London, UK (SPX) Jan 18, 2024
ESA's Mars Express spacecraft has made a significant breakthrough in our understanding of Mars's hydrological history by uncovering extensive layers of water ice at the planet's equator. This finding, derived from new data analysis by the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding (MARSIS), suggests the presence of ice layers stretching several kilometers below the surface in the

Tokyo (AFP) Jan 18, 2024
Japan, whose unmanned "sniper" probe will attempt a lunar landing on Saturday, is one of many countries and private companies launching new missions to the Moon. It is a feat so far only achieved by four nations - the United States, the Soviet Union, China and most recently India - with spacecraft often losing communication or crash-landing. Modern lunar exploration programmes include

Washington (AFP) Jan 19, 2024
A crippled American spaceship has been lost over a remote region of the South Pacific, probably burning up in the atmosphere in a fiery end to its failed mission to land on the Moon. Astrobotic's Peregrine lander was launched on January 8 under an experimental new partnership between NASA and private industry intended to reduce costs for American taxpayers and seed a lunar economy. But

Kennedy Space Center, United States (AFP) Jan 18, 2024
An all-European crew including Turkey's first astronaut launched for the International Space Station on Thursday with Axiom Space, as countries increasingly look to the private sector to fulfill their ambitions in the cosmos. A SpaceX Crew Dragon fixed to the top of a Falcon 9 rocket blasted off Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 4:49 pm local time (2149 GMT), and should reach its destinatio

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 19, 2024
AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASTS), a pioneering company in space-based cellular broadband technology, has recently made two significant announcements that mark a substantial leap in its quest to deliver global connectivity. The company has launched a public offering of $100 million of its Class A common stock and secured a strategic investment from industry giants AT&T, Google, and Vodafone.

Tokyo (AFP) Jan 20, 2024
Japan on Saturday became only the fifth nation to achieve a soft Moon landing, but the craft's long-term fate was in doubt after space agency officials said its solar cells were not generating power. With the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM), Japan followed the United States, the Soviet Union, China and India in landing on the lunar surface. After initial uncertainty, space

ESA project astronaut Marcus Wandt from Sweden blasted into space tonight from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA, at 21:49 GMT (22:49 CET, 16:49 local time). A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) crew of four astronauts from launch pad 39A.

Video: 00:10:19

ESA project astronaut Marcus Wandt launched together with the rest of the Axiom-3 crew at 22:49 CET on 18 January 2024, from launch pad 39A, NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Florida, USA. 

Marcus will start his Muninn mission when he enters the International Space Station on Saturday 20 January, where he will spend up to 14 days conducting science and testing technology that can one day help people on Earth. 

You can follow Marcus mission on his social media: 

https://twitter.com/astro_marcus

https://www.instagram.com/esaastro_marcus/

And learn more about his Muninn mission on ESA Muninn page: 

https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/muninn

Image: The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over Alaska’s Columbia Glacier, one of the fastest changing glaciers in the world.

Week in images: 15-19 January 2024

Discover our week through the lens