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Copernical Team
NASA announces 16 people who will study UFOs to see what's natural—and what isn't
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![Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain ufo](https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/800a/2021/ufo.jpg)
What is behind all these UFO sightings? We may find out.
NASA announced the 16 people who will spend the next nine months studying unidentified aerial phenomena, also known as UFOs.
Using unclassified data, the team will "lay the groundwork for future study" of UFOs by examining how the data is gathered by the public, local government and other sources. The goal is to have a roadmap for NASA's data analysis on the flying objects, and determine what events are natural or not.
"Exploring the unknown in space and the atmosphere is at the heart of who we are at NASA," Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA, said in a statement. "Understanding the data we have surrounding unidentified aerial phenomena is critical to helping us draw scientific conclusions about what is happening in our skies. Data is the language of scientists and makes the unexplainable, explainable."
The announcement of the study participants comes amid a renewed interest in UFOs. In June 2021, the office of the U.S. Director of National Intelligence released a highly anticipated report examining unidentified aerial phenomena, but no "firm conclusions" could be drawn on more than 140 instances.
Analysis of gases recovered from asteroid Ryugu by Hayabusa2 spacecraft
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![Back scattered electron image of a Ryugu pellet sample (A0105-10). The sample is mainly composed of phyllosilicates (dark gray regions). Spherical magnetite aggregates, thin magnetite plates, and iron sulfide grains are also present. Carbonates are found close to magnetites and sulfides. Red arrows indicate minerals labeled “mt” for magnetite, “po” for pyrrhotite (iron sulfide), and “ca” for carbonate (rimmed with red dotted ovals), respectively. Credit: <i>Science</i> (2022). DOI: 10.1126/science.abo0431 Analysis of gases recovered from asteroid Ryugu by Hayabusa2 spacecraft](https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/800a/2022/analysis-of-gases-reco.jpg)
Ariane 5: payload and geography open super-efficient path to GEO
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Ariane 5’s 7 September 2022 launch made headlines for orbiting Europe’s tallest-ever telecommunications satellite, but the VA258 mission also stands out for its trajectory – one of the most extreme examples yet flown of a super-efficient path to geostationary (GEO) orbit.
Boosting Earth science
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With science at the core of the Earth Observation FutureEO programme, ESA has opened a new scientific facility, the Science Hub, which offers new opportunities for collaborative research to further boost the Agency’s and its Member States scientific output.
The scary sound of Earth’s magnetic field
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Despite being essential to life on Earth, the magnetic field isn’t something we can actually see in itself, or ever hear. But, remarkably, scientists at the Technical University of Denmark have taken magnetic signals measured by ESA’s Swarm satellite mission and converted them into sound – and for something that protects us, the result is pretty scary.
Northrop Grumman Australia integrates end-to-end control segment into Parallax Labs
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Rivada Space Networks signs MoU with SpeQtral to develop ultra-secure communications
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Space Micro awarded Orbital Prime Contract by US Space Force
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China's deep space exploration laboratory recruits young talents
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New walking robot design could revolutionize how we build things in space
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