Week in images: 15-19 January 2024

Discover our week through the lens

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 17, 2024
The Space Development Agency (SDA) has taken a significant step in enhancing national defense capabilities by awarding Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT), a renowned leader in aerospace and defense technology, a substantial contract valued at $890 million. This agreement marks a pivotal moment in the advancement of the Tranche 2 (T2) Tracking Layer satellite constellation, designed to bolster missile t

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 17, 2024
L3Harris Technologies (NYSE:LHX) has been awarded a substantial contract by the Space Development Agency (SDA), valued at up to $919 million. This contract entrusts L3Harris with the task of designing and constructing 18 infrared space vehicles. These vehicles are part of the SDA's Tranche 2 (T2) Tracking Layer program, which aims to provide near-global coverage for missile warning and tracking.

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 18, 2024
High above the frozen expanse of Antarctica, a remarkable scientific endeavor is unfolding in the skies. The Galactic/Extragalactic ULDB Spectroscopic Terahertz Observatory (GUSTO), a significant player in the field of astrophysical study, has now been afloat for over 15 days. Launched from McMurdo, Antarctica, on December 31 at 7:30 p.m. local time, GUSTO embarked on a mission to map extensive

Paris, France (SPX) Jan 18, 2024
The NenuFAR Cosmic Dawn project, an ambitious initiative dedicated to unraveling the mysteries of the universe's earliest epochs, has recently achieved a significant milestone in its exploration of the Cosmic Dawn. This period, critical to our understanding of the universe, marks the formation of the first stars. Utilizing the capabilities of the NenuFAR radio telescope, researchers have establi

Cambridge UK (SPX) Jan 18, 2024
Researchers have discovered the oldest black hole ever observed, dating from the dawn of the universe, and found that it is 'eating' its host galaxy to death. The international team, led by the University of Cambridge, used the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to detect the black hole, which dates from 400 million years after the big bang, more than 13 billion years ago. The

Pasadena CA (JPL) Jan 18, 2024
Earth planning date: Tuesday, January 16, 2024. After a long holiday weekend, Curiosity is back hard at work. The first sol of the plan begins with some spectroscopy and imaging. ChemCam LIBS is doing a 5-spot observation of the target "Rovana," which is a bedrock target. We then take a 10-frame RMI of "Texoli," which is a layered butte to the south of the rover. Mastcam also images Rovana, as w

Pasadena CA (JPL) Jan 18, 2024
In January 2004, twin NASA rovers named Spirit and Opportunity touched down on opposite sides of Mars, kicking off a new era of interplanetary robotic exploration. They arrived in dramatic fashion three weeks apart, each nestled in a cluster of airbags that bounced along the surface around 30 times before coming to a stop and deflating. The golf cart-size rovers' mission: to look for evidence th

Berlin, Germany (SPX) Jan 18, 2024
On January 18, 2023, the European Space Agency's (ESA) Swedish astronaut, Marcus Wandt, will embark on a pioneering journey to the International Space Station (ISS). This mission, known as Muninn, will mark the first time an ESA astronaut participates in a commercial mission organized by the U.S. launch service provider Axiom, aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule from NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

London, UK (SPX) Jan 17, 2024
An experiment outlined by a UCL (University College London)-led team of scientists from the UK and India could test whether relatively large masses have a quantum nature, resolving the question of whether quantum mechanical description works at a much larger scale than that of particles and atoms. Quantum theory is typically seen as describing nature at the tiniest scales and quantum effec