Copernical Team
NASA's Webb Telescope Identifies Most Distant Galaxy
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Over the last two years, scientists have used NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to explore Cosmic Dawn, the period shortly after the big bang when the first galaxies were born. These early galaxies offer crucial insights into the evolution of gas, stars, and black holes in the young universe. In October 2023 and January 2024, an international team of astronomers utilized Webb to observe g New Earth-Based Telescope Images of Jupiter's Moon Io Match Spacecraft Quality
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New images of Jupiter's moon Io, captured by the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) on Mount Graham in Arizona, present the highest resolution of Io achieved with an Earth-based instrument. This feat was made possible by the SHARK-VIS instrument and the LBT's adaptive optics system, which counteracts atmospheric turbulence.
The images, to be published in Geophysical Research Letters, show sur Asteroid Dinkinesh Shows Complex History in Lucy Flyby
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NASA's Lucy spacecraft, led by the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), discovered notable geological features on the main belt asteroid Dinkinesh during its flyby last November. The half-mile-wide asteroid revealed a trough and ridge structure, as well as a contact binary satellite, marking a significant find.
The data indicated a dramatic history involving sudden breakups and transformat INNOSPACE to Launch Brazilian Satellites and Inertial System on HANBIT-Nano Rocket
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INNOSPACE, a South Korean private spaceflight startup producing small satellite launch vehicles, has signed new launch service agreements with the Federal University of Maranhao (UFMA) and Castro Leite Consultoria LTDA (CLC). This mission will use the HANBIT-Nano launch vehicle from the Alcantara Space Center in Brazil in the first half of 2025.
The mission will deploy picosatellites devel German company HyImpulse plans additional South Australia launches
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Southern Launch and HyImpulse have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for more missions from the Koonibba Test Range and to explore using the Whalers Way Orbital Launch Complex for future launches of HyImpulse's SL1 orbital vehicle.
The MoU follows a successful launch campaign where HyImpulse completed the maiden launch of their 11.5-meter-tall single-stage SR75 rocket from Souther YPSat checked in for Ariane 6 flight
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YPSat checked in for Ariane 6 flight Ariane 6 launches SIDLOC: opening up tools for safer space
The rush to return humans to the moon and build lunar bases could threaten opportunities for astronomy
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The 2020s have already seen many lunar landing attempts, although several of them have crashed or toppled over. With all the excitement surrounding the prospect of humans returning to the moon, both commercial interests and scientists stand to gain.
The moon is uniquely suitable for researchers to build telescopes they can't put on Earth because it doesn't have as much satellite interference as Earth, nor a magnetic field blocking out radio waves. But only recently have astronomers like me started thinking about potential conflicts between the desire to expand knowledge of the universe on one side and geopolitical rivalries and commercial gain on the other, and how to balance those interests.
How much water would a self-sustaining moonbase need?
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As humanity returns to the moon in the next few years, they're going to need water to survive. While resupplies from Earth would work for a time, eventually the lunar base would have to become self-sustaining? So, how much water would be required to make this happen?
This is what a study recently posted to the arXiv preprint server hopes to address as a team of researchers from Baylor University explored water management scenarios for a self-sustaining moonbase, including the appropriate location of the base and how the water would be extracted and treated for safe consumption using appropriate personnel.
Here, Universe Today discusses this research with Dr. Jeffrey Lee, who is an assistant adjunct professor in the Center for Astrophysics, Space Physics & Engineering Research at Baylor University, and lead author of the study, regarding the motivation behind the study, significant results, the importance of having a self-sustaining moonbase, and what implications this study could have for the upcoming Artemis missions.
Swarming for success: Starling completes primary mission
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After 10 months in orbit, the Starling spacecraft swarm successfully demonstrated its primary mission's key objectives, representing significant achievements in the capability of swarm configurations.
Swarms of satellites may one day be used in deep space exploration. An autonomous network of spacecraft could self-navigate, manage scientific experiments, and execute maneuvers to respond to environmental changes without the burden of significant communications delays between the swarm and Earth.
"The success of Starling's initial mission represents a landmark achievement in the development of autonomous networks of small spacecraft," said Roger Hunter, program manager for NASA's Small Spacecraft Technology program at NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley. "The team has been very successful in achieving our objectives and adapting in the face of challenges.
