Copernical Team
NASA moves forward with campaign to return Mars samples to Earth
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NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) are moving to the next phase in a campaign to deepen understanding of whether life ever existed on Mars and, in turn, better understand the origins of life on Earth.
NASA has approved the Mars Sample Return (MSR) multi-mission effort to advance to Phase A, preparing to bring the first pristine samples from Mars back to Earth. During this phase, the program will mature critical technologies and make critical design decisions, as well as assess industry partnerships.
The first endeavor of this campaign is in progress. NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover launched in July and is set to land on the Red Planet Feb. 18, 2021. The car-size rover will search for signs of ancient microbial life. Using a coring drill at the end of its robotic arm, Perseverance has the capability to gather samples of Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust), and hermetically seal them in collection tubes.
Russia launches UK telecom satellites into space
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A Soyuz rocket blasted off from the Vostochny cosmodrome in Russia's Far East on Friday carrying 36 UK telecommunications and internet satellites, the Roscosmos space agency said.
The launch was the first and only one to take place from the cosmodrome this year, Roscosmos told AFP.
The rocket took off at 1226 GMT, Roscosmos said, carrying satellites made by the British-based company OneWeb.
Originally planned for April, the launch was delayed after OneWeb collapsed and was forced to declare bankruptcy.
Last month, the UK government and Indian telecommunications giant Bharti took control of the company, investing $500 million a piece.
The London-headquartered company is working to complete the construction of a constellation of low earth orbit satellites providing enhanced broadband and other services to countries around the world.
OneWeb's first six satellites were launched by a Russian-made Soyuz rocket from the space centre in Kourou in French Guiana in February 2019.
The company launched 34 more in February this year from the Baikanour launch site in Kazakhstan, then another 34 in March.
OneWeb plans for its global commercial internet service to be operational by 2022, supported by some 650 satellites.
"Today's launch will be the first fully commercial spacecraft launch from the Vostochny cosmodrome," Roscosmos said.
Jupiter, Saturn merging in night sky, closest in centuries
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![Jupiter, Saturn merging in night sky, closest in centuries](https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/800/2020/jupitersatur.jpg "In this Sunday, Dec. 13, 2020 photo made available by NASA, Saturn, top, and Jupiter, below, are seen after sunset from Shenandoah National Park in Luray, Va. The two planets are drawing closer to each other in the sky as they head towards a "great conjunction" on Monday, Dec. 21, where the two giant planets will appear a tenth of a degree apart. (Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP)")
P120C motor configured for Ariane 6 is test fired
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The second qualification model of the P120C solid rocket motor, configured for Ariane 6, completed its hot firing on 7 October 2020 at Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana. Earth from Space: Lapland
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In this week's edition of the Earth from Space programme, the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission takes us over Lapland, the largest and northernmost region of Finland, just in time for Christmas.
See also Rovaniemi, Lapland to download the image.
Rovaniemi, Lapland
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The Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission takes us over Lapland, the largest and northernmost region of Finland, just in time for Christmas. Giant A-68A iceberg loses chunk of ice
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A large block of ice has broken off the northern tip of the A-68A iceberg as seen in new images captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission.
ESA partnering on UK’s new space thruster test site
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Today marks the start of final assembly of the UK’s new National Space Propulsion Facility. ESA is providing technical oversight and financial backing for the facility, which is being equipped with state-of-the-art infrastructure to test the most powerful engines used to shift the orbits of space missions.
Interplanetary internet & cameras in space: ESA’s OPS-SAT first results
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OPS-SAT is the world’s first open, in-orbit testbed for new spacecraft software and applications. By conducting low-cost, low-risk experiments with OPS-SAT, teams from across Europe are ushering in a new era for European spaceflight innovation and commercial opportunity.
Terahertz security for e-shopping centres – and US border
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COVID-19 has revolutionised security practices along with other parts of everyday life: screening people via personal ‘patdowns’ is no longer safe. ESA-developed passive terahertz technology – enabling the detection of items hidden under clothing from a distance – is helping to fill the gap. The US Customs and Border Protection agency is among the latest of more than 200 users of the technology, deploying it to secure the US border.