Video: 00:00:00

On 9 August 2021, the ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter spacecraft passed within 7995 km of the surface of planet Venus during a gravity assist flyby. The Solar Orbiter Heliospheric Imager, SoloHI, captured this gleaming view of the planet in the days leading up to the approach.

The images show Venus approaching from the left while the Sun is off camera to the upper right. The planet's nightside, the part hidden from the Sun, appears as a dark semicircle surrounded by a bright crescent of light – glare from Venus’ incredibly bright sunlit side.
Some bright stars are also visible in the

Potsdam, Germany (SPX) Aug 24, 2021
In recent years, public awareness of light pollution and the health and environmental effects of artificial light has grown - as have Earth's light emissions according to satellite imagery. What satellite images don't show is what kind of light sources on the ground, and how many there are. To close this data gap, a team of citizen scientists and researchers from the Helmholtz Centre Potsdam - G

Greenbelt MD (SPX) Aug 24, 2021
NASA and Virginia-based Psionic, LLC, signed a licensing agreement for the use of a NASA 3D light detection and ranging (lidar) technology called Kodiak originally developed for a cutting-edge mission to robotically refuel a satellite in orbit. The commercial license will allow Psionic to combine the technology's capabilities with existing lidar developments to enhance the overall design and inc

Littleton CO (SPX) Aug 24, 2021
Lockheed Martin has invented a new type of satellite dish technology with a wide range of use on satellites and ground terminals, including space-based 5G. The Wide Angle ESA Fed Reflector (WAEFR) antenna is a hybrid of a phased array Electronically Steerable Antenna (ESA) and a parabolic dish, and increases coverage area by 190% compared to traditional phased array antennas at a much lower cost

Morgantown WV (SPX) Aug 24, 2021
Engineers at West Virginia University are helping to solve one of the greatest limitations of space exploration-sending and receiving information between a spacecraft and the ground station- thanks to a $750,000 award from NASA's highly competitive Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research program. Once a spacecraft leaves Earth's orbit and travels further into deep space, tran

London UK (SPX) Aug 24, 2021
OneWeb has confirmed the next successful launch of 34 satellites by Arianespace from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The launch follows the successful completion of OneWeb's 'Five to 50' mission and highlights the momentum of the business as it prepares to both introduce commercial service and focus on scaling to global service. This latest successful launch brings OneWeb's total in-orbit constel

Nagoya, Japan (SPX) Aug 24, 2021
Astronomers have succeeded for the first time in quantifying the proton and electron components of cosmic rays in a supernova remnant. At least 70% of the very-high-energy gamma rays emitted from cosmic rays are due to relativistic protons, according to the novel imaging analysis of radio, X-ray, and gamma-ray radiation. The acceleration site of protons, the main components of cosmic rays,

Berkeley CA (SPX) Aug 24, 2021
An interplanetary mission led by the University of California, Berkeley, to put two satellites - dubbed "Blue" and "Gold" - into orbit around Mars has been officially authorized to prepare for launch in October 2024. The announcement last week by NASA means that by 2026 the spacecraft will likely be exploring the red planet's atmosphere and its interaction with the solar wind. Called

Moscow (Sputnik) Aug 24, 2021
The United States may purchase a seat on the Russian Soyuz in the spring of next year, as a precaution, in case of any issues with commercial US spacecraft, Roscosmos Deputy Director General for International Cooperation Sergey Saveliev told Sputnik. "The Americans are leaving this opportunity [acquiring a Soyuz seat in the spring of 2022] as an option, counting on help and assistance from