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Europe’s first MetOp Second Generation, MetOp-SG-A1, weather satellite – which hosts the Copernicus Sentinel-5 mission –  has launched aboard an Ariane 6 rocket from the European spaceport in French Guiana. The rocket lifted off on 13 August at 02:37 CEST (12 August 21:37 Kourou time).

MetOp-SG-A1 is the first in a series of three successive pairs of satellites. The mission as a whole not only ensures the continued delivery of global observations from polar orbit for weather forecasting and climate analysis for more than 20 years, but also offers enhanced accuracy and resolution compared to the original MetOp mission – along with new measurement capabilities to expand its scientific

Image: FLEX instrument meets its satellite

Paris, France (SPX) Aug 08, 2025
Researchers investigating the Hadean Eon, which lasted from 4.6 to 4.0 billion years ago, have uncovered signs that plate tectonics began far earlier than widely assumed. The era started with Earth's formation and a colossal Mars-sized impact that created the Moon, melting the planet's interior. Crust solidification occurred about 4.5 billion years ago, but subsequent tectonic activity has been

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Aug 08, 2025
Data from a joint NASA and CNES mission has provided valuable insights to refine tsunami forecasting models, potentially improving coastal safety worldwide. The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite recorded the tsunami generated by an 8.8 magnitude earthquake off Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on July 30. Passing over the area roughly 70 minutes later, SWOT measured the wave's

Washington DC (UPI) Aug 11, 2025
SpaceX on Monday launched two dozen Kuiper Internet satellites into orbit Monday on its 100th mission of 2025. The rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Monday at 8:35 a.m. EDT, in the 97th Falcon 9 launch of the year. It was the third attempt for this particular mission, as the first two attempts over the weekend were scrubbed due to weather condition

Washington DC (UPI) Aug 11, 2025
NASA is launching the second phase of its moon recycling competition to clean up trash in space. The space agency's LunaRecycle Challenge is looking for the brightest minds to figure out a way to recycle plastics, foams and metals left behind by ongoing activity and building in space. "NASA is eager to see how reimagining these materials can be helpful to potential future planeta

Washington DC (UPI) Aug 12, 2025
Chile's the CiELO project is opening new frontiers in the study of how galaxies form and evolve, positioning the country as a leader in computational astrophysics in Latin America. "This is the first simulation project of its kind developed in Chile and in the region," said Patricia Tissera, director of the Center for Astrophysics and Related Technologies and leader of the project.

Washington DC (UPI) Aug 12, 2025
NASA is ready to show off its final piece of space flight hardware for the Space Launch System rocket for the Artemis II mission. NASA has invited media to the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., to see the piece. The rest of the SLS rocket for Artemis II is stacked on mobile launcher 1 at Kennedy. Artemis II, NASA's first mission with crew aboard the Orion spacecra

Boston MA (SPX) Aug 13, 2025
Water is essential for life on Earth. So, the liquid must be a requirement for life on other worlds. For decades, scientists' definition of habitability on other planets has rested on this assumption. But what makes some planets habitable might have very little to do with water. In fact, an entirely different type of liquid could conceivably support life in worlds where water can barely ex

Manoa HI (SPX) Aug 13, 2025
A new artificial intelligence tool developed by researchers at the University of Hawai'i (UH) at Manoa is making it easier for scientists to explore complex geoscience data-from tracking sea levels on Earth to analyzing atmospheric conditions on Mars. Called the Intelligent Data Exploring Assistant (IDEA), the software framework combines the power of large language models, like those used in Cha