Los Angeles CA (SPX) Apr 24, 2025
Scientists continue to push the boundaries of lunar exploration with new strategies to identify and map ice deposits on the Moon. Ice could play a vital role in supporting future human activity on the lunar surface, providing life support resources and fuel ingredients. At the University of Hawai'i at Manoa, researchers are leading two pioneering investigations to enhance our understanding of wh

Sydney (AFP) April 28, 2025
New Zealand said Monday it will crack down on foreign adversaries trying to covertly track space and satellite activity from within its territory. The country's intelligence service revealed last year that foreign entities had sought to establish space infrastructure in New Zealand that was supposedly for civilian research. In each case, they had "deliberately hidden" the full capabiliti

Beijing (AFP) April 30, 2025
Three Chinese astronauts returned to Earth on Wednesday after six months on the country's space station, state media footage showed, as Beijing advances towards its aim to become a major celestial power. China has ploughed billions of dollars into its space programme in recent years in an effort to achieve what President Xi Jinping describes as the country's "space dream". The world's se

East Lansing MI (SPX) Apr 30, 2025
For decades, scientists believed Vesta, one of the largest objects in our solar system's asteroid belt, wasn't just an asteroid. They concluded that Vesta has a crust, mantle and core - fundamental properties of a planet. Astronomers studied it for clues to how early planets grew, and what Earth might have looked like in its infancy. Now, Michigan State University has contributed to

Cape Canaveral (AFP) April 28, 2025
Amazon on Monday launched its first batch of Project Kuiper internet satellites, marking the start of its push to rival Elon Musk's Starlink. The mission, called Kuiper Atlas 1, lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 7:00 pm local time (2300 GMT), aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket that will carry 27 satellites into orbit. A previous attempt wa

San Antonio TX (SPX) Apr 30, 2025
The NASA New Horizons spacecraft's extensive observations of Lyman-alpha emissions have resulted in the first-ever map from the galaxy at this important ultraviolet wavelength, providing a new look at the galactic region surrounding our solar system. The findings are described in a new study authored by the SwRI-led New Horizons team. "Understanding the Lyman-alpha background helps shed li

The Atomic Clock Ensemble in Space (ACES), ESA’s state-of-the-art timekeeping facility, has been successfully installed on the International Space Station, marking the start of a new chapter in space-based precision science. 

After years of careful design and preparation, ESA’s Earth Explorer Biomass satellite is set for launch tomorrow, 29 April at 11:15 CEST, aboard a Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.

This groundbreaking mission will offer unprecedented insights into the state and evolution of the world’s forests. By mapping the woody material in Earth’s forests, this revolutionary satellite will play a crucial role in deepening our understanding of how forests influence the global carbon cycle.

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The Atomic Clock Ensemble in Space (ACES), ESA’s state-of-the-art timekeeping facility, is now installed on the Columbus laboratory of the International Space Station. This still image, captured by external cameras on the Station, shows ACES after installation. For 25 years, cameras on the Station have documented activities in orbit, providing real-time views of operations like this one – a rare and remarkable perspective from space. 

On 25 April, the Canadian Space Agency’s robotic arm carefully extracted ACES from the SpaceX Dragon trunk and secured it onto the Columbus External Payload Facility, next to ESA’s space storm hunter ASIM

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ESA’s state-of-the-art Biomass satellite has launched aboard a Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. The rocket lifted off on 29 April 2025 at 11:15 CEST (06:15 local time).

In orbit, this latest Earth Explorer mission will provide vital insights into the health and dynamics of the world’s forests, revealing how they are changing over time and, critically, enhancing our understanding of their role in the global carbon cycle. It is the first satellite to carry a fully polarimetric P-band synthetic aperture radar for interferometric imaging. Thanks to the long wavelength of P-band, around 70 cm, the