Copernical Team
Next-generation rocket for China's manned space missions on track
China's forthcoming rocket designed for manned space missions, Long March 10, is on course for its initial launch around 2027, says a senior designer from the project team. The advanced launch vehicle is being developed at the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), a primary contributor to rocketry in China and a subsidiary of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp.
Zh Earth from Space: Panama Canal
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Like shining jewels in the water, ships passing through the Panama Canal, which cuts across Central America, have been captured in this Copernicus Sentinel-1 image. NASA's Lucy spacecraft preparing for its first asteroid flyby
Growing plants in space
As NASA plans missions to the moon and Mars, a key factor is figuring out how to feed crew members during their weeks, months, and even years in space.
Astronauts on the International Space Station primarily eat prepackaged food, which requires regular resupply and can degrade in quality and nutrition. Researchers are exploring the idea of crews growing some of their food during a mission, testing various crops and equipment to figure out how to do this without a lot of extra hardware or power.
Picking the right plants
The first step in this research is identifying which plants to test. NASA started a project in 2015 with the Fairchild Botanical Garden in Miami called "Growing Beyond Earth." The program has recruited hundreds of middle and high school science classes across the U.S. to grow different seeds in a habitat similar to one on the space station.
Blue Origin reveals its orbital maneuvering vehicle: Blue Ring
The Jeff Bezos-founded aerospace company, Blue Origin, recently announced its new and upcoming Swiss army knife-style spacecraft platform, Blue Ring, which comes after very little public discussion by Blue Origin regarding this project. For example, a January 2023 story broke when Blue Origin briefly announced a job posting for Blue Ring Senior Program Manager on its Careers page, but the job was pulled less than 24 hours later. Overall, Blue Origin has been quite mum about Blue Ring.
While the most recent announcement was brief, it conveyed how the goal of Blue Ring will be to provide a multitude of services, including logistics, refueling, and transportation, and is slated to be part of a new Blue Origin business unit called In-Space Systems.
Webb pinpoints a high-speed jet stream on Jupiter
Researchers using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) have discovered a high-speed jet stream sitting over Jupiter’s equator, above the main cloud decks.
Ariane 6 joint update report, 19 October 2023
The Ariane 6 Launcher Task Force consists of top management of ESA, as the overall Ariane 6 procuring entity and launch system architect, of the French space agency CNES, as the launch base prime contractor, of ArianeGroup as the launcher system prime contractor and of Arianespace as the launch service provider. This group reports regularly on progress being made towards inaugural flight of the new Ariane 6 launcher.
Copernicus operations resilience: Inuvik wildfires
Copernicus operations resilience: Inuvik wildfires
A patch for the stars
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Marcus Wandt in Axiom Space flightsuit Year 2075: martian rovers saved from cyber attack
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The scene was set: a research base on the Red Planet was struck by a cyberattack and eight teams on Earth had just a matter of hours to save it. Far from being a farfetched scenario, cyberattacks are unfortunately a daily problem for all sectors, including space exploration, and can have devastating consequences.
The ‘Pwn The Rover’ hacking contest was held on 17 October at ESA’s mission control centre in Darmstadt, Germany, in collaboration with Fraunhofer SIT and ATHENE-Center. Its goal was to bring together, educate