Copernical Team
Vega flight takes satellites to space
Today (Oct. 10) at 22:36 local time (02:36 BST, 03:36 CEST) the 23rd Vega flight saw its two main satellites launched and released into Earth orbit. The rocket's main passengers were the Earth observing THEOS-2 satellite and the meteorological satellite Triton.
THEOS-2 (THailand Earth Observation System-2) is an observation satellite manufactured by Airbus for the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency of Thailand. THEOS-2 is the largest of the two satellites in the series and will provide the Ministry of Agriculture of Thailand with information on water resources, weather and land use for planning and management.
Triton (formerly known as FORMOSAT-7R) is a Taiwan Space Agency (TASA) satellite that will collect signals that bounce off the sea surface to help scientists calculate wind field over our oceans. This data will be shared with Taiwan's Central Weather Administration, contributing to the forecast of typhoon intensity and their trajectory.
The satellites were released in a sun-synchronous orbit, meaning they will fly over the same spot on Earth at the same time each day—following the sun.
Connect to ESA Careers Day on 9 November
If you are interested in applying for a job at ESA, curious to know what opportunities we have for you or would like to hear about the projects our teams are working on, then mark your calendar for 9 November 2023! For this fully online event, we will be streaming a programme packed full of sessions giving you an insider’s look at STEM careers at ESA.
Watch: Earth Explorer 11 Consultation
Watch: Earth Explorer 11 Consultation
On 10-11 October, follow the discussions on the candidate missions for ESA's eleventh Earth Explorer at the User Consultation Meeting
European space firms set specifications for optical links
Sending vast quantities of data between satellites speedily and securely means using light to communicate. Now a group of space companies, research centres and universities working with ESA has established a series of specifications on how exactly satellites should use light to talk to one another – and to link to their ground stations.
Wanted: bright ideas to develop the lunar economy
ESA is calling for visionary ideas for how to use a constellation of communication and navigation satellites around the Moon to establish lunar businesses – and unlock opportunities on Earth.
Metal-loving microbes could replace chemical processing of rare earths
Rare earth elements power electric cars, wind turbines and smartphones. Retrieving these metals from raw ore requires processing with acids and solvents.
Now, Cornell scientists have characterized the genome of Shewanella oneidensis - a metal-loving bacteria with an affinity for rare earth elements - to replace the harsh chemical processing with a benign practice called biosorption. THEOS-2 Airbus-built satellite for Thailand successfully launched
The Airbus-built THEOS-2 Earth observation satellite has been successfully launched on a Vega rocket from Kourou, Europe's spaceport in French Guiana. The Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency of Thailand (GISTDA) selected Airbus as partner for its next-generation national geo-information system in 2018.
Jean-Marc Nasr, Head of Space Systems at Airbus, said: "This success Vega flies to bring satellites to space
Astronomers discover first step toward planet formation
Astronomers have gotten very good at spotting the signs of planet formation around stars. But for a complete understanding of planet formation, we also need to study examples where planet formation has not yet started.
Looking for something and not finding it can be even more difficult than finding it sometimes, but new detailed observations of the young star DG Taurus show that it has a s Pulsars may make dark matter glow
The central question in the ongoing hunt for dark matter is: what is it made of? One possible answer is that dark matter consists of particles known as axions. A team of astrophysicists, led by researchers from the universities of Amsterdam and Princeton, has now shown that if dark matter consists of axions, it may reveal itself in the form of a subtle additional glow coming from pulsating stars 
