Copernical Team
Video: Orbital debris threatens satellites
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The launch of Sputnik, humankind's first satellite, in 1957 marked the dawn of a new era for the people of Earth.
Decades later, our planet is now surrounded by spacecraft carrying out extraordinary work to study our changing climate, save lives following disasters, deliver global communication and navigation services and help us answer important scientific questions.
But these satellites are at risk. Accidental collisions between objects in space can produce huge clouds of fast-moving debris. These clouds can spread and damage additional satellites with cascading effect, eventually making the most useful orbits around Earth no longer safe for spacecraft or people.
Satellites today have to carry out collision avoidance maneuvers to avoid possible impact with debris. These are costly, and hundreds of collision avoidance alerts are already issued every week.
And this is nothing compared to what is coming. Several companies have begun to launch mega-constellations into low-Earth orbit to provide global internet access. They have great benefits, but could be a source of huge disruption if we do not change our behavior.
Our current methods for avoiding collisions in space will become inadequate in just a few years—and even compliance with space debris mitigation guidelines may no longer be enough.
Mission Alpha media event at launch site
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Video:
00:30:26
Watch the replay of the media session held on 19 April 2021 with French ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet held in English and French to learn more about his upcoming Alpha mission.
Thomas is returning to the International Space Station on his second spaceflight. Called ‘Alpha’ the mission will see a European astronaut launch on a US spacecraft for the first time in over a decade. Thomas is flying alongside NASA astronauts Megan McArthur and Shane Kimbrough and Japanese astronaut Aki Hoshide on the Crew Dragon.
Launching from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA, Thomas will be the first
Interview with Frank De Winne on mission Alpha launch
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Video:
00:02:29
ESA astronaut and ESA’s International Space Station programme manager Frank de Winne interviewed in Florida, USA, in the run-up to the launch of ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet on his Alpha mission.
Frank was the first European commander of the International Space Station and as ESA celebrates 20 years of Europeans visiting the orbital outpost it is fitting that Frank is in Florida to see Thomas off to space.
French ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet is returning to the International Space Station on his second spaceflight. Called ‘Alpha’ the mission will see a European astronaut launch on a US spacecraft for
20 years of ESA on the ISS
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Video:
00:04:00
This month marks the 20th anniversary of the first European mission to the International Space Station (ISS).
On 19 April 2001, Italian ESA Astronaut, Umberto Guidoni launched to the ISS on space shuttle Endeavour for a mission that included installing the Canadarm2 robotic arm and transferring scientific equipment and experiments.
Since then, there have been a further 26 European missions to the ISS and three ESA astronauts have served as commander. ESA astronauts Thomas Pesquet and Matthias Maurer will both launch to the ISS this year.
The ISS has hosted more than 3000 scientific experiments and is providing vital insights
Astronaut Samantha on sharing the skies with debris
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Video:
00:15:10
ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti spent 199 days on the International Space Station, during her record-breaking Futura mission. So what's it like to share the skies with space debris? Did she see any signs of damage while she was up there? How often was the risk of debris on her mind?
In this interview with Operations Editor Rosa Jesse, Samantha tells all, as well as describing the rigorous training astronauts go through in case of debris impact and why its so important we address this issue to ensure the future of all space activities.
Researchers identify five double star systems potentially suitable for life
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Almost half a century ago, the creators of Star Wars imagined a life-sustaining planet, Tatooine, orbiting a pair of stars. Now, scientists have found new evidence that five known systems with multiple stars, Kepler-34, -35, -38, -64 and -413, are possible candidates for supporting life.
A newly developed mathematical framework allowed researchers at New York University Abu Dhabi and the U As different as day and night
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Telescopes are getting better and better at detecting the components of exoplanet atmospheres. But what can those components tell us about a planet's climate? It turns out that water vapor may be especially useful in this regard.
As we find more and more exoplanets, we're realizing that our solar system may be the exception to the rule! The menagerie of exoplanets we've discovered so far i Baked meteorites yield clues to planetary atmospheres
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In a novel laboratory investigation of the initial atmospheres of Earth-like rocky planets, researchers at UC Santa Cruz heated pristine meteorite samples in a high-temperature furnace and analyzed the gases released.
Their results, published April 15 in Nature Astronomy, suggest that the initial atmospheres of terrestrial planets may differ significantly from many of the common assumption Peering through the clouds of Earth's 'Evil Twin'
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U.S. Naval Research Laboratory scientists were recently left scratching their heads over a familiar sight in the sky. Venus images are nothing new, but a solar probe surprised the researchers by seeing through the planet's clouds. NRL's Wide-field Imager for Parker Solar Probe (WISPR) took a stunning image of Earth's celestial neighbor Venus last year that left researchers searching for answers Spotting greenhouse gas super-emitters
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NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California is providing the instrument that will enable a nonprofit organization called Carbon Mapper to pinpoint and measure methane and carbon dioxide (CO2) point-sources from space.
The data collected by the instrument will help to find super-emitters - the small percentage of individual sources that are responsible for a significant fraction 
