Copernical Team
Wednesday, 01 June 2022 06:52
Perseverance now selects its own targets to zap
Pasadena CA (JPL) Jun 01, 2022
Perseverance has continued into Hawksbill Gap, making remote sensing observations of small portions of outcropping rock layers in search of a good place to collect a sample. Since Perseverance is in the Shenandoah quadrangle, we are using target names from Shenandoah National Park.
Some of the names this past week included "Bald_Face_Mountain," "Little_Devil_Stairs," "Sunset_Hill," "Luck_H
Perseverance has continued into Hawksbill Gap, making remote sensing observations of small portions of outcropping rock layers in search of a good place to collect a sample. Since Perseverance is in the Shenandoah quadrangle, we are using target names from Shenandoah National Park.
Some of the names this past week included "Bald_Face_Mountain," "Little_Devil_Stairs," "Sunset_Hill," "Luck_H
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Wednesday, 01 June 2022 06:52
Planetary Defense exercise uses Apophis as Hazardous Asteroid Stand-In
Pasadena CA (JPL) Jun 01, 2022
Watching the skies for large asteroids that could pose a hazard to the Earth is a global endeavor. So, to test their operational readiness, the international planetary defense community will sometimes use a real asteroid's close approach as a mock encounter with a "new" potentially hazardous asteroid. The lessons learned could limit, or even prevent, global devastation should the scenario play o
Watching the skies for large asteroids that could pose a hazard to the Earth is a global endeavor. So, to test their operational readiness, the international planetary defense community will sometimes use a real asteroid's close approach as a mock encounter with a "new" potentially hazardous asteroid. The lessons learned could limit, or even prevent, global devastation should the scenario play o
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Wednesday, 01 June 2022 04:40
Plato’s cave: vacuum test for exoplanet detection
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Plato’s cave: vacuum test for exoplanet detection
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Tuesday, 31 May 2022 12:10
A new kind of solar sail could let us explore difficult places to reach in the solar system
Solar sailing technology has been a dream of many for decades. The simple elegance of sailing on the light waves of the sun does have a dreamy aspect to it that has captured the imagination of engineers as well as writers. However, the practicalities of the amount of energy received compared to that needed to move useful payloads have brought those dreams back to reality. Now, a team led by Amber Dubill of John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and supported by the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program is developing new solar sail architecture that might have already found its killer app—heliophysics.
The technique they are using is known as diffractive light sailing. It has significant advantages over existing solar sail technology, including the ability to turn. That is a big problem for most solar sails, which lose effectiveness if they are not directly facing the sun.
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Tuesday, 31 May 2022 09:34
Strange neutron star spinning every 76 seconds is discovered in stellar graveyard
Manchester UK (SPX) May 31, 2022
An international team of scientists have discovered a strange radio emitting neutron star, which rotates extremely slowly, completing one rotation every 76 seconds.
The team, led by members of the ERC-funded MeerTRAP (More Transients and Pulsars) group at The University of Manchester say it is a unique discovery as it resides in the neutron star graveyard where they do not expect to see an
An international team of scientists have discovered a strange radio emitting neutron star, which rotates extremely slowly, completing one rotation every 76 seconds.
The team, led by members of the ERC-funded MeerTRAP (More Transients and Pulsars) group at The University of Manchester say it is a unique discovery as it resides in the neutron star graveyard where they do not expect to see an
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Tuesday, 31 May 2022 09:34
Artificial Intelligence helps in the identification of astronomical objects
Lisbon, Portugal (SPX) May 31, 2022
Classifying celestial objects is a long standing problem. With sources at near unimaginable distances, sometimes it's difficult for researchers to distinguish, for example, between stars, galaxies, quasars1 or supernovae2.
Instituto de Astrofisica e Ciencias do Espaco's (IA3) researchers Pedro Cunha and Andrew Humphrey tried to solve this classical problem by creating SHEEP, a machine lear
Classifying celestial objects is a long standing problem. With sources at near unimaginable distances, sometimes it's difficult for researchers to distinguish, for example, between stars, galaxies, quasars1 or supernovae2.
Instituto de Astrofisica e Ciencias do Espaco's (IA3) researchers Pedro Cunha and Andrew Humphrey tried to solve this classical problem by creating SHEEP, a machine lear
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Tuesday, 31 May 2022 09:34
Solar Wind a Major Driver of Atmospheric Sodium at Mercury
Washington DC (SPX) May 31, 2022
No object in the solar system experiences the Sun's solar wind more powerfully than Mercury. The planet's magnetic field deflects the Sun's stream of electrically charged particles at a distance of only 1,000 kilometers from Mercury's surface, a point called the magnetopause.
The Sun's magnetic field lines are carried by the solar wind and bend as they collide with those of Mercury. When c
No object in the solar system experiences the Sun's solar wind more powerfully than Mercury. The planet's magnetic field deflects the Sun's stream of electrically charged particles at a distance of only 1,000 kilometers from Mercury's surface, a point called the magnetopause.
The Sun's magnetic field lines are carried by the solar wind and bend as they collide with those of Mercury. When c
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Tuesday, 31 May 2022 09:34
Bern flies to Jupiter
Bern, Switzerland (SPX) May 31, 2022
In spring 2023, the time will have come: The JUICE (JUpiter ICy moons Explorer) space probe of the European Space Agency ESA will begin its journey into space. The Jupiter system is almost 780 million kilometers away from the sun and an icy, dark world: The average temperature on the surface of the icy moons is below minus 140 degrees Celsius.
After an almost eight-year journey, JUICE will
In spring 2023, the time will have come: The JUICE (JUpiter ICy moons Explorer) space probe of the European Space Agency ESA will begin its journey into space. The Jupiter system is almost 780 million kilometers away from the sun and an icy, dark world: The average temperature on the surface of the icy moons is below minus 140 degrees Celsius.
After an almost eight-year journey, JUICE will
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Tuesday, 31 May 2022 09:34
Southern Launch receives further Government funding
Adelaide, Australia (SPX) May 31, 2022
Australian spaceport and space mission provider, Southern Launch, has been awarded an Australian Space Agency Moon to Mars Grant for their mobile launch rail.
The almost $1 million grant will enable Southern Launch to design, construct, and commission a mobile launch rail that will be capable of launching sub-orbital vehicles ranging in mass from 20kg to 3,500kg. The mobility of the rocket
Australian spaceport and space mission provider, Southern Launch, has been awarded an Australian Space Agency Moon to Mars Grant for their mobile launch rail.
The almost $1 million grant will enable Southern Launch to design, construct, and commission a mobile launch rail that will be capable of launching sub-orbital vehicles ranging in mass from 20kg to 3,500kg. The mobility of the rocket
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Tuesday, 31 May 2022 09:34
ILC Dover becomes a provider of spacesuits for Boeing's Starliner
Newark DE (SPX) May 31, 2022
ILC Dover, the leading provider of spacesuits since the Apollo era, has announced that it was selected to be one of two providers of Boeing's Ascent/Entry Suit (AES) for the company's Commercial Crew Program and has developed a bespoke AES spacesuit for CST-100 Starliner crews.
"We are proud to utilize our expertise to create a new AES for the Starliner spacecraft," said Patty Stoll, Presi
ILC Dover, the leading provider of spacesuits since the Apollo era, has announced that it was selected to be one of two providers of Boeing's Ascent/Entry Suit (AES) for the company's Commercial Crew Program and has developed a bespoke AES spacesuit for CST-100 Starliner crews.
"We are proud to utilize our expertise to create a new AES for the Starliner spacecraft," said Patty Stoll, Presi
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