Copernical Team
Researchers quantify the ideal in situ construction method for lunar habitats
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As the lunar exploration mission evolves from exploration to construction and utilization, in situ lunar construction becomes an imperative requirement. The key is regolith solidification and formation, aiming to maximize local resource utilization while minimizing transportation and maintenance costs.
Nearly 20 techniques have been employed for preparing regolith-based construction materials, each with distinct requirements and capabilities. Professor Feng from Tsinghua University has conducted a comprehensive review, precise classification, and quantitative evaluation of regolith solidification and formation techniques, shedding light on key challenges and future development directions.
SpaceX tallies 1st of two launches over two days from Space Coast
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SpaceX launched Wednesday evening the first of a pair of Space Coast rockets in two days, both carrying batches of the company's Starlink satellites.
A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 23 of the internet satellites for SpaceX's growing constellation lifted off at 5:26 p.m. Eastern time from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-A amid clear blue skies.
This is the 12th flight of the first-stage booster that will aim for a recovery landing downrange in the Atlantic on the droneship Just Read the Instructions.
This was the 28th launch from the Space Coast in 2024, with launch No. 29 targeting Thursday evening from neighboring Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Another Falcon 9 carrying more Starlink satellites is aiming for liftoff during four-hour window from 6:40 p.m. to 10:40 p.m. at Canaveral's Space Launch Complex 40 with a backup window Friday from 6:14 p.m. to 10:14 p.m.
Space Launch Delta 45's weather squadron forecasts a 90% chance for good conditions for that launch.
These will be the 157th and 158th overall Starlink launches since the first operational deployment of the internet satellites in 2019.
The Lyrid meteor shower peaks this weekend, but it may be hard to see it
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Earth Observation Excellence Award 2024 winner
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Celebrating the outstanding efforts of scientists and researchers who have advanced the innovative application of Earth observation data, ESA proudly announces the recipient of this year's esteemed Excellence Award. Dr Iestyn Woolway, from Bangor University in the UK, wins the 2024 Earth Observation Excellence Award.
Dubai floods seen from space
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Dubai floods seen from space Hubble goes hunting for small main-belt asteroids
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Astronomers recently used a trove of archived images taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope to visually snag a largely unseen population of smaller asteroids in their tracks. The treasure hunt required pursuing 37 000 Hubble images spanning 19 years. The payoff was finding 1701 asteroid trails, with 1031 of those asteroids uncatalogued. About 400 of these uncatalogued asteroids are about below a km in size.
NASA chief warns of Chinese military presence in space
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China is bolstering its space capabilities and is using its civilian program to mask its military objectives, the head of the US space agency NASA said Wednesday, warning that Washington must remain vigilant.
"China has made extraordinary strides especially in the last 10 years, but they are very, very secretive," NASA administrator Bill Nelson told lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
"We believe that a lot of their so-called civilian space program is a military program. And I think, in effect, we are in a race," Nelson added.
He said he hoped Beijing would "come to its senses and understand that civilian space is for peaceful uses," but added, "We have not seen that demonstrated by China."
Nelson's comment came as he testified before the House appropriations committee on NASA's budget for fiscal 2025.
He said the United States should land on the moon again before China does, as both nations pursue lunar missions, but he expressed concern that were Beijing to arrive first, it could say, "'Okay, this is our territory, you stay out.'"
The United States is planning to put astronauts back on the moon in 2026 with its Artemis 3 mission.
Where missions come alive
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Step inside ESA's Main Control Room at the Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany
Photo credit: ESA/J. Mai
Orbital changes suggest recent formation of underground ocean on Saturn's Mimas
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Recent studies suggest that Mimas, one of Saturn's moons, has developed a substantial underground ocean due to a decrease in its orbital eccentricity, leading to the melting and thinning of its icy exterior.
"Previously, we established that Mimas could currently host an ocean world only if it previously had a thicker icy shell. However, the process transitioning from thick to thinner ice w Tyvak International's Centauri-6 satellite enters operational orbit
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Tyvak International SRL, a subsidiary of Terran Orbital Corporation (NYSE: LLAP) based in Torino, Italy, has announced the successful launch of the Centauri-6 satellite. Developed in collaboration with Fleet Space Technologies, the satellite was deployed during the SpaceX Bandwagon-1 mission from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 23:16 UTC on April 7th.
"We are thril 
