ESA’s digital celebration of space safety and Asteroid Day
Monday, 14 June 2021 07:30Register now to join us on 28 June, 18:00-20:00 CEST - seats limited.
ESA helps Europe boost secure connectivity
Monday, 14 June 2021 07:00As today’s world becomes increasingly connected, ESA is partnering with the European Commission to keep communications secure.
Juice moves into the Large Space Simulator
Monday, 14 June 2021 07:00The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) moved into the Large Space Simulator at ESTEC end May, in a two-day operation. During a month-long test campaign the spacecraft will be subject to extreme temperature cycles under vacuum to replicate the heating and cooling that the spacecraft will experience on its way to Jupiter. The Large Space Simulator is Europe's single largest vacuum chamber standing 15 m high and 10 m wide.
Once in the Jovian system Juice will make detailed observations of Jupiter and its three large ocean-bearing moons – Ganymede, Callisto and Europa – with a suite of
NASA seeks proposals for next 2 private astronaut missions to ISS
Monday, 14 June 2021 05:29NASA is seeking proposals for two new private astronaut missions to the International Space Station as part of the agency's efforts to open space to more people than ever before. With these opportunities, U.S. commercial companies will continue to play an essential role in establishing a sustained presence in low-Earth orbit (LEO) through the agency's Commercial LEO Development Program. Th
China launches four satellites with Long March-2D rocket
Monday, 14 June 2021 05:29China sent four satellites into planned orbits from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in northern Shanxi Province on Friday. The satellites Beijing-3 (BJ-3), HISEA-2 (HS-2), Yangwang-1 (YW-1) and Tianjian (TJ) were launched by a Long March-2D rocket at 11:03 a.m. (Beijing Time). Developed by China Spacesat Co., Ltd., the commercial remote-sensing satellite BJ-3 can provide services
NASA approves further development of asteroid hunter
Monday, 14 June 2021 05:29NASA has approved the Near-Earth Object Surveyor space telescope (NEO Surveyor) to move to the next phase of mission development after a successful mission review, authorizing the mission to move forward into Preliminary Design (known as Key Decision Point-B). The infrared space telescope is designed to help advance NASA's planetary defense efforts by expediting our ability to discover and
Have your name forever on the Moon with Spacebit's Wevolver Engineering Challenge
Monday, 14 June 2021 05:29The Spacebit Engineering Challenge enables engineers around the world to contribute to the development of "Asagumo 2.0", a four-legged walking rover that is set to fly to the Moon with the NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program in 2021 and 2022. The challenge was catalyzed by the recent partnership agreement signed between UK-based Spacebit and the engineering community plat
Star's death will play a mean pinball with rhythmic planets
Monday, 14 June 2021 05:29Four planets locked in a perfect rhythm around a nearby star are destined to be pinballed around their solar system when their sun eventually dies, according to a study led by the University of Warwick that peers into its future. Astronomers have modelled how the change in gravitational forces in the system as a result of the star becoming a white dwarf will cause its planets to fly loose
Astronomers spot a 'blinking giant' near the centre of the Galaxy
Monday, 14 June 2021 05:29Astronomers have spotted a giant 'blinking' star towards the centre of the Milky Way, more than 25,000 light years away. An international team of astronomers observed the star, VVV-WIT-08, decreasing in brightness by a factor of 30, so that it nearly disappeared from the sky. While many stars change in brightness because they pulsate or are eclipsed by another star in a binary system, it's excep
A new animation shows 'A day without space'
Monday, 14 June 2021 05:29What would happen if all the satellites orbiting Earth stopped working? In short, global chaos would ensue. "Satellites have long been an integral part of our day-to-day lives. The services they provide are indispensable for mobility on land, at sea and in the air, for all power and communications networks, for the international systems used for financial transactions, global weather forecasting
Rover leaves 'China's imprint' on Mars
Monday, 14 June 2021 05:29Solar panel "wings" spread out and two camera "eyes" pointing ahead, China's Mars rover Zhurong struck a birdlike pose as it explored the red planet in photos released by the country's space agency Friday. Zhurong's touchdown in May was the first ever successful probe landing by any country on its first Mars mission - a milestone in China's ascent to space superpower status. The rover,
China making plans for future space exploration: official
Monday, 14 June 2021 05:29China is making plans for the future development of its space program, including exploring asteroids and the Jovian system, collecting samples from Mars and exploring the polar region of the moon, said an official from the China National Space Administration (CNSA) on Saturday. Xu Hongliang, a spokesperson of the CNSA, said at a press conference held in Beijing that about the year 2025 Chi
ISS National Lab to Host Session at World Stem Cell Summit
Monday, 14 June 2021 05:29The International Space Station (ISS) U.S. National Laboratory will host a panel of industry experts on the impacts of health, aging, and human survival research onboard the orbiting laboratory at the World Stem Cell Summit. This annual event brings together noted science, industry and policy experts in regenerative medicine. It also provides multiple forums to discuss the impacts of curre
Trip to space with Jeff Bezos sells for $28 mn
Sunday, 13 June 2021 19:42A mystery bidder paid $28 million at auction Saturday for a seat alongside Jeff Bezos on board the first crewed spaceflight of the billionaire's company Blue Origin next month.
The Amazon founder revealed this week that both he and his brother Mark would take seats on board the company's New Shepard launch vehicle on July 20, to fly to the edge of space and back.
The Bezos brothers will be joined by the winner of Saturday's charity auction, whose identity remains unknown, and by a fourth, as yet unnamed space tourist.
Northrop Grumman’s Pegasus rocket launches U.S. Space Force mission
Sunday, 13 June 2021 14:08WASHINGTON — A Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket launched the U.S. Space Force’s Tactically Responsive Launch-2 (TacRL-2) mission June 13 at 1:11 a.m. Pacific from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California.
The payload was successfully deployed to low Earth orbit, a Space Force spokesman said Sunday.