The latest analysis from the European Space Agency (ESA) Planetary Defence Office has reduced the probability that asteroid 2024 YR4 might impact Earth in 2032 to 0.001%.

The European Space Agency’s Proba-3 mission will create artificial solar eclipses in orbit, allowing scientists to study the Sun’s corona for longer periods of time than would be possible during eclipses observed from Earth. To test the functionality of Proba-3’s systems, researchers from the Royal Observatory of Belgium took a snapshot of a star field – in the very first image captured by the mission’s coronagraph.

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 24, 2025

Firefly's Blue Ghost Mission 1 is set to land on the Moon in less than a week with touchdown expected on Sunday March 2 after its launch on Jan 15. In preparation for descent, the spacecraft will execute its final lunar orbit maneuver on Monday, Feb 24, inserting it into a near-circular low orbit that brings it closer to the lunar surface. Approximately one hour before landing, a Descent Orbit

Washington DC (UPI) Feb 23, 2025
A shell of icy objects at the edge of the solar system known as the Oort cloud has a pair of spiral arms that resemble a miniature galaxy, new research suggests. Until now, the shape of the cloud and how it is affected by forces beyond our solar system have not been largely understood. But the new research, published Feb. 16 at arXiv, says the cloud may look like a spiral disk, one of t

Berlin, Germany (SPX) Feb 24, 2025
Optical atomic clocks hold the promise of enhancing timekeeping and positioning in everyday devices by a factor of one thousand. Yet their large size and complex design have kept them confined to advanced laboratories. Researchers at Purdue University, USA, and Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have now devised a method using on-chip microcombs to dramatically reduce the size of these p

Paris, France (SPX) Feb 24, 2025
ClearSpace has commenced the consolidation phase of its GEO Life Extension Mission. Backed by the Government of Luxembourg and supported by an ESA contract under the Luxembourg National Space Programme LuxIMPULSE, which is implemented by the Luxembourg Space Agency, this initiative represents a major operational milestone. The mission underscores ClearSpace's steadfast commitment to sustai

Berlin, Germany (SPX) Feb 24, 2025
ATMOS Space Cargo a leading European space logistics startup has received a total funding package of euro 13.1 million from the European Innovation Council Accelerator a flagship component of the European Union Horizon Europe framework This financial boost reinforces the companys innovative role in the space sector The EIC Accelerator targets firms that develop breakthrough innovations ca

London UK (SPX) Feb 24, 2025
Researchers at Heriot-Watt University have secured approval to initiate an innovative project designed to deliver affordable connectivity to everyone. A consortium of agencies that includes Heriot-Watt has been allocated GBP6 million through the UK Space Agency's Connectivity in Low Earth Orbit (C-LEO) programme. Under the leadership of Cardiff-based tech firm Excelerate Technology Ltd, the team

Washington (AFP) Feb 20, 2025
Is NASA still Moonbound, or will the next giant leap mean skipping straight to Mars? Speculation is mounting that the Trump administration may scale back or cancel NASA's Artemis missions following the departure of a key official and Boeing's decision to lay off hundreds of employees working on its lunar rocket. Late Wednesday, NASA abruptly announced the retirement of longtime associate

Washington (AFP) Feb 20, 2025
The world's richest man Elon Musk got into a heated row Thursday with a Danish astronaut who criticized the tech billionaire's claim that former president Joe Biden intentionally abandoned two American astronauts aboard the International Space Station. Andreas "Andy" Mogensen had shared on X a Fox News clip featuring Musk and his boss, US President Donald Trump, where Musk claimed NASA's But