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Copernical Team
European Space Agency to launch two missions on SpaceX rockets
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![One of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rockets, which the European Space will use to launch two missions. One of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rockets, which the European Space will use to launch two missions](https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/800a/2022/one-of-spacexs-falcon.jpg)
The European Space Agency announced Thursday it will use SpaceX's Falcon 9 rockets to launch two scientific missions because of delays to its own Ariane 6 rocket and the cancellation of flights on Russia's Soyuz launchers.
The ESA's space telescope Euclid had been planned to launch next year on a Soyuz rocket, but in February Russia pulled out in response to European sanctions over Moscow's war in Ukraine.
Euclid, which aims to better understand the mysteries of dark energy and dark matter, will now instead catch a ride into space on the Falcon 9 rocket of billionaire Elon Musk's US company SpaceX.
The ESA's Hera mission, which will probe the Didymos asteroid that NASA successfully knocked off course in September by smashing the DART spacecraft into it, will launch on a Falcon 9 in late 2024, ESA director general Josef Aschbacher said.
Looking to move to a galaxy far, far away? An innovative system evaluates habitability of distant planets
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![Schematic representation of the dynamical systems metrics on made-up atmospheric states. The local dimension (d) is related to the number of possible atmospheric patterns preceding and following the state being analyzed (in this case d = 2), and θ is the inverse of the persistence. If the pattern persists for 3 days (green ellipse), then θ = 1/3. If the patterns change at each time step (purple ellipse), then θ = 1. Inspired by a figure from Rodrigues et al. (2018). Credit: <i>The Astrophysical Journal</i> (2022). DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/ac866f Looking to move to a galaxy far, far away? An innovative system evaluates habitability of distant planets](https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/800a/2022/looking-to-move-to-a-g.jpg)
NASA extends contract with Planet Labs granting access to EO data to 300,000 scientists
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Distribution partners selected for Inmarsat's SwiftJet Business Aviation Inflight Connectivity Service
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Viasat and Inmarsat will work with CMA to demonstrate customer benefits of proposed transaction
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Astronomers create new technique to assist in search for dark matter
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New tool allows scientists to peer inside neutron stars
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Webb takes star-filled portrait of pillars of creation
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SwRI scientists compile Cassini's unique observations of Saturn's rings
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Method for decoding asteroid interiors could help aim asteroid-deflecting missions
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