Copernical Team
Frosty volcanoes discovered in Mars’s tropics
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ESA’s ExoMars and Mars Express missions have spotted water frost for the first time near Mars’s equator, a part of the planet where it was thought impossible for frost to exist.
Earth's Climate May Have Been Affected by Interstellar Clouds 2 Million Years Ago
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Around two million years ago, Earth experienced multiple ice ages, coinciding with significant climatic changes. Scientists propose that these ice ages were caused by factors such as the planet's tilt, rotation, plate tectonics, volcanic eruptions, and atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. A new study suggests that the sun's position in the galaxy could also have influenced Earth's climate.
I Yahsat Contracts Airbus for New Al Yah Satellites
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Al Yah Satellite Communications Company PJSC (Yahsat) has contracted Airbus Defence and Space for its new geostationary telecommunications satellites, Al Yah 4 ("AY4") and Al Yah 5 ("AY5").
This step follows the signing of an Authorisation-to-Proceed with Airbus in Q2 2023 to begin initial activities related to the AY4 and AY5 satellite program.
Airbus will design and build the AY4 a European Consortium Receives euro 15M for Inflatable Heat Shield Development
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A European consortium, led by Spanish mission and system integrator Elecnor Deimos ("Deimos"), is working to develop an inflatable heat shield (IHS) for recovering rocket stages from space. This system could also protect cargo during re-entry and may be used for Mars missions.
ICARUS ("Inflatable Concept Aeroshell for the Recovery of a re-Usable launcher Stage") has received euro 10 milli ILA 2024 - Day 5
Teaming up for space fun
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PLAYMOBIL's little robot space explorer ROBert was reunited with ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer and ESA Kids mascot Paxi as they teamed up to meet young space fans at ESA's Space Days. Children had an absolute blast at ESA's Space Days, held at the PLAYMOBIL FunPark in Zirndorf, Germany from 30 May to 2 June 2024.
Help us improve the ESA website
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The ESA website is a key tool to help us communicate about our activities. We want to make sure that our website meets the needs and expectations of our audience. That's why we are launching a survey to collect your feedback and suggestions on how to improve the esa.int website.
New method could allow multi-robot teams to autonomously and reliably explore other planets
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While roboticists have developed increasingly sophisticated systems over the past decades, ensuring that these systems can autonomously operate in real-world settings without mishaps often proves challenging. This is particularly difficult when these robots are designed to be deployed in complex environments, including space and other planets.
Researchers at the University of Glasgow recently developed a new methodology that could allow teams of multiple rovers to autonomously and reliably explore other planets. This method, introduced in a paper pre-published on arXiv, incorporates data derived from various sources, including imaging data, maps and information collected by sensors, to plan efficient routes for different robots in a team.
"Using a team of planetary exploration rovers to explore the Martian surface, rather than a single rover, could greatly extend the scientific capabilities of a mission," Sarah Swinton, first author of the paper, told Tech Xplore.
