ESA’s Gaia finds a mysterious planet and brown dwarf
Tuesday, 04 February 2025 13:00
Using data from the European Space Agency’s Gaia mission, scientists have found a huge exoplanet and a brown dwarf. This is the first time a planet has been uniquely discovered by Gaia’s ability to sense the gravitational tug or ‘wobble’ the planet induces on a star. Both the planet and brown dwarf are orbiting low-mass stars, a scenario thought to be extremely rare.
Meteor collision shakes Mars recorded by InSight
Tuesday, 04 February 2025 10:37
Paris, France (SPX) Feb 04, 2025
A space rock crashed into the martian surface in February 2021, generating seismic waves that extended 1640 km to reach NASA's InSight lander. The collision carved out a crater about 21 m wide and disturbed roughly 1400 m. ESA's ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO), through its Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System (CaSSIS), captured the explosive moment.
Marsquakes, the martian counterparts

Scientists measure Earth's cosmic detectability
Tuesday, 04 February 2025 10:37
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 04, 2025
A team of researchers led by Dr. Sofia Sheikh from the SETI Institute, in collaboration with the Characterizing Atmospheric Technosignatures project and the Penn State Extraterrestrial Intelligence Center, investigated whether an extraterrestrial society with technology akin to ours might detect Earth and the evidence of humanity. They sought to identify which signals would be visible and how fa

Space experiment aims to reveal hidden cosmic mass
Tuesday, 04 February 2025 10:37
London UK (SPX) Feb 04 2025
A space-based effort could soon uncover the nature of dark matter, one of the universe's most perplexing forces. Although invisible, this substance composes nearly 85 percent of cosmic mass, challenging scientists for decades.
Now, a group at the University of Southampton has outlined a strategy to track dark matter by measuring faint disturbances in zero gravity. Researchers plan to fire

Astroscale second generation docking plate gains flight heritage
Tuesday, 04 February 2025 10:37
London, UK (SPX) Feb 04, 2025
Astroscale Limited has reached a critical threshold with the first in-space deployment of its second-generation (Gen 2) docking plate. This hardware, now traveling aboard SpaceX's Transporter-12 rideshare mission that launched on Jan 14, 2025, sets the stage for more robust satellite servicing capabilities.
Integrated on an Astro Digital Corvus-XL bus, the Gen 2 docking plate showcases for

EdgeCortix unveils SAKURA-I with proven radiation immunity for orbital and lunar ventures
Tuesday, 04 February 2025 10:37
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 04, 2025
EdgeCortix(R) Inc., a leading fabless semiconductor provider focused on low-power Artificial Intelligence (AI) computation at the edge, reports that its SAKURA-I AI Accelerator has shown strong radiation endurance and is primed for space missions in Earth orbit and on the lunar surface. NASA's Electronic Parts and Packaging Program (NEPP) performed two rounds of testing on EdgeCortix(R) Inc.'s h

Orbex lands D-Orbit deal prior to first mission this year
Tuesday, 04 February 2025 10:37
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 04, 2025
UK-based launch services provider Orbex has finalized a new commercial agreement with D-Orbit, a leading name in space transportation and logistics. This move highlights Orbex's advancing role in the industry as it prepares for its first commercial launch later this year.
Under the arrangement, D-Orbit will secure two launch opportunities on Orbex Prime, the company's eco-conscious micro-l

UK Gains Advanced Space Simulation Facility from Amentum
Tuesday, 04 February 2025 10:37
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 04, 2025
Amentum (NYSE: AMTM) has been chosen to equip the United Kingdom with specialized technology that replicates space-like conditions to optimize microgravity procedures and strengthen mission safety.
Its robotics team will craft an in-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing gravity offload platform intended for those who build and operate satellites and spacecraft.
Following a com

Vodafone utilizes US satellite array for milestone mobile call
Tuesday, 04 February 2025 10:37
London, UK (SPX) Feb 04, 2025
Vodafone, a leading British telecommunications company, has completed the nation's first satellite video call using a standard mobile phone. The achievement aims to tackle persistent "dead zones" across remote regions where conventional cell tower signals are either weak or nonexistent.
On Wednesday, engineers placed the space-based call from a mountainside in west Wales using Android devi

Astranis inks fresh Falcon 9 deal
Tuesday, 04 February 2025 10:37
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 04, 2025
Astranis enthusiastically reveals it has finalized a new agreement with SpaceX for an additional Falcon 9 mission carrying five MicroGEO satellites before the end of this year. These advanced satellites will be placed in Geostationary Orbit (GEO) to deliver broadband connectivity to users worldwide, including major operators such as Thaicom in Thailand and internet providers like APCO in Mexico,

Telescoping from the moon
Tuesday, 04 February 2025 10:37
Miami FL (SPX) Feb 04, 2025
Before Neil Armstrong took his "giant leap for mankind," NASA staged a series of missions that paved the way for his team's successful Apollo 11 moon landing-from a flight that tested the lunar module in low Earth orbit to a dress rehearsal voyage that tested all aspects of the mission except for the actual landing.
Today, with its ambitious Artemis campaign, the iconic space agency has se

IGRINS on Gemini South Detects Surprising Signatures in Dynamic Atmosphere of Exoplanet WASP-121b
Tuesday, 04 February 2025 10:37
Tucson AZ (SPX) Feb 04, 2025
Nearly one third of known exoplanets are enormous gas giants, similar to Jupiter or Saturn. But whereas our Solar System developed with gas giants far from our Sun, some planetary systems consist of so-called 'hot - or even ultra-hot - Jupiters' orbiting very close to their star, some as close as Mercury is to the Sun. These hot, puffy giants endure extreme temperatures and are sometimes nicknam

Crew Wraps Spacewalk Duties and Expands Crop Research in Orbit
Tuesday, 04 February 2025 10:37
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 04, 2025
The Expedition 72 crew began February by tidying up after last week's spacewalk, while also conducting ongoing research in space-based farming and microgravity physics. On Monday, they turned their attention to experiments involving human physiology, all while continuing to keep the station in prime working order.
NASA astronauts Suni Williams, serving as Commander, and Flight Engineer But

European Partners Expand Ariane 6 Commitment with Arianespace
Tuesday, 04 February 2025 10:37
Paris, France (SPX) Feb 04, 2025
Arianespace has concluded two important deals on Ariane 6 with leading European authorities at the 17th European Space Conference. The European Commission, the European Space Agency (ESA), and EUMETSAT have affirmed ongoing support for Ariane 6, Europe's next-generation heavy-lift vehicle.
Under one agreement, the European Commission and ESA have selected Arianespace to launch Sentinel-1D

Ride completes Deep Blue mission marking new chapter in satellite launch services
Tuesday, 04 February 2025 10:37
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 04, 2025
RIDE!, a prominent force in satellite mission management, celebrates its successful Deep Blue RIDE! mission, marking the company's fourth major deployment and the first of 2025. Launched on January 14 aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket through the Transporter-12 rideshare program, Deep Blue RIDE! carried 130 payloads, including a satellite for RIDE!'s longtime partner, SatRev.
This accomplish
