The European Space Agency (ESA) is ready to guide the ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter spacecraft through its closest encounter with Venus so far.

Today’s flyby will be the first to significantly ‘tilt’ the spacecraft’s orbit and allow it to see the Sun’s polar regions, which cannot be seen from Earth.

Studying the Sun’s poles will improve our understanding of solar activity, space weather, and the Sun-Earth connection.

Lobster-eye satellite Einstein Probe captured the X-ray flash from a very elusive celestial pair. The discovery opens a new way to explore how massive stars interact and evolve, confirming the unique power of the mission to uncover fleeting X-ray sources in the sky.

Image: The pierogi challenge

Baltimore MD (SPX) Feb 16, 2025
Jumping workouts could help astronauts prevent the type of cartilage damage they are likely to endure during lengthy missions to Mars and the Moon, a new Johns Hopkins University study suggests. The research adds to ongoing efforts by space agencies to protect astronauts against deconditioning/getting out of shape due to low gravity, a crucial aspect of their ability to perform spacewalks,

Sydney, Australia (SPX) Feb 16, 2025
Chinese space technology company GalaxySpace has successfully demonstrated mobile-to-satellite communication technology utilizing China's first low-Earth orbit broadband communication test constellation. The demonstration took place during a commercial space conference in Beijing on Wednesday. At precisely 10:28 am, a satellite from the constellation passed over the conference venue, locat

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 16, 2025
As space agencies and private companies design satellites and telescopes with repairability in mind, the need for efficient servicing trajectories becomes crucial. Researchers from the Department of Aerospace Engineering at The Grainger College of Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, have developed a new method enabling multiple CubeSats to coordinate in servicing and assembling

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 16, 2025
K2 Space has announced the successful completion of a $110 million Series B funding round aimed at scaling up production of its advanced, high-power satellite platform. The investment, co-led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and Altimeter Capital, also included participation from existing stakeholders such as Alpine Space Ventures and First Round Capital. This achievement coincides with the compan

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 16, 2025
Redwire Corporation (NYSE: RDW), a leading provider of space infrastructure solutions, has been awarded a study contract by the European Space Agency (ESA) to develop an initial spacecraft design for a new astrophysics mission. This mission aims to capture images of faint galaxies in the nearby universe, shedding light on the elusive nature of dark matter. Redwire's Belgian subsidiary, Red

Greenbelt MD (SPX) Feb 16, 2025
NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope team has successfully integrated the mission's deployable aperture cover - a visor-like sunshade that will help prevent unwanted light from entering the telescope - to the outer barrel assembly, another structure designed to shield the telescope from stray light in addition to keeping it at a stable temperature. "It's been incredible to see these ma

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 16, 2025
Water is essential for all known forms of life on Earth, leading scientists searching for extraterrestrial life to adopt the principle of "follow the water." NASA's upcoming SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer) mission, set for launch no earlier than Thursday, Feb. 27, will aid in this pursuit. Launching aboard a SpaceX Falc