Copernical Team
ESA defines elements of future European space transportation solutions
China advances space cooperation in 2020: blue book
China actively promoted international space cooperation in 2020, offering satellite exports and launches, cooperative research and application services to the world, according to a recent report on China's aerospace industry. By the end of last year, 51 Chinese rockets had launched 59 foreign commercial satellites into space, said the 2020 Blue Book of China Aerospace Science and Technolog
The Robot will see you now
In the era of social distancing, using robots for some health care interactions is a promising way to reduce in-person contact between health care workers and sick patients. However, a key question that needs to be answered is how patients will react to a robot entering the exam room. Researchers from MIT and Brigham and Women's Hospital recently set out to answer that question. In a study
NASA, Blue Origin Partner to bring lunar gravity conditions closer to Earth
At one-sixth that of Earth, the unique gravity of the lunar surface is one of the many variable conditions that technologies bound for the Moon will need to perform well in. NASA will soon have more options for testing those innovations in lunar gravity thanks to a collaboration with Blue Origin to bring new testing capabilities to the company's New Shepard reusable suborbital rocket system.
Developing Virtual Partners to Assist Military Personnel
Increasing worker knowledge, productivity, and efficiency has been a seemingly never ending quest for the military as well as commercial companies. Today, military personnel are expected to perform a growing number of complex tasks while interacting with increasingly sophisticated machines and platforms. Artificial intelligence (AI) enabled assistants have the potential to aid users as the
Exotrail signs license with Thales Alenia Space for ExoOPS
Exotrail signed a license contract with Thales Alenia Space for ExoOPS, its simulation and operation software dedicated to space mobility. Thales Alenia Space, Joint Venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), becomes a customer of ExoOPS - Mission Design. Thales Alenia Space and Exotrail signed the contract in January. ExoOPS - Mission Design is Exotrail's simulation and mission desi
A better way to measure acceleration
You're going at the speed limit down a two-lane road when a car barrels out of a driveway on your right. You slam on the brakes, and within a fraction of a second of the impact an airbag inflates, saving you from serious injury or even death. The airbag deploys thanks to an accelerometer - a sensor that detects sudden changes in velocity. Accelerometers keep rockets and airplanes on the
Explaining Parker Solar Probe's magnetic puzzle
When NASA's Parker Solar Probe sent back the first observations from its voyage to the Sun, scientists found signs of a wild ocean of currents and waves quite unlike the near-Earth space much closer to our planet. This ocean was spiked with what became known as switchbacks: rapid flips in the Sun's magnetic field that reversed direction like a zig-zagging mountain road. Scientists think pi
Ball Aerospace completes CDR for Roman Space Telescope instrument
Ball Aerospace, partnered with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, successfully completed the critical design review of the Wide Field Instrument (WFI), which will be the primary science instrument on NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, formerly known as the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST). "Now that we have passed this critical milestone, we will continue to work hand-in
China, Russia to jointly build lunar post
China and Russia have agreed to join hands in building and running a robotic scientific outpost on the moon or in lunar orbit, according to the China National Space Administration. The administration said in a statement on Tuesday evening that its head, Zhang Kejian, and his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Rogozin, director-general of State Space Corporation Roscosmos, signed a memorandum of u