Copernical Team
A proactive approach to removing space junk
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Space has become a trash heap.
According to NASA, there are more than 27,000 pieces of spacedebris bigger than the size of a softball currently orbiting Earth, and they are traveling at speeds of up to 17,500 mph, fast enough for a small chunk to damage a satellite or spacecraft like an intergalactic cannonball.
Consequently, cleaning up this space junk will be an important task if agencies are to shoot more rockets and satellites into orbit.
ExoMars rover comes out of the ‘oven’
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Video:
00:00:43
The Rosalind Franklin rover that will search for life on Mars has completed an important bakeout to help clean the rover from organic molecules from Earth.
The rover sat inside a vacuum chamber for 120 hours at 35ºC at the Thales Alenia Space facility in Rome, Italy. The temperature is enough to sublimate hidden contaminants generated by the off-gassing of some of the rover’s internal parts, such as small bits of glue. The goal is to reduce as much as possible any contamination signature of Earth origin, to allow a clean detection of organic compounds on Mars.
An additional
Q&A with ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer
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Video:
01:01:43
Watch the replay of Matthias Maurer’s last Q&A session before liftoff!
The ESA astronaut joined from his pre-launch quarantine in the USA to discuss launch preparations and highlights of his mission, called Cosmic Kiss. Matthias will be the 600th human to fly to space.
His first launch attempt is on Sunday 31 October at 07:21 CET (06:21 GMT, 02:21 EDT) alongside NASA astronauts Kayla Barron, Tom Marshburn and Raja Chari on the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft “Endurance”.
Week in images: 25 - 29 October 2021
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Week in images: 25 - 29 October 2021
Discover our week through the lens
Low-gravity simulator design offers new avenues for space research and mission training
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As humanity continues its exploration of the universe, the low-gravity environment of space presents unusual challenges for scientists and engineers.
Researchers at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering and the Florida State University-headquartered National High Magnetic Field Laboratory have developed a new tool to help meet that challenge—a novel design for a low-gravity simulator that promises to break new ground for future space research and habitation.
Watch live: liftoff of ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer
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At 07:21 CET (06:21 GMT) Sunday 31 October ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer will be launched to the International Space Station to begin his Cosmic Kiss mission. Tune in to ESA Web TV channel two from 03:00 CET (01:00 GMT) for live coverage of the launch.
DARPA, NGA transition novel optics technology to fieldable prototypes
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Materials with novel optical properties developed under DARPA's Extreme Optics and Imaging (EXTREME) program are providing new capabilities for government and military imaging systems. EXTREME, a basic research program in DARPA's Defense Sciences Office, successfully developed new optical components, devices, systems, architectures, and design tools using engineered optical materials, or metamat Scientists spot rare neutrino signal for big physics finding
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Did you feel the trillions of neutrinos that just flew through your body? Probably not, because these subatomic particles rarely interact with matter. Neutrinos can travel through a lightyear's worth of lead without ever disturbing a single atom. Understanding these ghost-like particles could unlock mysteries of the universe, but how can scientists study neutrinos if they are seemingly undetecta Scientists find strange black 'superionic ice' that could exist inside other planets
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Using the Advanced Photon Source, scientists have recreated the structure of ice formed at the center of planets like Neptune and Uranus.
Everyone knows about ice, liquid and vapor - but, depending on the conditions, water can actually form more than a dozen different structures. Scientists have now added a new phase to the list: superionic ice.
This type of ice forms at extremely hi Science results offer first 3D view of Jupiter's atmosphere
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New findings from NASA's Juno probe orbiting Jupiter provide a fuller picture of how the planet's distinctive and colorful atmospheric features offer clues about the unseen processes below its clouds. The results highlight the inner workings of the belts and zones of clouds encircling Jupiter, as well as its polar cyclones and even the Great Red Spot.
Researchers published several papers o 
