Tucson AZ (SPX) Feb 15, 2022
The moon is top of mind for many national space programs and private companies, with some planning to send humans back to the lunar surface as early as 2025. In advance, scientists are launching satellites and other payloads to orbit the moon. But so far, no one has kept track of just how many artificial objects are already up there, or where they are at any given moment. Without a way to

Boca Raton FL (SPX) Feb 18, 2022
Small-satellite pioneer Terran Orbital Corporation ("Terran Orbital") was awarded a contract by Lockheed Martin Aeronautics to provide three microsatellite class satellites, launch procurement, integration, and operations in support of product demonstration. "We are thrilled Terran Orbital will be part of another program with Lockheed Martin. This contract award provides an exciting opport

Washington DC (UPI) Feb 18, 2022
A new flavor of Coca-Cola is coming soon - a promotional announcement from Coca-Coca Thursday said, "From the furthest reaches of the galaxy, Coca-Cola Starlight is arriving." The new limited edition drink, called Coca-Cola Starlight, features a taste the beverage maker calls unique, and will be offered in both regular and zero sugar and is expected to be available Feb. 21. In a pres

Moscow (Sputnik) Feb 18, 2022
Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin space company says it will have to build more of its New Shepard rockets in order to meet the "very robust demand" for space tourism, the company's CEO said. At the FAA Commercial Space Transportation Conference in Washington, DC, on Thursday, Blue Origin CEO Bob Smith said the company had "thousands of people in the auction process" for tickets, indicating "very ro

Ottawa, Canada (SPX) Feb 18, 2022
As long-distance space travel transforms from a science fiction fantasy to a near-future reality, humanity is faced with a complex challenge: Can people socially and culturally adapt to and survive spending years hurtling across the universe in a contained, artificial space? Shawn Graham, a digital archaeologist and historian at Carleton University, is working with the International Space

Washington DC (UPI) Feb 16, 2021
Europe needs its own crewed spaceship to build its space industry and talent, astronauts who gathered in France said in an official manifesto Wednesday. Dozens of astronauts endorsed the statement that "we need to be able to count on our own autonomous access to space for humans," according to the manifesto presented at the 2022 European Space Summit in Toulouse. It calls on Euro

It is hard to overstate the importance of knowing precisely where (and when) you are and where you are going within today’s economy and society. Do you have a promising idea to improve the current positioning state-of-the-art? Then ESA’s navigation-focused NAVISP research programme wants to hear from you, before the end of March.

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ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano presents the European Astronauts’ Manifesto during the Space Summit in Toulouse, on 16 February 2022.

Watch the other Space Summit videos.

Video: 00:12:41

ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher speaks at the start of the ESA Council Meeting at Ministerial Level, part of the Space Summit in Toulouse, on 16 February 2022.

Watch the other Space Summit videos.

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Our galaxy, the Milky Way, began forming around 12 billion years ago. Since then, it has been growing in both mass and size through a sequence of mergers with other galaxies.

Perhaps most exciting is that this process has not quite finished, and by using data from ESA’s Gaia spacecraft, astronomers can see it taking place. This in turn allows to reconstruct the history of our galaxy, revealing the ‘family tree’ of smaller galaxies that has helped make the Milky Way what it is today.

The latest work on this subject comes from Khyati Malhan, a Humboldt Fellow at the