Copernical Team
SpaceX and Reflect Orbital plans would 'permanently scar' night sky, researchers warn
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ISS study identifies thresholds for muscle atrophy and fiber changes in reduced gravity
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The first modern rocket launched 100 years ago, beginning a century of both innovations and challenges for spaceflight
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Planning Titan entry? New lab tests flag nitrogen-driven heat shield debris risks
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How does an ice satellite detect a geomagnetic storm?
It seems improbable that a satellite designed to monitor polar ice sheets and floating sea ice could accurately measure a disturbance in Earth’s magnetic field. But that is just what ESA’s CryoSat mission did earlier this year.
Dragonfly mission begins rotorcraft integration, testing stage
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Safer space travel: Scientists create a cosmic ray simulator
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A look back at 2025 for Europe’s Spaceport
Week in images: 09-13 March 2026
Week in images: 09-13 March 2026
Discover our week through the lens
Plato readies for space-like tests
Image:
The European Space Agency’s mission to discover Earth-like exoplanets, Plato, is now sealed in the Large Space Simulator (LSS) chamber at ESA’s Test Centre for a series of vital tests under space‑like conditions.
Engineers placed Plato in the LSS on 18 February, and since the beginning of March the spacecraft has been experiencing the extreme temperatures and vacuum of space. This photo captures the satellite standing in the centre of the simulator, moments before the chamber was bolted closed.
The picture was taken from the top opening of the LSS and gives us a direct view of Plato’s 26