Copernical Team
Plato in ESA's LEAF room
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This image shows ESA’s next exoplanet mission, Plato, in the Large European Acoustic Facility (LEAF). In this room, the noise of a rocket taking off is simulated. The large room measures 11 by 9 metres and is 16.4 metres high. One wall is equipped with multiple noise horns, that have a similar design as ordinary speakers. Nitrogen is shot through the horns and can produce noise up to 156 decibels. During tests, no one is allowed into the room that is surrounded by a 0.5-m-thick layer of concrete to keep the noise in. Plato passed its test with
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Moon stance ESA ground stations support Chandrayaan-3 Moon mission
Euclid’s large halo around indefinitely small point
Space awaits you! More ESA vacancies now open for applications
In March, we announced that 2023 would see the publication of over 300 vacancies at ESA. New vacancies keep being published as we continue our search for talented and motivated professionals to join our teams across Europe and support our mission of the peaceful exploration of space for the benefit of everyone. Could ESA be the next step in your career? Read more to find out!
Martian treasure hunt in Iceland
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A team of martian scientists scouts the foothills of a volcano in Iceland hunting for a particular type of soil that matches samples collected by NASA’s Perseverance rover on the Red Planet.
The majestic landscape has a rusty colour from the dark, dense rock ejected during volcanic eruptions. The volcanic terrain, cool temperatures and sparse vegetation make the area very similar to ancient Mars. These conditions helped Iceland become the first European stopover for a treasure hunt that is searching for Mars-like samples around the world.
The effort is part of the joint Mars Sample Return
OceanMind selects Spire Global's satellite ship-tracking data to combat illegal fishing
Spire Global, Inc. (NYSE: SPIR) ("Spire" or "the Company"), a global provider of space-based data, analytics and space services, was selected by OceanMind, a leader in marine enforcement and compliance, to extend its agreement in providing real-time automatic identification system (AIS) vessel-tracking data. Spire has been providing AIS data to OceanMind since 2019.
OceanMind supports fish High-resolution Ice Radar System Contributes to China's Antarctic Expedition
During the latest Chinese Antarctica Research Expedition (CHINARE 39) which wrapped up in April, 2023, a high-resolution shallow ice radar system developed by the Aerospace Information Research Institute (AIR) with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) was applied to measure the ice sheet surrounding Zhongshan Station, where an airport on the ice is planned.
The obtained data demonstrate c Arctic Weather Satellite progressing towards launch
The European Space Agency's (ESA) Arctic Weather Satellite has passed its Critical Design Review, a key step to start the manufacturing of the satellite ahead of planned launch in 2024. AAC Clyde Space supplies the mission's main instrument, as well as core avionics, under contracts valued at a total of 13.5 MEUR (approx. 160 MSEK).
AAC Clyde Space has developed a passive microwave radiome Satellite security lags decades behind the state of the art
Thousands of satellites are currently orbiting the Earth, and there will be many more in the future. Researchers from Ruhr University Bochum and the CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security in Saarbrucken have assessed the security of these systems from an IT perspective. They analysed three current low-earth orbit satellites and found that, from a technical point of view, hardly any mode