Sun's surprising activity surge in Solar Orbiter snapshot
Tuesday, 13 February 2024 08:15
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See how the Sun changed between February 2021 and October 2023. As the Sun approaches the maximum in its magnetic activity cycle, we see more brilliant explosions, dark sunspots, loops of plasma, and swirls of super-hot gas.
The Sun goes through a cycle of activity that lasts around 11 years. It is caused by the ‘solar dynamo’, the process that generates the Sun’s magnetic field. At the beginning of this cycle (the solar minimum) there is relatively little activity and few sunspots. Activity steadily increases until it peaks (the solar maximum) and then decreases again to a minimum.
The most recent
Space waltz
Monday, 12 February 2024 13:30
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ESA project astronaut Marcus Wandt shared this video with sequences of his microgravity training on the International Space Station on social media with the caption:
“The training prepared me for most of my tasks during the #Muninn mission on the Space Station. But one thing that is difficult to train for is the feeling of microgravity, or how much I have to push myself to get my body translating into the velocity I want, or how I turn into a corner in a good way, or how I reposition myself. That is difficult to train, so I had to practice
NASA invites public to dive into Juno's Spectacular Images of Io
Sunday, 11 February 2024 20:02
NASA's Juno spacecraft has once again set the bar high by delivering the closest and most detailed images of Jupiter's moon Io in over two decades. The spacecraft, which has been orbiting the largest planet in our solar system since 2011, made a historic approach to Io, coming within approximately 930 miles (1,500 kilometers) of its volatile surface on December 30th, 2023. This remarkable feat w Understanding Astronauts' Microbiomes: A Key to Successful Deep Space Missions
Sunday, 11 February 2024 20:02
Space exploration is a venture filled with complexities and risks, necessitating meticulous preparation and a deep understanding of the myriad challenges that come with living in space. At the forefront of these challenges is the health of astronauts, subjected to extreme conditions like microgravity, ionizing radiation, and significant environmental shifts. Emerging as a critical field of study Ten years preparing for 'Armageddon'
Sunday, 11 February 2024 20:02
It's a scenario made famous by the 1998 film 'Armageddon': an asteroid is spotted on a collision course with Earth, and experts scramble to plan a space mission to rendezvous with the asteroid and mitigate the danger. It's classic science fiction, but did you know there is a very real group responsible for recommending such a response in real life? And it celebrates its tenth birthday this week. Tiny NASA Cameras to Picture Interaction Between Lander, Moon's Surface
Sunday, 11 February 2024 20:02
Say cheese, Moon. We're coming in for a close-up. As Intuitive Machines' Nova-C lander descends toward the Moon, four tiny NASA cameras will be trained on the lunar surface, collecting imagery of how the surface changes from interactions with the spacecraft's engine plume.
Developed at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, Stereo Cameras for Lunar Plume-Surface Studies (SCAL DLR develops mobile station for Satellite Laser Ranging
Sunday, 11 February 2024 20:02
Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) is a very precise, laser-based method for determining the distance between a satellite and Earth with an accuracy of a few millimetres. SLR is primarily used in geodesy. This is because the precise measurement of satellite orbits helps to determine changes in Earth's structure and rotation. The SLR method also makes important contributions in the field of satellite Robots to help with human habitation in space
Sunday, 11 February 2024 20:02
In the coming decades, NASA plans to send human crews back to the Moon, build a space station in lunar orbit, establish a permanent base on the lunar surface and - hopefully - send astronauts to Mars.
What could possibly go wrong?
No seriously, what could go wrong and how would we fix it? That is the question a group of researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering NASA to Demonstrate Autonomous Navigation System on Moon
Sunday, 11 February 2024 20:02
RWhen the second CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) delivery is launched to the Moon in mid-February, its NASA payloads will include an experiment that could change how human explorers, rovers, and spacecraft independently track their precise location on the Moon and in cis-lunar space.
Demonstrating autonomous navigation, the Lunar Node-1 experiment, or LN-1, is a radio beacon desig NASA's New Experimental Antenna Tracks Deep Space Laser
Sunday, 11 February 2024 20:02
An experimental antenna has received both radio frequency and near-infrared laser signals from NASA's Psyche spacecraft as it travels through deep space. This shows it's possible for the giant dish antennas of NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN), which communicate with spacecraft via radio waves, to be retrofitted for optical, or laser, communications.
By packing more data into transmissions, Muninn Mission completed: Interview with Marcus Wandt
Saturday, 10 February 2024 17:00
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ESA project astronaut Marcus Wandt from Sweden is back to Europe less than 24 hours after his return to Earth. Marcus is back to Cologne, Germany, after spending 20 days in space. He underwent initial medical checks aboard the boat before being flown by helicopter to shore and boarding a plane to Europe. Marcus waved to the people gathered to welcome him on his arrival at the military side of Cologne Bonn Airport. He will spend the next days participating in debriefings, providing samples for scientific evaluation and readapting to Earth’s gravity at ESA’s European Astronaut Centre
Viasat, Ligado, and Partners Establish Association to Integrate Satellite with Mobile Devices
Saturday, 10 February 2024 13:50
The formation of the Mobile Satellite Services Association (MSSA) marks a significant stride towards enhancing global connectivity through the emerging Direct-to-Device (D2D) and Internet of Things (IoT) services. Leading entities in the satellite communications sector, including Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT), Terrestar Solutions, Ligado Networks, Omnispace, and Al Yah Satellite Communications Com Shifting the Battlefield: The Critical Role of EMS in Modern Warfare
Saturday, 10 February 2024 13:50
In the shadow of traditional warfare images, a largely unseen yet pivotal battlefront has emerged in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, spotlighting the strategic importance of the Electromagnetic Spectrum (EMS) in modern military operations. According to recent reports, Russian forces have intensified their Electronic Warfare (EW) tactics, leveraging the EMS to disrupt and degrade Ukrainian milit CSL Launches Satellite-Based Critical Connectivity for Land and Maritime Use
Saturday, 10 February 2024 13:50
In a significant stride towards enhancing Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity in remote and challenging environments, CSL, a leading provider of Critical IoT Connectivity solutions, has announced the launch of CSL Satellite. This new service aims to deliver resilient, secure connectivity by leveraging the Starlink constellation of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, coupled with CSL's comprehens