Copernical Team
NASA's Perseverance rover scouts Mars Sample Return Campaign landing sites
NASA's Perseverance Mars rover is conducting its science campaign, taking samples at Jezero Crater's ancient river delta, but it's also been busy scouting. The rover is looking for locations where the planned Mars Sample Return (MSR) Campaign can land spacecraft and collect sample tubes Perseverance has filled with rock and sediment.
T - 2 days to inaugural Vega-C launch: watch it live
ESA’s new Vega-C rocket is nearly ready for its inaugural flight. You can follow live on ESA Web TV. Flight VV21 will lift off as soon as 13 July at 13:13 CEST, pending suitable conditions for launch.
Broadcast begins 12:45 CEST/11:45 BST on ESA Web TV
13:13 CEST/12:13 BST – liftoff
ESA by Interrail
Vincent Müller, a recent school-leaver, will visit all of ESA’s European sites in the next two weeks. The lucky winner of a free Interrail ticket from the DiscoverEU programme, he decided to use the ticket to make this journey and will share his experiences in a blog to enthuse young people to pursue a career in space.
ESA to embolden Europe's space exploration
A 12-strong star-studded advisory group is to guide ESA’s human and robotic space exploration as the agency aims to increase European ambitions in space.
Vega-C: Stacked and ready to launch
Video:
00:01:48
ESA’s newest launcher stands nearly 35m tall when its four stages and payload are fully stacked. For its inaugural flight, VV21, the main payload is LARES-2, a scientific mission of the Italian space agency, ASI.
NASA's head warned that China may try to claim the moon. Two space scholars explain why that's unlikely to happen
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson recently expressed concerns over China's aims in space, and in particular, that China would, in some way, claim ownership over the moon and stop other countries from exploring it. In an interview with a German newspaper, Nelson cautioned, "We must be very concerned that China is landing on the moon and saying: "It's ours now and you stay out." China immediately denounced the claims as a "lie."
This spat between the administrator of NASA and Chinese government officials comes at a time when both nations are actively working on missions to the moon—and China has not been shy about its lunar aspirations.
In 2019, China became the first country to land a spacecraft on the far side of the moon.
EXPLAINER: When is Manhattanhenge? Where can you see it?
![EXPLAINER: When is Manhattanhenge? Where can you see it?](https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/800a/2022/explainer-when-is-manh.jpg "The sun sets along 42nd Street in Manhattan during an annual phenomenon known as "Manhattanhenge," when the sun aligns perfectly with the city's transit grid, Wednesday, May 29, 2013, in New York. There's still time to catch Manhattanhenge, when the setting sun aligns with the Manhattan street grid and bathes the urban canyons in a rosy glow. The last two Manhattanhenge sunsets of 2022 are Monday and Tuesday, July 11-12. Credit: AP Photo/John Minchillo, File")
There's another chance to catch a supermoon on Wednesday
Excitement builds as Biden to release first image from Webb telescope
US President Joe Biden will Monday release one of the first images taken by the James Webb Space Telescope, the most powerful observatory ever sent into orbit and a leap forward in uncovering the secrets of the distant universe.
The unveiling will take place at 5:00 pm (2100 GMT) during a livestreamed event at the White House, official statements said, leaving the space community in a state of keen anticipation.
NASA revealed last week Webb's first targets included distant galaxies, bright nebulae and a faraway giant gas planet.
To Sicily and beyond: ESA, partners debate future of space transportation
How can Europe exploit its technical, industrial and financial strengths to ensure it remains a leader in space transportation in the 2030s and beyond? How can ESA, Europe’s national space agencies and institutions, and both established and new industrial partners better co-ordinate their efforts to meet global competition that demands innovation and cost-reduction?
These were just a few of the questions discussed during an ESA-hosted roundtable conference held on 27-28 June in Palermo, Sicily. The event, called “Shared Vision for the Future of Space Transportation in Europe”, saw more than 100 representatives of Europe’s space sector discuss the technical and
