Copernical Team
NASA's NICER probes the squeezability of neutron stars
Matter in the hearts of neutron stars—dense remnants of exploded massive stars—takes the most extreme form we can measure. Now, thanks to data from NASA's Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER), an X-ray telescope on the International Space Station, scientists have discovered that this mysterious matter is less squeezable than some physicists predicted.
The finding is based on NICER's observations of PSR J0740+6620 (J0740 for short), the most massive known neutron star, which lies over 3,600 light-years away in the northern constellation Camelopardalis. J0740 is in a binary star system with a white dwarf, the cooling remnant of a Sun-like star, and rotates 346 times per second. Previous observations place the neutron star's mass at about 2.1 times the Sun's.
"We're surrounded by normal matter, the stuff of our everyday experience, but there's much we don't know about how matter behaves, and how it is transformed, under extreme conditions," said Zaven Arzoumanian, the NICER science lead at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
Reprogrammable satellite design finalised
The design for a series of telecommunications satellites that can be completely repurposed after launch has just been completed.
Satellites highlight a 30-year rise in ocean acidification
Oceans play a vital role in taking the heat out of climate change, but at a cost. New research supported by ESA and using different satellite measurements of various aspects of seawater along with measurements from ships has revealed how our ocean waters have become more acidic over the last three decades – and this is having a detrimental effect on marine life.
How can space support green financial innovation?
Space technologies and satellite applications are set to boost green financial innovation in Europe, creating jobs and boosting prosperity.
20 years of Europeans on the Space Station
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20 years of Europeans on the Space Station Arrival of world-first test facility
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Arrival of world-first test facility 
China's space-tracking ship departs on new mission in Pacific
Space-tracking ship Yuanwang 5 departed from a port in East China's Jiangsu province on Tuesday for a maritime monitoring mission in the Pacific Ocean.
Before this voyage, the crew members have examined onboard facilities and replenished their supplies for the upcoming mission, after the ship returned from a mission on March 29.
Yuanwang 5, China's third-generation space-tracking shi Accion Systems set for launch of two TILE 2 in-space propulsion systems
Accion Systems today announces that two TILE 2 in-space propulsion system units will launch onboard an Astro Digital micro-satellite aboard the June 2021 SpaceX Falcon 9 rideshare launch. Astro Digital's Tenzing satellite is a rideshare satellite, hosting several payloads. Also included are two TILE 2 ion electrospray propulsion systems that will test on-orbit maneuvers in LEO and will test prox ESA awards Euroconsult and ESPI with study on the future of European space transportation
Euroconsult has been commissioned by the European Space Agency (ESA) to conduct a study on the future of the European space transportation sector. Euroconsult, the leading global consulting firm specializing in space markets, has partnered with ESPI to investigate European institutional mission scenarios for the period beyond 2030 following the ITT on New European Space Transportation Solutions 
