Manchester UK (SPX) Jul 14, 2023
A collaboration of scientists from The University of Manchester and the University of Hong Kong have found a source for the mysterious alignment of stars near the Galactic Centre. The alignment of planetary nebulae was discovered ten years ago by a Manchester PhD student, Bryan Rees, but has remained unexplained. New data obtained with the European Southern Observatory Very Large Tel

Paris (ESA) Jul 14, 2023
The European Space Agency (ESA) is set to support the Chandrayaan-3 mission, launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). This Moon mission features a lunar lander and a rover, tasked to perform scientific operations on the lunar surface for a period of 14 days. To ensure the mission's success, ground stations worldwide, coordinated by ESA and NASA, are se

Washington DC (SPX) Jul 14, 2023
After a disheartening 2019 moon landing failure, India's lunar exploration effort will resume Friday with the planned launch of Chandrayaan-3, a sophisticated, automated mission to touch down softly and demonstrate how its rover can navigate the surface. Liftoff is planned for 5:05 p.m. EDT from the Satish Dhawan Space Station in Andhra province of Sriharikota just above Chennai on the sou

Pasadena CA (JPL) Jul 14, 2023
Earth Planning Date: Wednesday, July 12, 2023 - A blue hue inches over the horizon illuminating a sea of rocks scattered across the landscape like the scales of a fish. Among the sea, alone in the vastness, a rover sleeps. The time is now 9:25, in a "time zone" defined for itself. The waking rover receives instructions from a tiny speck of light, far away and slowly creeping towards the other si

Berlin, Germany (SPX) Jul 14, 2023
In the hush of a Norwegian fjord, under the spectral glow of a waning crescent Moon, ESA astronauts Alexander Gerst and Samantha Cristoforetti have started their journey into lunar geology. The astronauts have been meticulously prepared for their first field expedition, equipped with digitally enhanced toolkits and bracing for the rigors of ESA's PANGAEA course. Adorned in state-of-the-art

Paris (ESA) Jul 14, 2023
If you think it's only possible to be held in orbit around a physical 'thing' with a large mass - a planet or a star, say - you'd be wrong. It is in fact possible to orbit around an invisible point, an oasis of forces, infinitesimal in size. ESA's Euclid mission was launched on 1 July 2023 to uncover the secrets of the dark universe. Its destination? Like many astronomy missions before it, Lagra

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jul 14, 2023
The US-based small satellite launch service provider, Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB), has recently signed a deal with Japan's Synspective, an Earth imaging company, for two dedicated Electron launch missions. With this development, Synspective's contracted missions with Rocket Lab have now been extended to a total of six, reflecting the strong and evolving collaboration between the two ente

Beijing (XNA) Jul 14, 2023
China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), a leading Chinese space contractor has revealed plans to create an expansive remote-sensing satellite network by the end of this decade. The announcement, made on Thursday, is an impressive testament to the ongoing advancements in China's space exploration and surveillance capabilities. Managed by CASIC Space Engineering Development

Berlin, Germany (SPX) Jul 14, 2023
The rapidly expanding realm of information technology is ever-dependent on unobstructed access to space-based data and communication networks, bringing the need for technical mechanisms that can safeguard, repair, reinforce, or develop essential space infrastructures to the forefront. Ensuring new satellites can be placed and activated in orbit within a matter of hours or days is of prime

The University of Texas at Austin
Austin TX (SPX) Jul 14, 2023 Stars beam brightly out of the darkness of space thanks to fusion, atoms melding together and releasing energy. But what if there's another way to power a star? A team of three astrophysicists - Katherine Freese at The University of Texas at Austin, in collaboration with Cosmin Ilie and Jillian Paulin '23 at Colgate University - analyzed images from the James