Copernical Team
Work progresses toward Ingenuity's First Flight on Mars
The Ingenuity team has identified a software solution for the command sequence issue identified on Sol 49 (April 9) during a planned high-speed spin-up test of the helicopter's rotors. Over the weekend, the team considered and tested multiple potential solutions to this issue, concluding that minor modification and reinstallation of Ingenuity's flight control software is the most robust path for
Blue Origin rocket test will monitor capsule access by humans
Jeff Bezos' space company, Blue Origin, plans to launch Wednesday morning from Texas what may be the last test flight for its New Shepard rocket before it carries people later this year. But people will be getting into and out of the capsule atop the 60-foot-high rocket as part of the test. Liftoff is planned for 11:15 a.m. EDT from the company's spaceport near Van Horn, about 120 miles so
Russia space chief blasts US for omitting Gagarin in post
The head of Russia's space agency used strong language to criticise US State Department members for failing to mention Yuri Gagarin in a post marking 60 years since his historic spaceflight. On Monday, Russia led by President Vladimir Putin marked the 60th anniversary of the legendary flight that made Gagarin the first human in orbit. The US State Department issued a Facebook post commem
China to develop aerospace as strategic emerging industry
China will continue to exert great efforts to boost aerospace as a strategic emerging industry in the next five years, a senior aerospace official said. The China National Space Administration (CNSA) is drawing up a plan for the country's space development during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), said Zhang Kejian, head of the CNSA. During this period, China will promote pr
Lavrov calls for talks on binding treaty to prohibit weapons in space
Russia has called for talks to create a legally binding international instrument that would ban the deployment of any type of weapons in space, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on the 60th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's historic space flight. The anniversary of the first Soviet cosmonaut's flight, marking the beginning of humanity's space era, is celebrated every year in Russia a
China sets up expert advisory committee for lunar samples
China has set up an expert committee for lunar samples, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) said Tuesday. According to the regulations on lunar sample management, the CNSA established the committee as an expert advisory institution for the management of lunar samples. The committee aims to give full play to the scientific value of lunar samples and standardize their manage
NASA will continue working with Russia on space despite China plan
Russia and NASA will continue to cooperate in space in the near future, even as Russia moves to work with China on lunar exploration, experts said. Russia and China announced March 9 they will cooperate on China's planned International Scientific Lunar Station, while the United States will have no involvement in the Chinese space program under a law passed in 2011. But ultimately
NASA delays Mars helicopter flight again for software update
NASA has postponed the flight of the Mars helicopter Ingenuity, the first controlled flight on another planet, to work through a software problem. The flight had been planned for Thursday and then delayed to Sunday. NASA didn't immediately set a new target date for the flight. "Our best estimate of a targeted flight date is fluid right now, but we are working toward achieving the
Drone test of Hera mission's asteroid radar
Video: How to clear Earth's orbit of space debris
On 20 April 2021, ESA will host the 8th European Conference on Space Debris from Darmstadt, in Germany. Scientists, engineers, industry experts and policy makers will spend the virtual four-day conference discussing the latest issues surrounding space debris. They will exchange the latest research, try to come up with solutions for potential problems and define the future direction of any necessary action.
There are currently over 129 million objects larger than a millimeter in orbits around Earth. These range from inactive satellites to flakes of paint. But no matter how small the item of debris, anything traveling up to 56,000 km/h in an orbit is dangerous if it comes into contact with the many satellites that connect us around the world, be it for GPS, mobile phone data or internet connectivity. The solution is to take action before it's too late. This is why ESA has commissioned ClearSpace-1—the world's first mission to remove space debris—for launch in 2025.
This film contains interviews with ESA Head of Space Debris Office Tim Flohrer; ESA Head of Clean Space Office Luisa Innocenti; and Xanthi Oikonomidou, ESA Space Debris Office.