Europe's Earth Return Orbiter Advances to Next Development Stage
Monday, 08 July 2024 16:09
ESA's Earth Return Orbiter (ERO), the pioneering spacecraft designed to capture and return samples from Mars, has achieved a significant milestone, completing its critical design review (CDR). This essential phase confirms the performance, quality, and reliability of the spacecraft's systems, enabling the next steps in its development.
A CDR is a crucial stage in any spaceflight project, e Garnet Presence in the Deep Lunar Mantle Confirmed
Monday, 08 July 2024 16:09
The current understanding of the Moon's interior reveals a central metallic core, a mantle rich in minerals like olivine and pyroxene, and an outer crust layer. This model has been developed through analyses of lunar samples and seismic data from past Moon missions. Despite extensive studies, the debate about the presence of garnet in the deeper lunar mantle remains unresolved. A critical questi NASA Radar Monitors Close Approaches of Two Large Asteroids
Monday, 08 July 2024 16:09
The Deep Space Network's Goldstone planetary radar recently tracked two significant asteroid flybys, observing asteroids 2024 MK and 2011 UL21 as they passed by Earth.
Scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California monitored these asteroids during their close approaches. One asteroid was found to have a small moon, while the other was discovered just 13 days be Parker Solar Probe Achieves 20th Close Encounter with the Sun
Monday, 08 July 2024 16:09
NASA's Parker Solar Probe successfully made its 20th close approach to the Sun on June 30, 2024. The probe came within 4.51 million miles (7.26 million kilometers) of the Sun's surface, equaling its previous distance record.
"The close approach (known as perihelion) occurred at 3:47 UTC (11:47 p.m. EDT on June 29), with Parker Solar Probe moving 394,736 miles per hour (635,266 kilometers p Milky Way's Warp Reveals Shape of Dark Matter Halo
Monday, 08 July 2024 16:09
A research team led by Dr. HUANG Yang from the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC) has developed a novel "motion picture" method for measuring the precession rate of the Milky Way's disk warp. Utilizing this innovative approach, the team observed the precession direction and rate of the Milky Way's warp using a sample of Cepheid variable stars of various Quantum Detectors Poised to Reveal Dark Matter Mysteries
Monday, 08 July 2024 16:09
A major scientific enigma may be closer to resolution as researchers harness cutting-edge quantum technology.
Approximately 80% of the universe's matter is dark, eluding direct observation but detectable through its gravitational effects. Despite ongoing efforts, these dark matter particles remain unseen.
Scientists from Lancaster University, the University of Oxford, and Royal Hollo NASA's CURIE CubeSat to Study Space Weather on Ariane 6 Rocket
Monday, 08 July 2024 16:09
NASA's CURIE (CubeSat Radio Interferometry Experiment) will be a rideshare payload on the ESA's (European Space Agency) first flight of the Arianespace Ariane 6 rocket, aimed at exploring the main factors influencing space weather. The launch is scheduled for July 9 from Europe's Spaceport, the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana.
Designed by Dr. David Sundkvist and his team at th RuggON's Vehicle-Mounted Computer Offers Global Connectivity
Monday, 08 July 2024 16:09
RuggON, a leading provider of rugged computing solutions, has unveiled the Iridium Connected VORTEX, a robust Vehicle-Mounted Computer (VMC) designed for seamless global connectivity. Equipped with a specialized antenna and an integrated satellite-communications module, the Vortex ensures reliable data and message exchange even in the most isolated locations, beyond the reach of conventional 5G Ovzon 3 Satellite Commences Commercial Service
Monday, 08 July 2024 16:09
As previously communicated, Ovzon's proprietary satellite, Ovzon 3, has reached its designated position in the geostationary arc. After several weeks of final in-orbit testing, the satellite is now ready for commercial service.
The first delivery of SATCOM-as-a-Service from Ovzon 3 will be provided to the French government organization GIGN (Groupe d'Intervention de la Gendarmerie National Effects of Visual and Auditory Guidance on Space Station Tasks
Monday, 08 July 2024 16:09
Researchers from the Beijing Institute of Technology conducted a study examining the impact of visual and auditory instructions on procedural tasks within a simulated space station environment. The study involved 30 participants (15 men and 15 women) aged between 20 and 50, with an average age of 42. All participants were right-handed and free from significant visual or auditory impairments, mee Shenzhou XVII Crew Shares Post-Mission Insights with Media
Monday, 08 July 2024 16:09
The astronauts of China's Shenzhou XVII mission held their first press conference on Friday, two months after returning from their space expedition.
The three crew members - Tang Hongbo, Tang Shengjie, and Jiang Xinlin - are reported to be in excellent physical and mental condition. Their muscle strength, endurance, and cardiopulmonary function have largely returned to pre-flight levels. 
The Young Professional Satellite - From Theory to Reality (episode 2)
Monday, 08 July 2024 13:00
Video:
00:14:53
In the second episode of this docu series, we take a closer look into what it took to build ESA’s Young Professional Satellite (YPSat). YPSat’s mission objectives are to capture the key moments of Ariane 6’s inaugural flight and take in-orbit pictures of Earth and space. To achieve this, the satellite requires the multiple sub-systems to work in harmony and adhere to a pre-defined mission sequence.
This episode zooms in four of the sub-systems: the Wake-Up System (WUS), Battery, On-Board Computer (OBC) and Telecommunications.
Running at ultra low power, the WUS circuit board was designed, tested and manufactured specifically
NASA astronauts spend unexpected July 4 on the International Space Station
Monday, 08 July 2024 12:10
Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore spent an unexpected Fourth of July aboard the International Space Station—but it was hardly a patriotic display of engineering prowess.
The two NASA astronauts docked with the orbiting lab June 6 for what was supposed to be an eight-day mission, but their return home may be delayed for months in what has become a star-crossed test flight for Boeing's new Starliner capsule.
Not only was the launch of the spacecraft with astronauts aboard for the first time repeatedly delayed because of multiple problems, but NASA and Boeing are taking a cautious approach in returning the pair to Earth largely because of five thrusters that malfunctioned during docking.
Four of the tiny engines that direct the craft in space are now working properly, but engineers don't have a clear understanding of what caused the shutdown, so they have decided to conduct ground tests at NASA's White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico, NASA officials said. The tests will put a Starliner thruster through its paces in a replicated space environment.
The delay also will allow engineers to further study a helium leak in the capsule's propulsion system that was first detected before launch and worsened as Starliner made its way up to the space station roughly 250 miles above Earth.