How Europe’s biggest rocket came to be: Ariane 6 montage
Thursday, 25 July 2024 14:30
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The first half of 2024 saw hundreds of people across Europe building, cajoling, shipping, lowering, integrating, securing and protecting the precious pieces and parts that came together to create Ariane 6 – Europe’s new heavy-lift rocket.
Huge engines, boosters and outer shells met tiny screws, electrical boards and masses of supercooled fuel. All this came together at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, for the spectacular first launch of Ariane 6 on 9 July 2024, restoring Europe’s access to space.
Get a glimpse at the teamwork, skill and care that went into this moment over many months, in this montage
Space-trekking muscle tests drugs for microgravity-induced muscle impairment
Thursday, 25 July 2024 14:00
A gentle rumble ran under Ngan Huang's feet as a rocket carrying her research—live, human muscle cells grown on scaffolds fixed on tiny chips—lifted off, climbed, and disappeared into the sky to the International Space Station National Laboratory. These chips would help Huang better understand muscle impairment, often seen in astronauts and older adults, and test drugs to counter the condition.
Now, the results are back. Reporting in a study published July 25 in Stem Cell Reports, Huang's team showed that space-traveling muscle had metabolic changes that indicate impaired muscle regeneration and gene activities associated with age-related muscle loss called sarcopenia. But drug treatment partially prevented microgravity's adverse effects.
"Space is a really unique environment that accelerates qualities associated with aging and also impairs many healthy processes," says Huang, an associate professor at Stanford University.
"Astronauts come back with muscle atrophy, or a reduction of muscle function, because the muscle isn't being actively used in the absence of gravity.
Pentagon’s Office of Strategic Capital seeks input on new loan program for critical technologies
Thursday, 25 July 2024 13:00
ESA's stand at the Farnborough International Airshow 2024
Thursday, 25 July 2024 12:53
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ESA's stand at the Farnborough International Airshow 2024 From Concordia to the Moon
Thursday, 25 July 2024 12:00
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Concordia is a research station in Antarctica that places you farther away from humankind than even the International Space Station. Every year, ESA sponsors a medical doctor to spend a year, or "winterover," at Concordia station. This year, our medical doctor is Jessica Kehala Studer, who is seen in this picture gazing at the Moon and the vast expanse of Antarctica. Around May, the Sun dips below the horizon for the last time, and the crew experiences four months of total darkness, with temperatures dropping to –80°C in winter.
The station serves as an analogue for space, mirroring the
New report examines Space Force agency’s ambitious satellite network program
Thursday, 25 July 2024 09:05
Sierra Space conducts second full-scale burst test of inflatable module
Thursday, 25 July 2024 09:00
Make the most of ESA’s Industry Space Days 2024
Thursday, 25 July 2024 06:40
Participants of ESA’s Industry Space Days (ISD 2024) share insights and tips on how to make the most of this space technology business event on 18–19 September at ESA-ESTEC in Noordwijk, The Netherlands.
Rocket engine startup Ursa Major adds 3D printing lab in Ohio
Thursday, 25 July 2024 05:26
New Frontier Aerospace tests rocket engine for point-to-point travel
Thursday, 25 July 2024 04:56
Chinese lunar probe finds water in Moon samples
Wednesday, 24 July 2024 22:17
A Chinese lunar probe found traces of water in samples of the Moon's soil, scientists have said, as the country pushes its ambitious space programme into high gear.
The Chang'e-5 rover completed its mission in 2020, returning to Earth with rock and soil samples from the Moon.
The lunar samples "revealed the presence of trace water", the group of scientists from Chinese universities wrote Stellar magnetism may influence exoplanet habitability
Wednesday, 24 July 2024 22:17
The pursuit of discovering life beyond our solar system has heightened interest in Earth-like planets within the habitable zone of their stars. However, the habitability of these exoplanets is affected by more than just their distance from the star.
A new study by Rice University's David Alexander and Anthony Atkinson broadens the definition of a habitable zone to include the star's magnet Solar storm may cause northern lights to be visible from New York to Idaho
Wednesday, 24 July 2024 22:17
A solar storm could bring the northern lights to the northern United States this week, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration said.
The NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center issued a G2 geomagnetic storm watch for early Wednesday.
It said the northern lights or aurora borealis, as the phenomenon is known in the Northern Hemisphere, could become visible above "some north NASA funds research on orbital debris and Lunar sustainability
Wednesday, 24 July 2024 22:17
To support responsible space exploration, NASA's Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy (OTPS) is sponsoring research from five university teams. These teams will examine critical economic, social, and policy issues related to Earth's orbit and cislunar space.
This initiative aligns with NASA's Space Sustainability Strategy, aimed at promoting safe and sustainable space activities for