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Wednesday, 23 June 2021 13:12

Image: Jezero Crater's 'Delta scarp'

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Image: Jezero Crater’s "Delta Scarp"
Composed of five images, this mosaic of the Jezero Crater's "Delta Scarp" was taken on March 17, 2021, by the Remote Microscopic Imager (RMI) camera aboard NASA's Perseverance rover from 1.4 miles (2.25 kilometers) away. Scientists believe the 377-foot-wide (115-meter-wide) escarpment is a portion of the remnants of a fan-shaped deposit of sediments that resulted from the confluence between an ancient river and an ancient lake.
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Video: Simulating atmospheric reentry in a plasma wind tunnel
Correlated SCARAB model and the IR test data. Courtesy of DLR, HTG and KDA. Credit: European Space Agency

Simulating the burn-up during atmospheric reentry of one of the bulkiest items aboard a typical satellite using a plasma wind tunnel.

This Solar Array Drive Mechanism (SADM) has the essential task of keeping a satellite's solar wings trained on the Sun, maintaining mission operations.

But its bulky nature presents a problem in terms of space debris guidelines. When a reenters on an uncontrolled basis, the spacecraft operator has to prove that the on-ground casualty risk posed by its satellite is lower than 1 in 10 000.

So last year SADM manufacturer Kongsberg Defense & Aerospace (KDA) started an investigation supported by ESA, Hyperschall Technologie Göttingen GmbH (HTG) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) to demonstrate the 'desmisability' of one of its products.

They began by modeling such a reentry using ESA's dedicated SCARAB (Spacecraft Atmospheric Reentry and Aerothermal Break-up) software and comparable resources, tweaking the SADM by switching one screw to lower-melting-point alumimium to promote an earlier, higher-altitude breakup.

Wednesday, 23 June 2021 10:00

Media briefing on ESA's astronaut selection

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Video: 00:51:52

Want to learn more about applications to ESA’s astronaut selection? Watch the replay of this media briefing to get an insight into the total number and spread of applications across all ESA Member and Associate Member states. Vacancies for the positions of astronaut and astronaut (with a physical disability) have closed on 18 June 2021, after a two-and-a-half-month-long application period.

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London, UK (SPX) Jun 23, 2021
A new analysis of known exoplanets has revealed that Earth-like conditions on potentially habitable planets may be much rarer than previously thought. The work focuses on the conditions required for oxygen-based photosynthesis to develop on a planet, which would enable complex biospheres of the type found on Earth. The study is published today in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
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Washington DC (SPX) Jun 22, 2021
DARPA's Operational Fires (OpFires) program, which is developing and demonstrating new technologies for ground-launched medium-range hypersonic weapons, successfully completed full-scale static test firing of a unique second stage propulsion system. This high-performance, solid-fuel "throttleable" rocket motor can be turned off before burning through all of its fuel, potentially allowing a
Wednesday, 23 June 2021 09:47

UFO report could give us answers - or not

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College Station TX (SPX) Jun 23, 2021
Texas A and M University astronomer Nick Suntzeff has been involved with space research for 30 years and spent 20 years in Chile, where he helped co-discover dark matter. Below, he offers his thoughts about UFOs and whether or not we are alone in the universe. b>What can we expect from the government's official UFO report? br> /b> I have no idea what the report will say, but I doubt
Wednesday, 23 June 2021 07:01

Hang out with Europe’s top space experts

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Space Safety & Security

ESA’s Space Safety Digital Festival is the first of its kind, giving you the unique opportunity to chat, mingle with and quiz Europe’s top experts working behind the scenes to keep us safe.

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Apply now to become an ESA Astronaut

Aspiring astronauts from across Europe are awaiting the next step in ESA’s astronaut selection, following the 18 June closure of the Agency’s first application period in 11 years.  

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Beijing (AFP) June 23, 2021
President Xi Jinping on Wednesday lauded the work of three astronauts building China's first space station as opening "new horizons" in humanity's bid to explore the cosmos. The trio blasted off on a Long March-2F rocket from northwest China's Gobi desert last Thursday, docking around seven hours later at the Tiangong space station, where they will spend the next three months. The launch
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Wollongong, Australia (SPX) Jun 23, 2021
The University of Wollongong (UOW) will contribute to a national network of facilities to test technology for use in space. Space exploration missions, satellites and permanent space stations require advanced electronic instrumentation with the highest level of reliability. The physically extreme environments in space travel mean most commercially available components are unsuitable. To en
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