Video: 00:01:07

The mission to return martian samples back to Earth will see a European 2.5 metre-long robotic arm pick up tubes filled with precious soil from Mars and transfer them to a rocket for an historic interplanetary delivery.

The sophisticated robot, known as the Sample Transfer Arm or STA, will play a crucial role in the success of the Mars Sample Return campaign.

The Sample Transfer Arm is conceived to be autonomous, highly reliable and robust. The robot can perform a large range of movements with seven degrees of freedom, assisted by two cameras and a myriad of

Video: 00:00:23

Using radar images from the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission, the animation shows the A81 iceberg breaking away from the Brunt Ice Shelf on 25 January 2023. The new berg is estimated to be around 1550 sq km, which is around the size of Greater London, and is approximately 150 m thick. It calved when the crack known as Chasm-1 split northwards severing the west part of the ice shelf.

The white square indicated the final breakpoint near the McDonald Ice Rumples.

Routine monitoring from satellites offers unparalleled views of events happening in remote regions. The Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission carries

Video: 00:07:57

Did you know that ESA is researching human hibernation for long distance spaceflight to Mars or beyond?

Hibernating astronauts could be the best way to save mission costs, reduce the size of spacecraft by a third and keep crew healthy on their way to Mars. An ESA-led investigation suggests that human hibernation goes beyond the realm of science-fiction and may become a game-changing technique for space travel.

When packing for a return flight to the Red Planet, space engineers account for around two years’ worth of food and water for the crew.

Torpor during hibernation is an induced state that

An ambitious new development phase of ESA’s 5G/6G Hub has begun.

Pasadena CA (JPL) Jan 24, 2023
In a recent study, scientists found that a previously unmeasured source - water percolating through soil and fractured rock below California's Sierra Nevada mountains - delivers an average of 4 million acre feet (5 cubic kilometers) of water to the state's Central Valley each year. This underground source accounts for about 10% of all the water that enters this highly productive farmland each ye

Greenbelt MD (SPX) Jan 24, 2023
In 2022, NASA-developed Search and Rescue technologies enabled rescue personnel to save 397 lives in the U.S. region. Since 1979, NASA has provided technical expertise to the Cospas-Sarsat program, the international satellite-aided search and rescue effort. This technical expertise has led to the development of multiple emergency location beacon types. The international search and rescue e

Urbana IL (SPX) Jan 24, 2023
According to national USDA statistics, no-till and conservation tillage are on the rise, with more than three quarters of corn and soybean farmers opting for the practices to reduce soil erosion, maintain soil structure, and save on fuel. However, these estimates are based primarily on farmer self-reporting and are only compiled once every five years, potentially limiting accuracy. In a ne

Madrid, Spain (SPX) Jan 23, 2023
The Spanish government satellite operator, Hisdesat, has awarded multinational GMV a contract to build and develop the ground segment of the SPAINSAT NG program satellites. The two new satellites, scheduled for launch in 2024 and 2025 respectively, will replace the operator's current SpainSat and XTAR-EUR satellites, and significantly improve on their performance and capabilities. The main

London, UK (SPX) Jan 23, 2023
The UK Space Agency has announced 50 million pounds of funding for ambitious and innovative projects that will supercharge the UK's satellite communications industry. The funding is part of the European Space Agency (ESA) Advanced Research in Telecommunications Services (ARTES) program and will be used to develop new satellite constellations, ground systems, and end-to-end systems that deliver n