A fascinating feature takes centre stage in this new image from ESA’s Mars Express: a dark, uneven scar slicing through marbled ground at the foot of a giant volcano.

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Space weather can affect satellites in orbit, trigger geomagnetic storms on Earth and interfere with ground infrastructure. We need to understand it better, and the best way to do that is look at where it comes from. 

The Sun’s corona, its upper atmospheric layer, gives rise to the solar wind and is where coronal mass ejections are spawned: massive outward explosions of charged plasma. ESA’s Proba-3 double-satellite mission will use formation flying to open up sustained coronal views. Mimicking a total solar eclipse, one satellite will block out the fiery face of the Sun by casting a shadow onto the other.

Washington DC (UPI) Jul 1, 2024
The University of Michigan may have topped its college football title with an out-of-this-world science challenge win. NASA named its team as the winner of its 2024 Human Lander Challenge at a forum in Huntsville, Ala., on Friday. Michigan beat out 11 other universities throughout the United States who made presentations in front of NASA and space industry experts addressing the

Washington DC (SPX) Jun 29, 2024
Mars rovers uncover new discoveries through careful decision-making by scientists. The Mars 2020 mission focuses on Jezero Crater's geology and searching for signs of ancient microbial life with the Perseverance rover. Researchers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California utilized innovative mapping methods to guide both the rover and the Ingenuity helicopter, using open-s

Sydney, Australia (SPX) Jul 01, 2024
China's Tianwen 2 probe is set to launch on a Long March 3B rocket in May 2025. This ambitious mission aims to return samples from a near-Earth asteroid and then explore a comet, marking a significant step in space exploration. The probe's first target is the near-Earth asteroid 469219, also known as Kamo'oalewa in Hawaiian. Tianwen 2 will conduct remote sensing to identify potential landi

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jul 01, 2024
Space Systems Command's (SSC) two Enhanced Polar System Recapitalization (EPS-R) payloads, integrated with Space Norway's Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission (ASBM) vehicles, have arrived at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. The satellites are set for final integration with the launch vehicle, targeting a dual launch as early as July. The payloads and host vehicles received shipment

Washington DC (UPI) Jun 29, 2024
SpaceX launched spy satellites for the United States from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Friday night. The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex 4 East at the opening of a two-hour window, 8:14 p.m. PDT. The United States' National Reconnaissance Office described the classified mission as "the second launch of NRO's proliferated architecture, delivering critical sp

Paris (AFP) July 2, 2024
Europe's new Ariane 6 rocket is due to blast off for the first time next week, but it will launch into a quickly changing market for heavy space launchers increasingly dominated by SpaceX. Here are some of the other big rockets competing for the lucrative job of hauling satellites and other missions into space. - Ariane 6 - The first flight of the European Space Agency's biggest roc

Washington DC (UPI) Jul 1, 2024
In its third attempt in more than a year, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency successfully launched Monday its new H3 rocket carrying with it this time an observation satellite intended to monitor damage on Earth from natural disasters. "Today, the payload, Daichi-4, was deployed into its operational environment - space - and has commenced its mission," Hiroshi Yamakawa, JAXA's pre

Paris (AFP) July 2, 2024
Europe's new Ariane 6 rocket is set for its first-ever launch next week, carrying with it the continent's hopes of regaining independent access to space and fending off soaring competition from Elon Musk's SpaceX. After four years of delays, the European Space Agency's (ESA) most powerful rocket yet is finally due to blast off from Europe's spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, at 3:00 pm (180