Copernical Team
Second CHAPEA Crew Begins Extended Mars Habitat Mission at NASA Johnson
NASA's second CHAPEA (Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog) mission is underway with four volunteers - Ross Elder, Ellen Ellis, Matthew Montgomery, and James Spicer - beginning a 378-day simulated Mars stay inside a 1,700-square-foot 3D-printed habitat at Johnson Space Center in Houston. The mission started October 19, 2025, and will conclude on October 31, 2026.
The crew will re NASA Orbiter Shines New Light on Long-Running Martian Mystery
Results from an enhanced radar technique have demonstrated improvement to subsurface observations of Mars.
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has revisited and raised new questions about a mysterious feature buried beneath thousands of feet of ice at the Red Planet's south pole. In a recent study, researchers conclude from data obtained using an innovative radar technique that an are ESCAPADE spacecraft capture first images while en route to Mars
About a week after liftoff, the twin spacecraft of NASA's ESCAPADE mission returned their first images as they journey away from Earth. On November 21, one of the two spacecraft used its Visible and Infrared Observation System - developed at Northern Arizona University - to photograph the edge of a solar panel.
The pair of self-portraits includes a visible-light photo and an infrared image Soyuz rocket positioned at Baikonur for ISS crew launch as Cygnus XL temporarily removed
The Soyuz MS-28 rocket was set upright at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on November 24 for the crewed mission scheduled for November 27. NASA astronaut Chris Williams and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergey Mikaev will launch aboard Soyuz MS-28 at 4:27 a.m. EDT and dock to the space station's Rassvet module after two Earth orbits to begin an eight-month research mission. NASA changes Starliner contract: First ISS mission to carry only cargo
Boeing's Starliner spacecraft will only fly cargo to the International Space Station after NASA changed the contract with Boeing that also cut the number of missions for the craft.
On Monday, NASA announced the update to the 2014 contract. It originally said there would be six crewed flights to the ISS after a successful uncrewed flight test. Now the contract says the total will be four mi Chang'e-6's far-side lunar samples show strongly cohesive behavior
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From orbit to X-ray: Imaging the entire EURECA satellite to reveal hidden structural damage
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SpainSat NG programme completed as second secure communications satellite launches
Europe has strengthened its secure-communications capabilities with the successful launch of SpainSat NG II on 24 October, wrapping up the SpainSat Next Generation programme supported by the European Space Agency (ESA). With both SpainSat NG satellites now in orbit, Europe will see its most advanced governmental communications system to date, a major step for the continent’s security, crisis-response capacity, and technological autonomy.
CM25 priorities for Space Transportation Systems
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On 26–27 November, the ESA Ministerial Council will take place in Bremen, Germany. Key decisions will be made about the future activities of the European Space Agency within the frame of ESA’s Strategy 2040. Toni Tolker-Nielsen outlines how these decisions will shape the future of Space Transportation Systems.
Ancient deep ocean rocks shown to be long-term carbon storage reservoirs
Rock samples collected from beneath the Atlantic Ocean reveal that lava rubble accumulating on the seafloor can store carbon dioxide for tens of millions of years. Research led by the University of Southampton involved analyzing lava cores extracted during the International Ocean Discovery Program's Expedition 390/393. The study focused on breccias, rocks created from eroded seafloor mountains a 