Call for ideas to augment satnav with imaging sensors & 3D maps
Monday, 14 June 2021 12:01
Busy urban centres represent key areas of demand for satellite navigation services, but dense concentrations of high buildings mean that satnav signal reception may sometimes fall short. So ESA is issuing a call for ideas to make up for such service gaps through the use of imaging and 3D mapping technology – ahead of a dedicated workshop on 6 July.
Juice moves into Large Space Simulator
Monday, 14 June 2021 12:00
The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer has moved into the ‘Large Space Simulator’ at ESA’s test centre, ready for grueling environmental tests at a range of temperatures.
Image: Hubble sees a spiral in good company
Monday, 14 June 2021 10:45
This image, taken with Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3, features the spiral galaxy NGC 4680. Two other galaxies, at the far right and bottom center of the image, flank NGC 4680. NGC 4680 enjoyed a wave of attention in 1997, as it played host to a supernova explosion known as SN 1997bp. Australian amateur astronomer Robert Evans identified the supernova and has identified an extraordinary 42 supernova explosions.
NGC 4680 is actually a rather tricky galaxy to classify. It is sometimes referred to as a spiral galaxy, but it is also sometimes classified as a lenticular galaxy. Lenticular galaxies fall somewhere in between spiral galaxies and elliptical galaxies. While NGC 4680 does have distinguishable spiral arms, they are not clearly defined, and the tip of one arm appears very diffuse.
Galaxies are not static, and their morphologies (and therefore their classifications) vary throughout their lifetimes. Spiral galaxies are thought to evolve into elliptical galaxies, most likely by merging with one another, causing them to lose their distinctive spiral structures.
NASA soliciting proposals for two private astronaut missions
Monday, 14 June 2021 09:40
WASHINGTON — NASA announced June 11 that it is requesting proposals for two private astronaut missions to the International Space Station that would fly between the fall of 2022 and the end of 2023.
NASA said it is seeking proposals from companies who want to fly private astronauts to the space station.
Satellites reveal cause of Chamoli disaster
Monday, 14 June 2021 08:30
A new study using satellite evidence confirms that a rock and ice avalanche caused the Chamoli disaster in India earlier this year. The resulting mud and debris flood led to massive destruction downstream.
ESA’s digital celebration of space safety and Asteroid Day
Monday, 14 June 2021 07:30
Register now to join us on 28 June, 18:00-20:00 CEST - seats limited.
ESA helps Europe boost secure connectivity
Monday, 14 June 2021 07:00
As today’s world becomes increasingly connected, ESA is partnering with the European Commission to keep communications secure.
Juice moves into the Large Space Simulator
Monday, 14 June 2021 07:00
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The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) moved into the Large Space Simulator at ESTEC end May, in a two-day operation. During a month-long test campaign the spacecraft will be subject to extreme temperature cycles under vacuum to replicate the heating and cooling that the spacecraft will experience on its way to Jupiter. The Large Space Simulator is Europe's single largest vacuum chamber standing 15 m high and 10 m wide.
Once in the Jovian system Juice will make detailed observations of Jupiter and its three large ocean-bearing moons – Ganymede, Callisto and Europa – with a suite of
NASA seeks proposals for next 2 private astronaut missions to ISS
Monday, 14 June 2021 05:29
NASA is seeking proposals for two new private astronaut missions to the International Space Station as part of the agency's efforts to open space to more people than ever before. With these opportunities, U.S. commercial companies will continue to play an essential role in establishing a sustained presence in low-Earth orbit (LEO) through the agency's Commercial LEO Development Program.
Th China launches four satellites with Long March-2D rocket
Monday, 14 June 2021 05:29
China sent four satellites into planned orbits from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in northern Shanxi Province on Friday.
The satellites Beijing-3 (BJ-3), HISEA-2 (HS-2), Yangwang-1 (YW-1) and Tianjian (TJ) were launched by a Long March-2D rocket at 11:03 a.m. (Beijing Time).
Developed by China Spacesat Co., Ltd., the commercial remote-sensing satellite BJ-3 can provide services NASA approves further development of asteroid hunter
Monday, 14 June 2021 05:29
NASA has approved the Near-Earth Object Surveyor space telescope (NEO Surveyor) to move to the next phase of mission development after a successful mission review, authorizing the mission to move forward into Preliminary Design (known as Key Decision Point-B).
The infrared space telescope is designed to help advance NASA's planetary defense efforts by expediting our ability to discover and Have your name forever on the Moon with Spacebit's Wevolver Engineering Challenge
Monday, 14 June 2021 05:29
The Spacebit Engineering Challenge enables engineers around the world to contribute to the development of "Asagumo 2.0", a four-legged walking rover that is set to fly to the Moon with the NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program in 2021 and 2022.
The challenge was catalyzed by the recent partnership agreement signed between UK-based Spacebit and the engineering community plat Star's death will play a mean pinball with rhythmic planets
Monday, 14 June 2021 05:29
Four planets locked in a perfect rhythm around a nearby star are destined to be pinballed around their solar system when their sun eventually dies, according to a study led by the University of Warwick that peers into its future.
Astronomers have modelled how the change in gravitational forces in the system as a result of the star becoming a white dwarf will cause its planets to fly loose Astronomers spot a 'blinking giant' near the centre of the Galaxy
Monday, 14 June 2021 05:29
Astronomers have spotted a giant 'blinking' star towards the centre of the Milky Way, more than 25,000 light years away. An international team of astronomers observed the star, VVV-WIT-08, decreasing in brightness by a factor of 30, so that it nearly disappeared from the sky. While many stars change in brightness because they pulsate or are eclipsed by another star in a binary system, it's excep A new animation shows 'A day without space'
Monday, 14 June 2021 05:29
What would happen if all the satellites orbiting Earth stopped working? In short, global chaos would ensue. "Satellites have long been an integral part of our day-to-day lives. The services they provide are indispensable for mobility on land, at sea and in the air, for all power and communications networks, for the international systems used for financial transactions, global weather forecasting