China’s Tianwen-1 enters orbit around Mars
Tuesday, 09 February 2021 12:59
HELSINKI — China’s first interplanetary mission, Tianwen-1, successfully entered Mars orbit Feb.
ESA's Solar Orbiter ducks behind the sun
Tuesday, 09 February 2021 12:37
Name: Solar Orbiter, or "Solo' as the mission control team fondly call it, is one of the European Space Agency's pluckiest missions and is now cruising toward the sun.
Age: One year old! We launched on 10 February 2020. Granted, it was first powered up on Earth at some point during construction, but launch is 'when it came alive."
What's it doing out there? It's imaging our star, observing the solar wind and unraveling mysteries of the solar cycle. It's already returned some of the best images of ol'Sol ever, revealing omnipresent miniature solar flares, dubbed 'campfires," near the surface.
Anything else? Well, it uses prehistoric cave pigment as a coating to withstand temperatures up to 520°C. The sun's pretty darn hot, you know.
So, what's happening now? The spacecraft's orbit is taking it behind the sun, and starting a few days ago the apparent angle, as seen from Earth, between Solar Orbiter and the sun started falling below 5 degrees.
NASA weighs options for additional Soyuz Mission to ISS
Tuesday, 09 February 2021 12:30
NASA awards contract to launch initial elements for lunar outpost
Tuesday, 09 February 2021 12:30
Ozmens' SNC Dream Chaser spaceplane closer to commercial runway landing
Tuesday, 09 February 2021 12:30
Astronauts of India's first human spaceflight will be treated to Indian cuisine
Tuesday, 09 February 2021 12:30
Water ice resources identified in Martian northern hemisphere
Tuesday, 09 February 2021 12:30
RUAG Space provides Solar Subsystem for planet hunter PLATO
Tuesday, 09 February 2021 12:30
Rare blast's remains discovered in Milky Way's center
Tuesday, 09 February 2021 12:30
Study of supergiant star Betelgeuse unveils the cause of its pulsations
Tuesday, 09 February 2021 12:30
NATO picks France's Toulouse for new military space 'Center of Excellence'
Tuesday, 09 February 2021 12:30
DARPA pursues plan for robust manufacturing in space
Tuesday, 09 February 2021 12:30
China tests its missile interception equipment
Tuesday, 09 February 2021 12:30
Russian cosmonauts to test new shielding material for radiation protection
Tuesday, 09 February 2021 12:30
Meet ESA’s R&D department
Tuesday, 09 February 2021 12:29
Our new brochure introduces ESA’s R&D department: the engineers charged with inventing the new technologies needed for Europe to push further out into space, and develop the novel services improving our lives here on Earth.