Copernical Team
Mars helicopter Ingenuity could usher in new era of exploration
NASA's plan to fly a helicopter on Mars for the first time in a few weeks could start a new era of interplanetary exploration like the space agency's little Sojourner rover did in the 1990s, according to several experts.
The Mars helicopter, Ingenuity, will be dropped from the Perseverance rover soon, but NASA hasn't determined the exact date. The rover ejected a shield that covered the Kepler Communications reports successful Launch of two GEN1 satellites
Kepler Communications welcomed two new satellites into their constellation today, further expanding the active constellation to 15 satellites in total. These two satellites, KEPLER-6 and KEPLER-7, were successfully launched via Soyuz 2 out of Baikonur Cosmodrome as part of the CAS500-1 mission at approximately 02:07 AM EDT.
Once fully operational within the constellation these will add add UNSW Canberra Space launches world-leading CubeSat satellites
UNSW Canberra Space's M2 CubeSat satellites successfully launched with Rocket Lab's 'They Go Up So Fast' mission from New Zealand earlier today, representing a significant step forward in Australia's sovereign space capabilities.
The M2 mission, a collaboration between UNSW Canberra Space and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), brings together emerging technologies that deliver advanced Russia puts 38 foreign satellites into orbit
Russia on Monday put 38 foreign satellites into orbit after a succesful launch from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan following delays due to technical issues.
Video published by the Russian space agency Roscosmos showed its Soyuz rocket launching against grey and cloudy skies at 0607 GMT.
"The Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket with the Fregat upper stage and 38 spacecraft from 18 countries took off from the Baikonur cosmodrome," Roscosmos said on its Twitter account.
Later Monday, Roscosmos said in a statement that the rocket had successfully placed into orbit the 38 satellites from more than a dozen countries, including South Korea, Japan, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Germany, Italy and Brazil.
Among them was the Challenge-1, the first satellite made completely in Tunisia, which was created by the Telnet telecommunications group.
The launch was twice postponed from Saturday after a surge in voltage was detected.
Tunisia engineers reach for stars with satellite launch
Tunisia celebrated the launch Monday of its first domestically made satellite, hoping it would inspire young engineers to reach for the stars at home rather than join those emigrating overseas.
Challenge-1, built by a team from telecommunications giant TelNet, blasted off along with 37 other satellites aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Monday.
That made Tunisia the sixth African country to manufacture its own satellite and see it reach space.
"It's a source of pride to have taken part in this project," said Khalil Chiha, 27, who trained at Tunisia's National Engineering School in the central city of Sfax.
"Working in the aeronautical or aerospace sector is a dream."
Tunisia had been struck by an economic crisis and skyrocketing unemployment even before the coronavirus pandemic, and recent months have seen growing anti-government protests.
Keeping track of spacecraft as Earth’s water alters its spin
- Mass is constantly being redistributed around our planet, as Earth’s atmosphere, oceans and other bodies of water on and under the surface melt, shift and stir.
- This mass redistribution alters Earth’s centre of gravity, which in turn speeds up and slows down the planet's spin – and so the length of the day – as well as changing the orientation of its 'spin axis'.
- These changes to Earth’s spin and orientation occur over relatively short timescales of days and weeks, and threaten communication between ground stations and missions in orbit and across the Solar System.
- ESA is working
Where did Mars’ water go?
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Where did Mars’ water go? How ESA helps South Africa share water fairly
Clustered at the edge of the Crocodile River in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa, stand thousands of farms and small holdings growing fresh fruit and sugar cane. Water to irrigate the crops is taken from the river, but this slows its flow rate and leaves less for those downstream.
Mars water loss shaped by seasons and storms
Mars has lost most of its once plentiful water, with small amounts remaining in the planet’s atmosphere. ESA’s Mars Express now reveals more about where this water has gone, showing that its escape to space is accelerated by dust storms and the planet’s proximity to the Sun, and suggesting that some water may have retreated underground.
Mars findings cataloged in Navajo language
Native people have had ties to land in North America since time immemorial, and now that connection is expanding to the cosmos.
The Perseverance rover has been on Mars for a month, collecting data and making discoveries with each passing day.
A number of the findings, through a collaboration with NASA, have been catalogued in Diné Bizaad, the Navajo language.
The Perseverance team started with a list of 50 words and will expand the list as needed. According to a tweet from the rover itself, some terms have already been used, such as tsé łichíí (red rock), yéigo (diligence) and séítah (amongst the sand).
Before landing in the Jezero Crater on Máaz, Navajo for Mars, the Perseverance team divided the crater into a grid of "quadrangles" that were 1 square mile (2.6 square kilometers) in size and named the "quads" after national parks on Earth with similar geology.
The rover touched down in an area named after Arizona's Canyon de Chelly National Monument, which is in the Navajo Nation.
Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez, along with Vice President Myron Lizer and other advisers, came up with words from things they saw at the landing site, Indian Country Today reported.
