Paris, France (SPX) May 05, 2025
As ESA's new Biomass satellite begins operations after its April 29 launch, the agency has unveiled its most comprehensive satellite-derived forest carbon dataset yet. Covering the years 2007 to 2022, the release marks a major advancement in global forest biomass monitoring. This extensive dataset, part of ESA's Climate Change Initiative, compiles information from multiple Earth-observing

Sydney, Australia (SPX) May 07, 2025
On April 22, United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) Director Aarti Holla-Maini led a delegation to Wuhan University, where a cooperation memorandum was signed with university president Zhang Pingwen, formally establishing the China regional support office of the United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response (UN-SPIDER). Z

Los Angeles CA (SPX) May 07, 2025
Orca AI, a pioneering force in maritime technology, has secured $72.5 million in Series B funding to accelerate its efforts in autonomous shipping. The funding round was led by Brighton Park Capital, with participation from existing investors Ankona Capital and Hyperlink Ventures. This new investment will enable Orca AI to enhance its autonomous platform, expand into defense and security applica

Los Angeles CA (SPX) May 07, 2025
Iridium Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: IRDM) has introduced a specialized U.S. government version of its Iridium 9603 module, now equipped with Enhanced Short Burst Data (ESBD) capabilities. The ESBD system provides low-latency, secure messaging designed to meet the stringent transmission security (TRANSEC) requirements of the U.S. government and approved allies. The ESBD-enabled 9603 module

Sydney, Australia (SPX) May 07, 2025
When sunlight interacts with Earth, it creates a spectrum of phenomena ranging from the stunning beauty of rainbows to the more subtle but equally intriguing dynamics that shape our planet's atmosphere. Recent advancements in shortwave radiation research are now revealing critical insights into these processes, as highlighted in a new perspective study published in Advances in Atmospheric Scienc

Greenbelt MD (SPX) May 07, 2025
For the first time, astronomers have probed the physical environment of repeating X-ray outbursts near monster black holes thanks to data from NASA's NICER (Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer) and other missions. Scientists have only recently encountered this class of X-ray flares, called QPEs, or quasi-periodic eruptions. A system astronomers have nicknamed Ansky is the eighth QPE

Rochester NY (SPX) May 07, 2025
Despite its dry, dusty surface and thinner atmosphere, Mars may have more in common with Earth than scientists previously thought. In a new study, researchers at the University of Rochester-including PhD student JohnPaul Sleiman and Rachel Glade, an assistant professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences-and their colleagues found that soil features on Mars look remarkabl

Las Vegas NV (SPX) May 07, 2025
Mars, one of our closest planetary neighbors, has fascinated people for hundreds of years, partly because it is so similar to Earth. It is about the same size, contains similar rocks and minerals, and is not too much farther out from the Sun. Because Mars and Earth share so many features, scientists have long wondered whether Mars could have once harbored life. Today, Mars is very cold and

Washington (AFP) May 6, 2025
Elon Musk's SpaceX on Tuesday received approval from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to increase the number of annual Starship rocket launches from five to 25 at its Texas base, marking a major boost for the company's ambitions. Following a multi-year environmental review, the FAA concluded that the expanded cadence of launches and landings would not significantly affect the env

Washington DC (SPX) May 07, 2025
Engineers, technicians, mission planners, and the four astronauts set to fly around the Moon next year on Artemis II, NASA's first crewed Artemis mission, are rapidly progressing toward launch. At the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, teams are working around the clock to move into integration and final testing of all SLS (Space Launch System) and Orion spacecraft elements. Recentl