ESA and NASA join forces to understand climate change
Tuesday, 13 July 2021 16:00
Climate change is, arguably, the biggest environmental challenge the global population faces today. To address this major issue, decision-makers not only need accurate information on how our world is changing now, but also predictions on what may happen in the future. A sound knowledge of how Earth behaves as one system is the foundation to all of this – and the pieces of this complex puzzle come largely from satellites orbiting our planet. To ensure that data from Earth-observing satellites are used to their best advantage, further science and, ultimately, bring the most benefit to humankind, ESA and NASA have formed
Media briefing: Eutelsat Quantum to be launched
Tuesday, 13 July 2021 14:00
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The reconfigurable satellite will launch this summer from the European Space Port in French Guiana. Eutelsat Quantum will be capable of being reprogrammed after launch. It will provide data, communications and entertainment exactly where and when it is wanted. Watch the replay of this Q&A with the media to learn more and hear from the key players behind its development.
Ariane 6 targets new missions with Astris kick stage
Tuesday, 13 July 2021 13:05
ESA will enhance the versatility of Europe’s Ariane 6 rocket with a kick stage called Astris in a €90 m development contract with prime contractor, ArianeGroup. This is part of ESA’s strategy to extend Ariane 6’s capabilities to serve a wider range of space transportation requirements.
Antarctic noon
Tuesday, 13 July 2021 13:03
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A fortnight after the 21 June winter solstice in Antarctica, the crew at Concordia Research Station are slowly welcoming the return of sunlight. This photo was taken by ESA-sponsored medical doctor Nick Smith on 1 July at noon.
The 12-member crew at Concordia, located at the mountain plateau called Dome C, have spent the last few months in complete darkness: the sun disappeared in May and will not be fully visible again until mid-August. This image of high noon signals the beginning of the end of winter on the remote continent.
Confined in extreme conditions, the crew at Concordia – one
Astris kick stage for Ariane 6
Tuesday, 13 July 2021 13:00
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Ariane 6 will use an optional add-on Astris kick stage developed by ArianeGroup to target new missions How to see tonight's conjunction of Venus and Mars in the evening sky
Tuesday, 13 July 2021 12:55
Venus has returned to our evening skies and is looking lovely in the north-west after sunset. Tonight, July 13, it will pair up with the red planet Mars and just above the two planets will be the waxing crescent Moon.
Wherever you are in Australia, find a location that has a good view of the north-west horizon to see the conjunction. Venus will be visible during dusk, but you need to wait until the sky darkens to have a chance to see faint Mars.
Mars will appear just above and to the left of Venus. The best viewing opportunity will be from about 6:30pm , with the planets setting an hour later.
Venus is dazzling, so it is easy to see why it's known as the "evening star." Just look towards the north-west horizon after sunset and you can't miss it.
Mars, on the other hand, is looking fairly faint. The red planet has been in the north-west sky for the past few months and while it was bright and red earlier in the year, it has been fading quite considerably as its orbit takes it away from Earth.
NASA's Mars helicopter reveals intriguing terrain for rover team
Tuesday, 13 July 2021 12:50
Images snapped on July 5 by NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter on its ambitious ninth flight have offered scientists and engineers working with the agency's Perseverance Mars rover an unprecedented opportunity to scout out the road ahead. Ingenuity provided new insight into where different rock layers begin and end, each layer serving as a time capsule for how conditions in the ancient climate changed at this location. The flight also revealed obstacles the rover may have to drive around as it explores Jezero Crater.
NASA moves ahead with plan to support private space stations
Tuesday, 13 July 2021 12:01
NASA is moving ahead with plans to help fund a new generation of private space stations in an effort to ensure replacements are ready when the International Space Station shuts down in as little as seven years.
The space agency on Monday released a final request for proposals for new space stations. Those proposals are due Aug. 26.
NASA intends to retire the 20-year-old ISS in 20 Ingenuity Mars helicopter photos show latest flight area
Tuesday, 13 July 2021 12:01
Photos from the Mars helicopter Ingenuity's ninth flight released by NASA on Monday are helping engineers and scientists plot the next destinations for the Perseverance rover.
The aircraft was sent toward some possible science targets for the mission, flying over a sandy dune area known as Séítah that might be hazardous for the rover.
The photos showed the dunes and rocky outcr NASA grapples with Hubble Telescope's most serious problem in years
Tuesday, 13 July 2021 12:01
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope is broken, and the agency is struggling to understand the workhorse observatory's most serious problem in more than a decade.
Hubble stopped working suddenly June 13 while astronomers were using the 31-year-old telescope to examine pulsating stars 200 million miles away.
NASA is trying to understand what went wrong on the orbiting telescope, without Digital corrections for Sentinel-1 satellite images
Tuesday, 13 July 2021 12:01
Researchers at the German Aerospace Center Earth Observation Center (EOC) have developed a correction procedure for the radar satellites of the European Sentinel-1 mission. With this methodology, the geographic location of satellite measurements can be determined with significantly greater accuracy. Every pixel can be localised on Earth's surface with a precision of a few centimetres instead of Study Projects a Surge in Coastal Flooding, Starting in 2030s
Tuesday, 13 July 2021 12:01
High-tide floods - also called nuisance floods or sunny day floods - are already a familiar problem in many cities on the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf coasts. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported a total of more than 600 such floods in 2019.
Starting in the mid-2030s, however, the alignment of rising sea levels with a lunar cycle will cause coastal cities all aroun An antioxidative stress regulator protects muscle tissue in space
Tuesday, 13 July 2021 12:01
Most kids dream of growing up to be astronauts; but the downside of spending extended amounts of time in low gravity is that astronauts' muscles tend to shrink and weaken through disuse. Now, researchers from Japan have identified a protein that affects how muscles respond to space flight.
In a study published in June 2021 in Communications Biology, researchers from the University of Tsuku Eutelsat Quantum: Europe’s reprogrammable satellite
Tuesday, 13 July 2021 11:00
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Soon Eutelsat Quantum will be launched into a geostationary orbit on board an Ariane 5 from Kourou. This advanced telecommunications satellite is revolutionary as it offers its users the ability to reconfigure the satellite while in orbit. This offers a previously unknown degree of flexibility during its 15-year lifetime. It allows for satellites of this type to be mass-produced, making them extremely interesting for commercial parties and industry. The satellite was developed as an ESA partnership project with operator Eutelsat and prime contractor Airbus working together with ESA to share the risk of developing this innovative piece of technology.
Germany launches 'space command' to protect infrastructure
Tuesday, 13 July 2021 10:44
The German military on Tuesday launched a "space command" tasked with overseeing satellites, watching for dangerous space junk and analyzing other countries' activities.
Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer launched the new operation during a visit to its base at Uedem in western Germany.
The military is "responding to the increasing significance of space for our state's ability to function, the prosperity of our population and the increasing dependency of the armed forces on space-supported data, services and products," Kramp-Karrenbauer's ministry said in a statement.
The aim is to bring together existing capabilities in one place, where the military's center for air operations is already based, and add new ones.
Kramp-Karrenbauer said that the term "Weltraumkommando," or "space command," might draw far-fetched associations with the novels of Jules Verne or starship Enterprise, but the reality is "far from being so sensational," news agency dpa reported.
The German military, or Bundeswehr, itself has six satellites in orbit. The minister said space operations for Germany "are always defensive operations"—for example to ensure that infrastructure isn't endangered.
The United States already has a Space Command, whose role is to conduct operations such as enabling satellite-based navigation and troop communication and providing warning of missile launches.