Copernical Team
What is the Fluidic Telescope
The Fluidic Telescope (FLUTE) project team, jointly led by NASA and Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, envisions a way to make huge circular self-healing mirrors in-orbit to further the field of astronomy. Larger telescopes collect more light, and they allow astronomers to peer farther into space and see distant objects in greater detail.
These next-generation large space observato Researchers solve ancient mystery of Maya calendar
The 819-day calendar used by ancient Mayans has long stumped researchers, but anthropologists from Tulane University may have finally deciphered its secrets.
Researchers long suspected the calendar followed astronomical events, specifically how long it takes a planet to appear in the same place in the night sky as seen from Earth, known as the synodic periods of planets. But, according to Most massive touching stars ever found will eventually collide as black holes
Two massive touching stars in a neighbouring galaxy are on course to become black holes that will eventually crash together, generating waves in the fabric of space-time, according to a new study by researchers at UCL (University College London) and the University of Potsdam.
The study, accepted for publication in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics, looked at a known binary star (two s Partners extend operation of International Space Station
The International Space Station partners have committed to extending the operations of this unique platform in low Earth orbit where, for more than 22 years, humans have lived and worked for the benefit of humanity, conducting cutting-edge science and research in microgravity.
The United States, Japan, Canada, and the participating countries of ESA (European Space Agency) have confirmed th Heavy thunderstorms force SpaceX to delay launch of Falcon Heavy rocket
Severe weather in Florida forced SpaceX to postpone the launch of its powerful Falcon Heavy rocket on Thursday from NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
The 57-minute launch window was scheduled to begin at 7:29 p.m. However, the area around Kennedy Space Center received severe thunderstorms prior to the launch window's opening and during it. The launch is now planned for Friday evening. Fish and Wildlife: SpaceX Starship debris covered 350 acres, no wildlife killed
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service documented the fallout from the SpaceX rocket that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico last week, scattering debris into the surrounding area.
The service said "no dead birds or wildlife" or debris from the spacecraft launch were found on lands belonging to the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge, stating the greatest impact came in the form of Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer's first taste of science from space
ESA's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, Juice, has recorded magnetic field data as its 10.6 m-long magnetometer boom deployed.
Juice launched on 14 April, with deployments and activation of its antennas, booms, sensors and instruments ongoing over the next months in a dedicated check-out period known as the commissioning phase.
The Juice magnetometer boom (J-MAG) was deployed on 21 April, when Juice was about 1.7 million km from Earth.
Data collected by J-MAG captured the moment of deployment itself.
The plot shows the magnitude of the magnetic field from two sensors, as indicated by the red and turquoise lines, before (flat line) and during the deployment (curving lines). The two sensors are mounted on the outer segment of the boom and separated by about 3 m. The labels OBS and IBS indicate the data from the outboard (OBS) and inboard sensors (IBS), respectively. OBS is mounted close to the end of the 10.6 m boom.
The left side of the plot shows the field trace before the boom deployment. The sensors are up against the side of the spacecraft and OBS is located close to two spacecraft thrusters, which are quite magnetic, explaining the difference in the two field magnitudes.
Could you be ESA’s official merchandise supplier?
ESA is inviting companies with an interest in merchandising to submit a tender to become the space agency’s official ESA-branded merchandise supplier.
Sustainability in space—can you teach old satellites new tricks?
We've all heard that we should "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" to save the planet, but what about applying any of the "three R's" to space?
Researchers at USC Viterbi's Information Sciences Institute (ISI) are tackling this challenge—looking at how to reuse physical items that are already in space, namely, old satellites.
Legacy Satellites
There are currently several thousand satellites orbiting Earth. Many have already completed their missions or have outlived their primary lifespans—these are "legacy satellites." And while some of them may have broken hardware and will eventually run out of energy, leave orbit, and burn out in space, others are physically in good condition. So, the question becomes: what to do with them?
Alefiya Hussain, ISI Research Team Leader explained, "This project is looking at ways to possibly reuse satellites for different things. We are collaborating with the software company Tangram Flex to figure out how we can replace the software components within the satellites to re-purpose them."
She continued, "The approach we've taken is to look inside the satellite and say, this particular piece of software did this particular function before, can we actually replace that function to make it do something else as a path to repurposing it?"
NASA's Voyager will do more science with new power strategy
The plan will keep Voyager 2's science instruments turned on a few years longer than previously anticipated, enabling yet more revelations from interstellar space.
Launched in 1977, the Voyager 2 spacecraft is more than 12 billion miles (20 billion kilometers) from Earth, using five science instruments to study interstellar space.