PIGS finds ancient stars in the heart of the Milky Way
Friday, 07 July 2023 12:18
An international team of researchers has obtained the largest set of detailed observations yet of the oldest stars in the centre of our Galaxy, the Milky Way. The Pristine Inner Galaxy Survey (PIGS) team finds that this group of stars is slowly spinning around the centre of the Milky Way, despite being thought to have formed in a chaotic fashion.
They also seem to spend most of their long Seven European IoT providers choose EchoStar for real-time satellite connectivity
Friday, 07 July 2023 12:18
EchoStar Corporation (Nasdaq: SATS) reports that seven leading European Internet of Things (IoT) service providers have signed multi-year commercial agreements to develop and sell IoT solutions using EchoStar Mobile's Pan-European, satellite based, LoRa-enabled IoT network.
The customers, API-K, Cyric, DalesLandNet, Dryad, Galaxy1, ProEsys and Symes are leveraging the real-time network to Week in images: 03-07 July 2023
Friday, 07 July 2023 12:13
Week in images: 03-07 July 2023
Discover our week through the lens
Chocolate heaven
Friday, 07 July 2023 11:00
ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen will bring a different kind of chocolate to the International Space Station on his Huginn mission, created by the Danish chef Thorsten Schmidt.
De-icing Euclid for 20/20 vision
Friday, 07 July 2023 08:34
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De-icing Euclid for 20/20 vision A look back at our first ESA Academy’s Navigation Training Course
Friday, 07 July 2023 08:19
From 26 to 30 June, the first ESA Academy’s Navigation Training Course took place at ESEC-Galaxia, the European Space Security and Education Centre , in Belgium. Developed in collaboration with ESA’s Directorate of Navigation, the course attracted 30 Master and PhD students of 12 different nationalities from engineering and scientific subjects with basic knowledge of Navigation to enrich their university portfolio with a unique experience. Let’s have a look at the event and impressions from the participants!
Martian treasure hunt in Iceland
Friday, 07 July 2023 07:30
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A team of martian scientists scouts the foothills of a volcano in Iceland hunting for a particular type of soil that matches samples collected by NASA’s Perseverance rover on the Red Planet.
The majestic landscape has a rusty colour from the dark, dense rock ejected during volcanic eruptions. The volcanic terrain, cool temperatures and sparse vegetation make the area very similar to ancient Mars. These conditions helped Iceland become the first European stopover for a treasure hunt that is searching for Mars-like samples around the world.
The effort is part of the joint Mars Sample Return
Scientists work to prevent interplanetary pollution that could pose a threat to life on Earth
Friday, 07 July 2023 07:05
Formulating policies for planetary protection issues and keeping them up-to-date is the responsibility of the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) panel on planetary protection. In an article in Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences, an international group of experts affiliated with COSPAR reviewed the panel's role, and its Planetary Protection Policy, including recent considerations regarding the Policy for the Moon, Venus, Mars and small planetary bodies.
Now writing on the Frontiers news site, the panel's leadership consisting of chair Dr. Athena Coustenis and vice chairs Niklas Hedman and Prof Peter Doran explain why this endeavor is so important for future deep-space explorers.
Imagine robotic rovers taking soil samples on the surface of Mars, looking for evidence of past life and instead finding bacteria that had traveled all the way from Earth: the impact on subsequent research would be incalculable. Or picture a probe digging through the crust of an icy moon such as Europa or Enceladus, and injecting organic contamination from Earth into the subsurface ocean, thus compromising any further search for life in that body.
At the same time, if extant or extinct life were to exist on such bodies, returning samples to our planet without proper measures to prevent hazards to our biosphere could lead to important risks for humanity.
Earth from Space: Cyclone Mocha
Friday, 07 July 2023 07:00
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The Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission captured this image of the powerful Cyclone Mocha on 13 May 2023 as it made its way across the Bay of Bengal heading northeast towards Bangladesh and Myanmar. Europe leans on SpaceX to bridge launcher gap
Thursday, 06 July 2023 21:29
Europe, temporarily lacking its own access to space, plans to rely more on SpaceX to launch key science and navigation spacecraft while working to restore its launch capabilities.
Viasat signs deal to commercialize European airspace tracking service
Thursday, 06 July 2023 19:59
A group founded by European air traffic controllers has signed a deal to bring improved airspace-tracking capabilities from Viasat’s constellation to market next year.
California Science Center to start complex process to display space shuttle Endeavour vertically
Thursday, 06 July 2023 19:57
The lengthy process of putting the retired space shuttle Endeavour on display in the vertical launch position will begin this month in Los Angeles.
The California Science Center announced Thursday that the six-month process will get underway July 20 at the future Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center currently under construction in Exposition Park.
The initial step, dubbed "Go for Stack," will be installation of the bottom portion of the solid rocket boosters known as aft skirts upon which will be stacked the booster segments, the external tank and then Endeavour.
The 20-story tall display will show the shuttle as it would appear waiting on a launch pad.
Endeavour was built as a replacement for the destroyed shuttle Challenger and flew 25 missions between 1992 and 2011.
When NASA's shuttles were retired, Endeavour was flown to California atop NASA's special Boeing 747 shuttle carrier in 2012, drawing crowds as it flew over locations in the state associated with the space program.
After landing at Los Angeles International Airport, the shuttle was placed on a special trailer and then created a sensation as it was inched through tight city streets to the California Science Center over several days.
Space Command argues for shift from static to dynamic satellite operations
Thursday, 06 July 2023 19:00
In order to better keep tabs on adversaries, the U.S.
Helicopter underwater escape training for ESA's astronaut support team
Thursday, 06 July 2023 18:23