Copernical Team
UK working with global partners to clear up dangerous space debris
From developing our space tracking capabilities and promoting international efforts in space sustainability, to finding novel ways of removing space debris - the UK is leading the way to ensure the Earth's orbit can continue to be used now and in the future. Orbital congestion and space debris remains one of the biggest global challenges facing the space sector. There are currently an esti
China launches Shijian-21 satellite
China successfully launched a new satellite from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province Sunday. The satellite, Shijian-21, was launched at 9:27 a.m. (Beijing Time) by a Long March-3B carrier rocket and entered the planned orbit successfully. The satellite will be mainly used to test and verify space debris mitigation technologies. This launch
Need for Larger Space Telescope inspires lightweight flexible holographic lens
Inspired by a concept for discovering exoplanets with a giant space telescope, a team of researchers is developing holographic lenses that render visible and infrared starlight into either a focused image or a spectrum. The experimental method, detailed in an article appearing in Nature Scientific Reports, could be used to create a lightweight flexible lens, many meters in diameter, that could b
SpaceX modernises Crew Dragon toilet after 2 faulty missions
Elon Musk's SpaceX company has upgraded the toilet system on the Crew Dragon spacecraft after running into several problems during previous launches, media reported. "For Crew-3, we've fixed this problem in the tank by essentially making it an all-welded structure with no longer a joint in there that can come unglued and become disconnected", the Spaceflight.now portal quoted Gerstenmaier
Upgrading the Space Station's Cold Atom Lab with mixed reality
NASA's Cold Atom Lab is a first-of-its-kind physics laboratory operating in Earth orbit. About the size of a mini-fridge, it hosts multiple experiments that explore the fundamental nature of atoms by cooling them down to nearly absolute zero (the coldest temperature matter can reach). The ultracold atoms provide a window into the quantum realm, where matter exhibits strange behaviors that underp
Airbus, Air Liquide and ispace Europe launch EURO2MOON
In a contex of increased momentum around space exploration, Airbus Defence and Space, Air Liquide and ispace Europe have announced the joint creation of EURO2MOON. This non-profit organisation will be dedicated to promoting a better use of lunar natural resources, while accelerating the cis-lunar economy and federating industrial efforts across Europe. Bringing in complementary exper
Crew-3 astronauts launch to Space Station alongside microgravity research
NASA's SpaceX Crew-3 mission is set to launch four astronauts to the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon on Sunday, Oct. 31. The mission includes three NASA astronauts - mission Commander Raja Chari, Pilot Tom Marshburn, and Mission Specialist Kayla Barron - as well as ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthias Maurer, who will also serve as a mission specialist. Ab
NASA seeks input to position mega-rocket for long-term exploration
NASA is preparing for the first flight of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion spacecraft from the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, along with other flight hardware for the next several Artemis missions in production around the country. The agency also is looking forward to future missions and working to transition SLS from design and development to production and operatio
You can help train NASA's rovers to better explore Mars
Members of the public can now help teach an artificial intelligence algorithm to recognize scientific features in images taken by NASA's Perseverance rover.
Artificial intelligence, or AI, has enormous potential to change the way NASA's spacecraft study the universe. But because all machine learning algorithms require training from humans, a recent project asks members of the public to label features of scientific interest in imagery taken by NASA's Perseverance Mars rover.
Called AI4Mars, the project is the continuation of one launched last year that relied on imagery from NASA's Curiosity rover. Participants in the earlier stage of that project labeled nearly half a million images, using a tool to outline features like sand and rock that rover drivers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory typically watch out for when planning routes on the Red Planet.
Announcement of opportunity to fly payloads on ESA’s Space Rider
ESA is offering the opportunity for payloads to ride on board the first return flight, and future flights, to low orbit of its reusable Space Rider. Applications should reach ESA by 30 November.