Copernical Team
Testing the waters: Analyzing different solid states of water on other planets and moons
Just like on Earth, water on other planets, satellites, and even comets comes in a variety of forms depending on multiple factors such as pressure and temperature.
NASA explores solar wind with new view of small sun structures
The first CubeSat with a Hall-effect thruster has gone to space
Student-led teams aren't the only ones testing out novel electric propulsion techniques recently. Back in November, a company called Exotrail successfully tested a completely new kind of electric propulsion system in space—a small Hall-effect thruster.
Hall effect thrusters themselves have been around for awhile. However, they have been limited in their practicality, primarily because of their size. Normally they are about the size of a refrigerator and require kilowatts of power, making them impractical for any small satellites.
That's where Exotrail's novel system shines. It is about the size of a 2 liter bottle of soda (or pop if you're from that part of the world), and only requires around 50 watts of power. This makes the propulsion system ideal for satellites ranging from 10 to 250 kg.
The demonstration system launched aboard a PSLV rocket on November 7th, and completed its first in flight maneuvers using the Hall effect thruster in December. With those tests successfully completed the team plans further testing to prove how useful these thrusters can be for collision avoidance, orbital maintenance, and intentional deorbiting.
Keep this surface dirty
Image:
A ‘do not touch’ directive applies to both a Matisse painting and this Matiss experiment on board the International Space Station.
Designed to test the antibacterial properties of hydrophobic (or water-repelling) surfaces on the Station, the sample holders of the upgraded Matiss-2.5 experiment have done their work for roughly a year on board and are now back on Earth for analysis.
Bacteria are a big problem in space as they tend to build up in the constantly-recycled atmosphere of the Space Station. For the six astronauts living in humanity’s habitat in space, keeping the Station clean is an important
Autonomous driving on intelligent road at Europe’s edge
An ESA-supported effort put an intelligent road up in Finnish Lapland through its paces, assessing its suitability for testing autonomous vehicles in some of Europe’s most challenging driving conditions.
Astronauts to boost European connectivity
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station are planning a spacewalk to install a high-speed satellite link that will improve their connections with Europe.
Key modules for China's next space station ready for launch
Three major components of China's space station program have passed technical and quality assessments and are ready for upcoming missions, the China Manned Space Agency said.
Experts from the agency, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp reviewed the design, construction and test reports on the space station's Tianhe core module, the Tianzhou 2 car Sintavia expands rocket manufacturing with two M4K-4 Printers from AMCM GmbH
Sintavia, LLC, a designer and additive manufacturer of critical thermal components for the Aerospace, Defense, and Space industry, reports it has acquired two M4K-4 printers from AMCM GmbH of Starnberg, Germany.
Each of the two new M4K-4s, which are stretched versions of the commercially successful EOS M400-4 printer, uses four 1kW lasers to print single-un Statement on Satellite Constellations by German Astronomical Society
The German Astronomical Society (AG), the German association of amateur astronomers (VdS) and the Society of German-Speaking Planetariums (GDP) comment on the rapid increase in the number of satellites in the night sky. Artificial satellites have significant impact on the perception of the natural starry sky and the exploration of our universe.
Astronomical research institutes, observatori The Milky Way does the Wave
In results announced this week at the 237th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society, scientists from the Sloan Digital Sky survey present the most detailed look yet at the warp of our own Galaxy.
"Our usual picture of a spiral galaxy is as a flat disk, thinner than a pancake, peacefully rotating around its center," said Xinlun Cheng of the University of Virginia, the lead author of th 
