The Sentinel-2C satellite, the third Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite, has arrived at the European spaceport in French Guiana for liftoff on the final Vega rocket in September. Sentinel-2C, like its predecessors, will continue to provide high-quality data for Copernicus – the Earth observation component of the EU Space Programme.

Washington DC (UPI) Jul 20, 2024
Amid a full moon from San Diego to Houston to Florida to Washington, D.C., activities on Saturday will mark the 55th anniversary of the first lunar landing and men to walk on the moon. NASA's two main visitor centers, the Johnson Space Center near Houston and the Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island in Florida, have activities scheduled. A gala also will take place Saturday nig

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jul 21, 2024
During its 61st close flyby of Jupiter on May 12, 2024, NASA's Juno spacecraft captured a stunning color-enhanced view of the giant planet's northern hemisphere. This detailed image showcases the chaotic clouds and cyclonic storms in an area scientists refer to as a folded filamentary region. In these zones, the zonal jets responsible for Jupiter's banded cloud patterns break down, resulting in

Paris, France (SPX) Jul 21, 2024
Our planet is surrounded by spacecraft conducting crucial activities, from climate research to providing global communication and navigation services, and facilitating significant scientific inquiries. However, these orbits are becoming increasingly congested with defunct satellites and rocket remnants, posing a severe threat to future space operations. In 2002, the Inter-Agency Space Debr

London, UK (SPX) Jul 21, 2024
Several cities in the United States, including the nation's capital, have power grids particularly vulnerable to space weather, according to new research. However, the reasons for this susceptibility remain unclear. The British Geological Survey (BGS) conducted a study revealing that some US regions are more prone to the impacts of geomagnetic storms. These storms are caused by solar flare

London, UK (SPX) Jul 21, 2024
Space storms could soon be forecasted with greater accuracy thanks to significant advancements in predicting when a violent solar eruption may impact Earth. Scientists have developed a method to determine the exact speed of a coronal mass ejection (CME) and predict its impact on Earth before it fully erupts from the Sun. CMEs, which are bursts of gas and magnetic fields from the solar atmo

Happy International Moon Day!

ESA’s network of satellite communication stations – Estrack – continues to connect Earth and the Moon in 2024. ESA stations are supporting three new and returning partners this year: one of them carried ESA’s first scientific instrument to the lunar surface and another will deploy the first Moon rover made in Europe.

Paris, France (SPX) Jul 19, 2024
Next month, ESA's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) will undertake a groundbreaking maneuver: the first combined lunar-Earth flyby. This precise operation, now being prepared at ESA mission control, will utilize the gravitational forces of the Moon and Earth in quick succession, setting Juice on course for its journey to Jupiter. Juice represents Europe's inaugural mission to the Jupiter

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jul 19, 2024
NASA and Boeing engineers are currently evaluating the results from last week's engine tests conducted at NASA's White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico. These efforts are part of the preparations for the return of the Boeing Crew Flight Test from the International Space Station in the coming weeks. Teams have completed ground hot fire testing at White Sands and are in the process of analy