ESA joins Asteroid Day for rocky live broadcast
Tuesday, 29 June 2021 10:18What do astronauts, rockstars, scientists and communicators have in common? You’ll find some of the best at this year’s 5-hour live Asteroid Day broadcast, bringing to life the smallest known worlds in the Solar System – with the potential to make a huge impact here on Earth.
Astroscale breaking new ground for on-orbit servicing demonstration
Tuesday, 29 June 2021 09:58TAMPA, Fla. — Astroscale is joining forces with four satellite ground station providers to deliver the level of connectivity it needs for the world’s first commercial debris removal demonstration this year.
China is using mythology and sci-fi to sell its space programme to the world
Tuesday, 29 June 2021 07:07On the morning of June 17, China launched its long-awaited Shenzhou-12 spacecraft, carrying three Chinese astronauts - or taikonauts - towards the Tianhe core module. The module itself was launched at the end of April, forming part of the permanent Tiangong space station, which is planned to remain in orbit for the next ten years. China's construction of its own space station stems from th
Study Sheds New Light on Composition at Base of Martian Southern Polar Cap
Tuesday, 29 June 2021 07:07An earlier discovery of liquid water lakes beneath Mars' south pole may not be as wet as believed, a new paper says. Using the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding (MARSIS) radar instrument aboard the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter, scientists had earlier detected areas of high radar reflectivity they said were several lakes found deep beneath Martian surface
Insight Mars Lander may die this year due to dust
Tuesday, 29 June 2021 07:07The robotic vehicle has been roaming the Martian surface since 2018. Manufactured by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, InSight's main aim is to measure the planet's seismic activity as well as to provide accurate 3D models of its interior. NASA has revealed that its Martian lander InSight may die this year due to Martian dust. According to the space agency, dust had affected 80 percent of the
Life could exist in the clouds of Jupiter but not Venus
Tuesday, 29 June 2021 07:07Jupiter's clouds have water conditions that would allow Earth-like life to exist, but this isn't possible in Venus' clouds, according to the groundbreaking finding of new research led by a Queen's University Belfast scientist. For some decades, space exploration missions have looked for evidence of life beyond Earth where we know that large bodies of water, such as lakes or oceans, exist o
Are we missing other Earths
Tuesday, 29 June 2021 07:07Some exoplanet searches could be missing nearly half of the Earth-sized planets around other stars. New findings from a team using the international Gemini Observatory and the WIYN 3.5-meter Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory suggest that Earth-sized worlds could be lurking undiscovered in binary star systems, hidden in the glare of their parent stars. As roughly half of all stars are i
The discovery of a new type of supernova illuminates a medieval mystery
Tuesday, 29 June 2021 07:07A worldwide team led by UC Santa Barbara scientists at Las Cumbres Observatory has discovered the first convincing evidence for a new type of stellar explosion - an electron-capture supernova. While they have been theorized for 40 years, real-world examples have been elusive. They are thought to arise from the explosions of massive super-asymptotic giant branch (SAGB) stars, for which ther
Unique use of ESA spacecraft 'housekeeping' data reveals cosmic ray behaviour
Tuesday, 29 June 2021 07:07Using data originally gathered for spacecraft 'housekeeping' aboard ESA's Rosetta and Mars Express missions, scientists have revealed how intense bursts of high-energy radiation, known as cosmic rays, behave at Mars and throughout the inner Solar System. Housekeeping data are gathered by most spacecraft and components, and is used by engineering teams to monitor spacecraft health and diagn
OneWeb and BT to explore rural connectivity solutions for UK
Tuesday, 29 June 2021 07:07OneWeb, the global communications network powered from Space, and BT (BT.L), one of the world's leading communication services companies, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), to explore the provision of improved digital communication services to some of the hardest to reach parts of the UK. The groundbreaking agreement between OneWeb and BT comes as investment in expanding mode
Orphan cloud discovered in galaxy cluster
Tuesday, 29 June 2021 06:00New observations made with ESA’s X-ray XMM Newton telescope have revealed an “orphan cloud” – an isolated cloud in a galaxy cluster that is the first discovery of its kind.
A lot goes on in a galaxy cluster. There can be anything from tens to thousands of galaxies bound together by gravity. The galaxies themselves have a range of different properties, but typically contain systems with stars and planets, along with the material in between the stars – the interstellar medium. In between the galaxies is more material – tenuous hot gas known as the intercluster medium. And sometimes in
Europe considering concepts for human spaceflight
Tuesday, 29 June 2021 02:10WASHINGTON — A bumper crop of applications for the European Space Agency’s astronaut corps is providing a boost to proposals for Europe to develop its own human spaceflight capability.
ESA announced June 23 that it received 22,589 applications in a solicitation that ended June 18.
Former airline exec Fredrik Gustavsson to lead Inmarsat strategy
Monday, 28 June 2021 21:02TAMPA, Fla. — Inmarsat has named Fredrik Gustavsson, a former airline executive, as chief strategy officer in the British satellite operator’s third board appointment in three months.
Gustavsson was head of strategy and mergers and acquisitions at European airline easyJet from 2012 to 2019, where he oversaw deals including the purchase of parts of Germany’s Air Berlin.
Raytheon forms industry team to develop U.S. Army ground station
Monday, 28 June 2021 20:13WASHINGTON — Raytheon announced June 28 it is teaming with seven aerospace and data analytics companies to develop a ground station for the U.S. Army that can process data from air and space sensors.
Raytheon and Palantir in January were selected to develop competing concepts for the Army’s tactical intelligence targeting access node, or TITAN.
Unique exoplanet photobombs Cheops study of nearby star system
Monday, 28 June 2021 14:00While exploring two exoplanets in a bright nearby star system, ESA’s exoplanet-hunting Cheops satellite has unexpectedly spotted the system’s third known planet crossing the face of the star. This transit reveals exciting details about a rare planet “with no known equivalent”, say the researchers.