An international team of scientists have used data collected by the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope to detect a molecule [1] known as the methyl cation (CH3+) for the first time, located in the protoplanetary disc surrounding a young star. They accomplished this feat with a cross-disciplinary expert analysis, including key input from laboratory spectroscopists. 

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On 22 June 2023 at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, engineers rolled back the mobile gantry protecting Ariane 6 on its launch pad. The exercise helped validate ground systems and prepare for a series of engine fire tests.

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Braunschweig, Germany (SPX) Jun 24, 2023
Astronomic observations indicate the existence of so-called "dark matter" which makes up more than 80% of all matter and, as far as we know, interacts with ordinary visible matter only via gravity. In particular, no proof for the interaction with photons (the elementary particles of which also light is composed), has yet been established - hence the term "dark" for this type of matter. It remain

Washington DC (SPX) Jun 24, 2023
During a ceremony at the Willard InterContinental Hotel in Washington on Wednesday, June 21, India became the 27th country to sign the Artemis Accords. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson participated in the signing ceremony for the agency and Taranjit Singh Sandhu, India's ambassador to the United States, signed on behalf of India. The Artemis Accords establish a practical set of principles to

Virgin Galactic plans to conduct its first fully commercial flight of its SpaceShipTwo suborbital spaceplane on June 29, carrying three Italians who will conduct more than a dozen experiments.

Image: Spacesuit design: Alberto Piovesan

ESA Impact 2023 – Quarter 2

Welcome to this edition of ESA Impact, an interactive publication covering stories and images from the second quarter of 2023.

Defense contractor Anduril Industries acquired Adranos, a manufacturer of solid rocket motors, the companies announced June 25.

Le Bourget, France (SPX) Jun 23, 2023
Safran Electronics and Defense and Terran Orbital (NYSE: LLAP) announced they have signed a Memorandum of Agreement to study and validate the prerequisites for production of a new generation of electric propulsion systems for satellites in the United States, based on Safran's PPSX00 plasma thruster. Safran Electronics and Defense, via Safran Spacecraft Propulsion, and Terran Orbital will u

Paris, France (SPX) Jun 23, 2023
As part of the combined tests campaign, the Ariane 6 mobile gantry was retracted on June 22, unveiling the launch vehicle on its launch pad. During a rehearsal representative of a real launch sequence, the removal of the mobile gantry marks the completion of the functional tests performed so far and precedes ignition of the core stage Vulcain 2.1 engine on the launch pad. The rehearsal serves to