Pasadena CA (JPL) Dec 18, 2023
Earth planning date: Friday, December 15, 2023: Planning can often be a very careful balancing act, and today was certainly no exception. Because we are heading into the weekend, we'd usually get three sols to do all of our science. However, because there is a "soliday" in this plan to help re-synchronize Earth time and Mars time, we're actually only getting two sols. On top of that, we ca

London, UK (SPX) Dec 18, 2023
Diamond Light Source, the United Kingdom's national synchrotron science facility, is set to embark on a novel analysis of samples from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu, using its unique Dual Imaging and Diffraction (DIAD) beamline. This analysis, involving scientists from the Natural History Museum, including Dr. Ashley King, aims to unlock secrets about the origins of our solar system and potentia

Sydney, Australia (SPX) Dec 18, 2023
In a significant advancement in China's space exploration endeavors, the Long March 5 carrier rocket, renowned as one of the world's most powerful operational rockets, successfully deployed a remote-sensing satellite into space on Friday evening. This marked the sixth launch mission of the Long March 5, as confirmed by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, the nation's leading space contr

Sydney, Australia (SPX) Dec 18, 2023
China's space industry, long known for its state-driven Long March rocket series, is now witnessing a rapid expansion in its commercial sector. The Long March family celebrated its 500th spaceflight recently, launching a remote sensing satellite from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province using a Long March 2D carrier rocket. But it's not just the Long March rockets making

Berlin, Germany (SPX) Dec 18, 2023
Tyvak International has reached a significant milestone in the development of the Milani nano spacecraft, a vital component of the European Space Agency's (ESA) Hera planetary defense mission. This achievement was marked by the successful completion of the Test Readiness Review, a critical step in the project's progress. Milani holds the distinction of being ESA's first foray into deep-spa

Louisville CO (SPX) Dec 18, 2023
Sierra Space, a leading commercial space company building the first end-to-end business and technology platform in space to benefit of life on Earth, has delivered the first Dream Chaser spaceplane, Tenacity, to NASA's Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio. Dream Chaser, the world's only commercial spaceplane, has entered the final testing phase ahead of its first flight in 2024.

Washington DC (UPI) Dec 15, 2023
A huge solar flare, the biggest since 2017, disrupted radio communication for two hours on Earth Thursday. It was detected by a NASA telescope. "This is likely one of the largest solar radio events ever recorded," the U.S. Space Weather Prediction Center said in a statement. "Radio communication interference with aircraft were reported by multiple NWS Center Weather Service Units co-loc

Washington DC (UPI) Dec 15, 2023
Rocket Lab returned its Electron rocket into space for the first time since September with a successful New Zealand flight on Friday that released a Japanese satellite into orbit. The payload, the QPS-SAR-5, or Tsukuyomi-1 satellite, reached orbit about 57 minutes after launching from Rocket Lab's Launch Complex 1. The Japanese company iQPS develops and operates small SAR satellites and

Space is becoming ever more important to life on Earth – from managing climate change to responding to emergencies to digitalising the economy. To help policymakers and businesses take informed decisions about investing in space, ESA has today published plans to create robust and reliable data on the space economy, in collaboration with international partners.

Week in images: 11-15 December 2023

Discover our week through the lens