Copernical Team
DLR selects Vyoma for two key small satellite launches
German-based space technology firm Vyoma has achieved a notable milestone, securing two significant awards at the 2023 SmallSatellite Conference in Berlin. These awards, presented by the German Space Agency at the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), highlight Vyoma's contributions to the small satellite sector and its alignment with Europe's strategic space interests.
Vyoma's double win compris Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration probe passes key milestone
NASA's Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) has recently achieved a significant milestone by successfully completing Key Decision Point D (KDP-D). This vital step permits the transition of the IMAP mission from its development and design phase to the crucial stages of assembly, testing, and integration. The progress marks a pivotal moment for this ambitious project, aligning it on Shedding light on the synthesis of sugars before the origin of life
Pentoses are essential carbohydrates in the metabolism of modern lifeforms, but their availability during early Earth is unclear since these molecules are unstable. A new study led by the Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) at Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan, reveals a chemical pathway compatible with early Earth conditions and by which C6 aldonates could have acted as a source of pentoses Hypernebula linked to Fast Radio Burst 20190520B
Astronomers from the Netherlands have provided compelling evidence linking a repeating Fast Radio Burst (FRB) source to a potential 'hypernebula.' Utilizing the European VLBI Network (EVN), the team has made significant strides in understanding these mysterious cosmic phenomena. This research marks a notable advancement in the study of FRBs and their origins.
Fast Radio Bursts are fleeting Ghostlike dusty galaxy reappears in James Webb Space Telescope image
It first appeared as a glowing blob from ground-based telescopes and then vanished completely in images from the Hubble Space Telescope. Now, the ghostly object has reappeared as a faint, yet distinct galaxy in an image from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).
Astronomers with the COSMOS-Web collaboration have identified the object AzTECC71 as a dusty star-forming galaxy. Or, in other w A new possible explanation for the Hubble tension
The universe is expanding. How fast it does so is described by the so-called Hubble-Lemaitre constant. But there is a dispute about how big this constant actually is: Different measurement methods provide contradictory values. This so-called "Hubble tension" poses a puzzle for cosmologists. Researchers from the Universities of Bonn and St. Andrews are now proposing a new solution: Using an alter OSIRIS-APEX to fly closer to Sun to reach Asteroid Apophis
Reinvented as NASA's OSIRIS-APEX, the spacecraft formerly known as OSIRIS-REx is about to face the first major test of its mission to asteroid Apophis: it will fly closer to the Sun than ever before, exposing its components to higher temperatures than they were designed to endure.
At its closest approach (known as its perihelion) on Jan. 2, 2024, OSIRIS-APEX will be about 46.5 million mile Lift-off for EIRSAT-1, Ireland’s first ever satellite
Six years of hard work and dedication paid off in spectacular fashion today, as the Educational Irish Research Satellite, EIRSAT-1, successfully blasted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. Hitching a ride on a Space-X Falcon-9 launcher, the tiny satellite – measuring just 10.7cm x 10.7cm x 22.7cm – has now made history as Ireland’s first satellite!
EIRSAT-1 liftoff
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On 1 December 2023, at 19:19 CET (18:18 GMT), Ireland's first satellite EIRSAT-1 launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, USA.
Built by students at University College Dublin under guidance of ESA’s Education Office, EIRSAT-1 is a 2-unit CubeSat carrying three experiments, including a novel gamma ray detector that will study some of the most luminous explosions in the universe.
The mission has been in development since the team was accepted to the ESA Academy Fly Your Satellite! programme in 2017. Over the past six years, the students have worked with ESA experts and acquired the professional competences needed
Europe is working on a multi-purpose habitat for the moon
With NASA gearing up to send humans back to the moon in the next few years with the Artemis missions with the goal of establishing a permanent outpost at the lunar south pole, nations are making efforts to contribute to Artemis and a permanent presence on our nearest celestial neighbor.
Recently, the Italian Space Agency, formally known as Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI), has taken steps to establish the first permanent outpost on the lunar surface, known simply as the Multi-Purpose Habitat (MPH). This endeavor was officially kicked by the ASI signing a contract with the French-based aerospace company, Thales Alenia Space, who specializes in space-based systems, including ground segments and satellites used for both Earth observation and space exploration.
