The launching of thousands of satellites into low Earth orbit by tech billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX threatens the "de-facto monopolisation" of space, the head of competitor Arianespace Stephane Israel has warned.

Elon Musk's Starlink constellation project recently received authorisation from US regulator the Federal Communications Commission to provide broadband from space and place thousands of satellites lower than previously proposed, angering competitors including Amazon.

SpaceX, which asked the FCC for permission which will apply to some 2,800 satellites, plans ultimately to blanket poorly connected and isolated areas of the globe with internet connectivity.

During its 33rd low pass over the cloud tops of Jupiter on April 15, 2021, NASA's Juno spacecraft captured the intriguing evolution of a feature in the giant planet's atmosphere known as "Clyde's Spot."

The feature is informally named for amateur astronomer Clyde Foster of Centurion, South Africa, who discovered it in 2020 using his own 14-inch telescope. On June 2, 2020, just two days after Foster's initial discovery, Juno provided detailed observations of Clyde's Spot (upper image), which scientists determined was a plume of cloud material erupting above the top layers of the Jovian atmosphere just southeast of Jupiter's Great Red Spot, which is currently about 1.3 times as wide as Earth. These powerful convective outbreaks occasionally occur in this latitude band, known as the South Temperate Belt. The initial plume subsided quickly, and within a few weeks it was seen as a dark spot.

Many features in Jupiter's highly dynamic atmosphere are short lived, but the April 2021 observation from the JunoCam instrument (lower image) revealed that nearly one year after its discovery, the remnant of Clyde's Spot had not only drifted away from the Great Red Spot but had also developed into a complex structure that scientists call a folded filamentary region.

Canada will land a robotic rover on the Moon within five years, its industry minister said Wednesday, announcing that Ottawa plans to "dream big" as it advances its competitive stake in the growing global space market.

"Canada will be part of space history," Francois-Philippe Champagne told a news conference.

"We recognize that global interest in space and in the space industry is on the rise," he said. "As the whole world looks to the stars we are ready to make Canada a world leader in research, technology and innovation so that we can be there as well."

"Let's seize the moment. I don't think there's ever been a better time to be Canadian, and dream big."

The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) will partner with the United States' NASA on the mission, according to a statement.

Two Canadian companies will first be selected to develop concepts for the rover and science instruments for the mission.