Stennis Space Center MS (SPX) Sep 11, 2023
Relativity Space, has signed an enhanced use lease agreement (EULA) on the vertical test stand at the A-2 complex within NASA's historic Stennis Space Center in Hancock County, Mississippi. The agreement marks the first time a commercial tenant has modernized an underutilized legacy test stand at NASA Stennis, signifying the strength of the public-private partnership between the two entities. Th

Washington DC (SPX) Sep 11, 2023
Early morning on Sunday, Sept. 24, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft's sample capsule will come face-to-face with Earth's atmosphere for the first time since the mission's 2016 launch. On board are an estimated 8.8 ounces, or 250 grams, of rocky material collected from the surface of Bennu in 2020 - NASA's first asteroid sample and the largest ever collected in space. When it approaches Earth, the

Pasadena CA (JPL) Sep 11, 2023
Earth planning date: Friday, September 1, 2023: Most long weekend plans are packed with lots of fun science, and this weekend's plan - to get us through the US Labor Day holiday - was no exception. But the way this one was packed had an unusual pattern to it - many of our activities came in pairs! The rarest pair was two separate uses of the DRT - it has been more than 200 sols since we last had

Greenbelt MD (SPX) Sep 11, 2023
NASA's LRO - the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter - spacecraft imaged the Chandrayaan-3 landing site on the Moon's surface. The Indian Space Research Organization's (ISRO) Chandrayaan-3 touched down on the Moon on Aug. 23, 2023. The Chandrayaan-3 landing site is located about 600 kilometers from the Moon's South Pole. The circumference of the Moon is approximately 10,917 kilometers (6,783 mile

Osaka, Japan (SPX) Sep 11, 2023
There are many unexplained anomalies in the orbits and distribution of trans-Neptunian objects, small celestial bodies located at the outer reaches of the solar system. Now, based on detailed computer simulations of the early outer solar system, researchers from Japan predict the possibility of an undiscovered Earth-like planet beyond Neptune orbiting the Sun. Should this prediction come true, i

Leicester UK (SPX) Sep 11, 2023
A star like our own Sun in a nearby galaxy is gradually being eaten away by a small but ravenous black hole, losing the equivalent mass of three Earths every time it passes close. The discovery by University of Leicester astronomers is reported today (7 September) in Nature Astronomy and provides a 'missing link' in our knowledge of black holes disrupting orbiting stars. It suggests a whole mena

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In a significant leap forward for meteorology, the preliminary data obtained by Meteosat Third Generation’s two instruments, the Flexible Combined Imager (FCI) and the Lightning Imager (LI), were successfully combined today for the first time – highlighting their complementary capabilities. This first set of animations gives us a preview of the system’s future impact.

This animation shows the combined observations from the Meteosat Third Generation’s instruments starting at 12:00 UTC on 03 June 2023 and ending at 12:00 UTC of 04 June 2023. Lightning activity is more intense over central Africa, the northern part of South America, Europe

ESA satnav receiver vans – driving between the busy heart of Rotterdam, quiet countryside, and the Agency’s ESTEC technical centre – have confirmed that Galileo signals now provide a first position fix more rapidly, while also offering improved robustness in challenging environments and streamlined access to time information.

ESA is testing kombucha cultures, famous for their fermentative properties and potential health benefits, to assess their resilience in space. These cultures hold great promise for supporting humans on the Moon and Mars.