Copernical Team
Nuclear fusion: building a star on Earth is hard, which is why we need better materials
Nuclear fusion is the process that powers the Sun and all other stars. During fusion, the nuclei of two atoms are brought close enough together that they fuse together, releasing huge amounts of energy. Replicating this process on Earth has the potential to deliver almost limitless electricity with virtually zero carbon emissions and greater safety, and without the same level of nuclear wa
NASA's ICESat-2 satellite reveals shape, depth of Antarctic ice shelf fractures
When a block of ice the size of Houston, Texas, broke off from East Antarctica's Amery Ice Shelf in 2019, scientists had anticipated the calving event, but not exactly where it would happen. Now, satellite data can help scientists measure the depth and shape of ice shelf fractures to better predict when and where calving events will occur, according to researchers. Ice shelves make up near
Space Force integration critical to CJADC2 success
Headquarters U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa hosted a joint, multi-national Combined Joint All Domain Command and Control demonstration in February. The USAFE-AFAFRICA-led demonstration, which took place in the Baltic Sea region, incorporated the assistance of the 16th Space Control Squadron located at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo. The collaboration confirmed the ess
Smart Dragon 3 getting ready for 2022 launch
China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, the nation's leading space contractor, plans to carry out the maiden flight of its Smart Dragon 3 carrier rocket next year, a company executive said. Li Hong, deputy general manager at the State-owned conglomerate, said on Sunday that research and development of the new rocket began at the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology in December.
exactEarth to provide Advanced AIS services for MDA's Dark Vessel Detection Program
exactEarth Ltd. has signed an agreement with MDA to provide advanced Satellite-AIS data services as part of MDA's recently announced Dark Vessel Detection ("DVD") program for the Government of Canada. The DVD program is intended to detect and identify vessels that have switched off their AIS transponders and are engaged in illegal, unreported and unregulated ("IUU") fishing. IUU fishing is
China's Chang'e 4 lander and rover resume work for 28th lunar day
The lander and rover of China's Chang'e 4 probe have begun their 28th lunar day of work on the far side of the moon. Landing on the moon on Jan. 3, 2019, the Chang'e 4 probe has survived 795 Earth days on the moon, the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the China National Space Administration said Monday. A lunar day is equal to about 14 days on Earth, and a lunar night is
Moving into Cislunar Space
The space community is moving beyond Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) and expanding more activities toward the Moon and in cislunar space, i. e., lying between the earth and the moon or the moon's orbit. Thus, as in LEO, space is getting more congested with crowding and pollution problems. As countries expand commercial and military cislunar operations we can expect to face the challenges of managing space
Research contributes to understanding of hypersonic flow
Using data collected in a NASA Langley Mach 6 wind tunnel, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign replicated the hypersonic flow conditions of a compression ramp flow by means of Direct Numerical Simulation. The simulation yielded an abundance of additional data, which can be used to better understand the phenomena that occur surrounding vehicles traveling at hypersonic speed
How would rain be different on an alien world?
On Titan, Saturn's largest moon, it rains on a regular basis. As with Earth, these rains are the result of liquid evaporating on the surface, condensing in the skies, and falling back to the surface as precipitation. On Earth, this is known as the hydrological (or water) cycle, which is an indispensable part of our climate. In Titan's case, the same steps are all there, but it is methane that is being exchanged and not water.
In recent years, scientists have found evidence of similar patterns involving exoplanets, with everything from molten metal to lava rain! This raises the question of just how exotic the rains may be on alien worlds.
ESA and Mattel help to close the ‘Dream Gap’
ESA and international toy manufacturer Mattel are taking further steps to raise awareness of the importance of female role models during times of pandemic and beyond.