch
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Smile mission set for April 9 launch to image Earth's magnetic field in X-rays
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Earth from Space: Jostedalsbreen, Norway
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Ahead of the World Day for Glaciers, Copernicus Sentinel-2 captures the diverse landscape of western Norway with its jagged fjords, fertile valleys, mountain plateaus and Jostedalsbreen, the largest glacier in continental Europe. T-20 days: Smile to launch on 9 April
The Smile mission is set to launch on a Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on Thursday 9 April at 08:29 CEST/07:29 BST/03:29 local time. Follow along as we communicate on the final preparations for launch. Journalists are invited to join online media briefings in English, French, Spanish, Italian and German.