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Copernical Team
Developing future space experiment platforms for astrobiology and astrochemistry
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![Space platforms for astrobiology and astrochemistry research. Space exposure experiments require suitable platforms for providing levels of radiation and microgravity. Platform location dictates mission duration, radiation exposure, the potential for sample return and the necessity of in situ measurements. As the distance from Earth increases, different radiation environments become available at the cost of increasingly challenging sample return. Credit: npj Microgravity (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41526-023-00292-1 Developing future space experiment platforms for astrobiology and astrochemistry](https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/800a/2023/developing-future-spac.jpg)
The long history and bright future of space sample deliveries
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![This photograph, taken during the second Apollo 12 extravehicular activity, shows two NASA spacecraft on the surface of the Moon. The Apollo 12 Lunar Module is in the background. The uncrewed Surveyor 3 spacecraft is in the foreground. Credit: NASA Long history and bright future of space sample deliveries](https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/800a/2023/long-history-and-brigh-2.jpg)
When NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft releases a capsule with material from asteroid Bennu onto the Utah desert on Sept. 24, it will become the latest in a line of missions to gather samples from space and deliver them to Earth. Collecting material from space is a challenging feat that requires teams of dedicated scientists and engineers, innovative technology, and patience. But the scientific breakthroughs these samples unlock make the effort worthwhile as we attempt to understand the origins of our planet and the life that thrives here.
Euclid space telescope to shed light on the darkness
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![One month after its launch, the Euclid space telescope will reach its destination in space. The scientific measurements in the universe will take about six years. Credit: ESA/ATG Euclid sheds light on the darkness](https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/800a/2023/euclid-sheds-light-on.jpg)
On 1 July, the Euclid space telescope will start its journey into outer space on an important mission—to seek further clues about the origin of the universe. UZH researchers are involved in the scientific preparation and evaluation of the mission as part of a project led by the European Space Agency (ESA).
Shining stars, mysterious nebulae and faraway galaxies—images from space fire our imagination and spark fantasies about extraterrestrial life. But the visible matter known to researchers is actually only around 5% of the universe; 95% of the universe is a proverbial black box. Two invisible factors—called dark matter and dark energy—influence the arrangement of objects in space and the expansion of the universe.
Students to solve exploration challenges with ESA
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![ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer trains with ESA-developed virtual reality teaching system JIVE](https://www.esa.int/var/esa/storage/images/esa_multimedia/images/2020/05/matthias_maurer_vr_training/21995713-1-eng-GB/Matthias_Maurer_VR_Training_card_full.jpg)
An exciting initiative based at ESA’s facility in the UK will give student researchers the opportunity to quickly investigate key challenges associated with space exploration.
Spacesuit design: Flavio Gentile
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![Spacesuit design: Flavio Gentile](https://www.esa.int/var/esa/storage/images/esa_multimedia/images/2023/06/spacesuit_design_flavio_gentile/24959513-1-eng-GB/Spacesuit_design_Flavio_Gentile_card_full.jpg)
Euclid: Ready for launch
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ESA’s Euclid space telescope is nearly ready for launch. The spacecraft arrived in Florida on 30 April for final tests and checks, and now being integrated with the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that will carry it into space.
For the team at ESA’s European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany, this means that the most intense phase of their work is about to begin. To prepare themselves, the team has simulated the launch operations, tackling issues ranging from team members falling ill to a computer mouse being taped over.
Euclid is ESA’s space telescope designed to explore the
Precision deployer to put Hera’s CubeSats into asteroid orbit
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![After the crash comes Hera](https://www.esa.int/var/esa/storage/images/esa_multimedia/images/2020/10/after_the_crash_comes_hera/22247285-1-eng-GB/After_the_crash_comes_Hera_card_full.jpg)
Dutch firm ISISPACE has manufactured more than 600 cereal-box sized ‘CubeSat’ satellites, plus nearly 200 deployment systems used to release them into orbit. Of all of these, the pair of Deep Space Deployers it has overseen for ESA’s Hera asteroid mission for planetary defence have been by far the most challenging. The two systems need to keep their nanosatellite cargo alive and healthy, before releasing them on a precisely staged basis – at a velocity of just a few centimetres per second. Any faster and Hera’s CubeSats would risk getting lost in space.
Maxar and Esri Expand Partnership to Visualize Precision3D in ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World
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'Godfather of AI' urges governments to stop machine takeover
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Europe's space telescope to target universe's dark mysteries
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