Copernical Team
China tests a Stirling engine in orbit
The China National Space Agency (CNSA) has made considerable progress in recent years with the development of its Long March 5 (CZ-5) rocket and the completion of its Tiangong-3 space station. The agency also turned heads when it announced plans in June 2021 to create an International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) that would rival the Artemis Program. On top of all that, China upped the ante when it announced later that month that it also had plans to send crewed missions to Mars by 2033, concurrent with NASA's plans.
As part of their growing efforts to become a major power in space, which includes human exploration, China recently announced the completion of the first in-orbit test of a Stirling thermoelectric converter. The Shenzou-15 mission crew performed the test aboard Tiangong-3, and it was the first successful verification of the technology in space. This technology is also being investigated by NASA and is considered a technological solution to the challenges of space exploration, especially where long-duration stays and missions to locations in deep space are concerned.
JUICE Pre-Launch Press Briefing
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ESA’s JUpiter ICy moons Explorer (Juice) will launch from Europe’s Spaceport at Kourou in French Guiana on Thursday 13 April 2023. Watch the replay of this online media briefing to hear more about the mission and the launch itself. Participants will include Olivier Witasse, Juice Project Scientist ; Ruedeger Albat, Head of Ariane 5 Programme at ESA and Alessandro Atzei, Payload System Engineer.
Stage set: Juice dress rehearsal complete
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After months practicing with a ‘fake’ Juice spacecraft, teams at ESA’s mission control centre in Darmstadt, Germany, today got in touch with the real thing. For the first time, mission engineers connected to the Ariane 5 rocket and inside its fairing the Juice spacecraft, for a dress rehearsal of the all-important “network countdown”.
The dress rehearsal is the moment that ESA’s mission control brings together the various partners and elements of the mission for a final fully integrated test before launch. Today, Juice’s signals streamed into ESA’s Space
Webb scores another ringed world with new image of Uranus
Webb’s infrared image highlights the planet’s dramatic rings and dynamic atmosphere. Following in the footsteps of the Neptune image released in 2022, the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has taken a stunning image of the solar system’s other ice giant, the planet Uranus. The new image features dramatic rings as well as bright features in the planet’s atmosphere.
How to follow the Juice launch live
ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer mission, Juice, is planned for launch at 13:15 BST/14:15 CEST on 13 April from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. Here’s how to follow the key milestones online.
Untangling the ocean biological carbon pump
They may be microscopic, but their ability to sequester carbon is phenomenal. We are talking phytoplankton – and scientists working on a project funded by ESA are assessing different aspects of the role that these tiny plants play in the ocean carbon cycle to better understand climate processes.
Practice makes perfect
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Practice makes perfect Beam-hopping JoeySat ready for launch
An advanced broadband satellite that will provide high-speed internet connectivity from low Earth orbit has left OneWeb Florida Facilities to Vandenberg launch pad.
New membrane mirrors for large space-based telescopes
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics have developed a new way to produce and shape large, high-quality mirrors that are much thinner than conventional mirrors used for space telescopes. The resulting mirrors are flexible enough to be rolled up and stored compactly inside a launch vehicle.
"Launching and deploying space telescopes is a complicated and costly First pair of second-generation weather satellites, built by Airbus, enter their test phase
The Airbus built satellite twins, MetOp-SG A and B will provide a panoply of new meteorological data that will substantially improve numerical weather prediction - the backbone of our daily weather forecasts - at regional and global levels. The multiple instruments on-board will also provide key observations for climate monitoring, atmospheric chemistry and other services such as air pollution, 
