Copernical Team
China expands global partnerships for Lunar Research Station
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China's initiative to establish an international lunar research station has attracted new international partners, marking a significant step in global space collaboration.
At the opening of a two-day space conference in Tunxi, Anhui Province, on Thursday, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) signed a cooperation agreement with Senegal on the International Lunar Research Station ( SpaceX successfully launches all-civilian crew for historic private spacewalk
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SpaceX successfully launched the Polaris Dawn mission early Tuesday morning, marking the beginning of a multiday orbital expedition featuring the first-ever spacewalk conducted by private citizens. The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 5:23 a.m. ET from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
"Liftoff of Polaris Dawn!" SpaceX announced on X, along with an image of the rocket ascending into the The 2024 Global Methane Budget reveals alarming trends
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The Global Methane Budget 2024 paints a troubling picture of the current state of global methane emissions. The new report reveals that human activities are now responsible for at least two-thirds of global methane emissions.
This marks a significant increase in human-produced methane sources over the past two decades, with emissions rising by 20%, with the fastest rise occurring over the last five years.
A smooth start to life in orbit for Sentinel-2C
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Sentinel-2C has completed its important first few days in space, which saw teams on the ground working around the clock to ensure the spacecraft is ready to begin its mission.
Video: Cluster reentry explained—world's first targeted reentry
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The first of four satellites that make up ESA's Cluster mission is coming safely back down to Earth, marking a brilliant end to this remarkable mission.
The satellite's orbit was tweaked back in January to target a region as far as possible from populated regions. This ensures that any spacecraft parts that survive the reentry will fall over open ocean.
During 24 years in space, Cluster has sent back precious data on how the sun interacts with Earth's magnetic field, helping us better understand and forecast potentially dangerous space weather.
With this first ever targeted reentry, Cluster goes down in history for a different reason, taking ESA well beyond international space safety standards and helping ensure the long-term sustainability of space activities.
Provided by European Space Agency
Artemis III landing sites identified using mapping and algorithm techniques
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Where would be the most ideal landing site for the Artemis III crew in SpaceX's Human Landing System (HLS)? This is what a recent study submitted to Acta Astronautica, and available on the arXiv preprint server, hopes to address as an international team of scientists investigated plausible landing sites within the lunar south pole region, which comes after NASA selected 13 candidate landing regions in August 2022 and holds the potential to enable new methods in determining landing sites for future missions, as well.
Like a diamond in the sky: How to spot NASA's solar sail demo in orbit
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Now that its reflective sail has deployed fully open in orbit, the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System can be seen in the night sky from many locations across the world!
Stargazers can join NASA's #SpotTheSail campaign by using the NASA app on mobile platforms to find out when the spacecraft will be visible at their location. The app, which is free to use and available on iOS and Android, provides a location-specific schedule of upcoming sighting opportunities. A built-in augmented reality tool points users to the location of the spacecraft in real time.
Can you spot the solar sail? Share your viewing experience online using the hashtag #SpotTheSail for a chance to be featured on NASA's website and social media channels.
NASA scientific balloon takes flight with student-built payloads
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NASA's Scientific Balloon Program's fifth balloon mission of the 2024 fall campaign took flight Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, from the agency's Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility in Fort Sumner, New Mexico. The HASP 1.0 (High-Altitude Student Platform) mission remained in flight over 11 hours before it safely touched down. Recovery is underway.
HASP is a partnership among the Louisiana Space Grant Consortium, the Astrophysics Division of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, and the agency's Balloon Program Office and Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility. The HASP platform supports up to 12 student-built payloads and is designed to flight test compact satellites, prototypes, and other small experiments. Since 2006, HASP has engaged more than 1,600 undergraduate and graduate students involved in the missions.
Goodnight, Cluster: brilliant end to trailblazing mission
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The first satellite in ESA’s Cluster quartet safely came back down to Earth last night in a world-first ‘targeted reentry’, marking a brilliant end to this remarkable mission.
The spacecraft, dubbed ‘Salsa’ (Cluster 2), reentered Earth’s atmosphere at 20:47 CEST on 8 September 2024 over the South Pacific Ocean. In this region, any risk of fragments reaching land are absolutely minimised.
During the last two decades Cluster has spent in space, it has provided invaluable data on how the Sun interacts with Earth’s magnetic field, helping us better understand and forecast space weather. With this first-ever targeted reentry,
NASA's mini BurstCube mission detects mega blast
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The shoebox-sized BurstCube satellite has observed its first gamma-ray burst, the most powerful kind of explosion in the universe, according to a recent analysis of observations collected over the last several months.
"We're excited to collect science data," said Sean Semper, BurstCube's lead engineer at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "It's an important mileston