These photos and a time lapse video from the European Space Agency chronicle the final preparations for launch of the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, or JUICE, spacecraft from the Guiana Space Center on the second-to-last Ariane 5 rocket.
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Europe’s first mission to Jupiter poised for launch from South America
The European Space Agency’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, or JUICE, spacecraft is buttoned up for launch inside the payload fairing of an Ariane 5 rocket. The illustration on the Ariane 5 payload fairing was the winning submission in a children’s art competition, drawn by eight-year-old Yaryna from Ukraine. Credit:
ESA-Manuel Pedoussaut
The European Space Agency’s $1.7 billion robotic Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer mission is ready for liftoff Thursday from French Guiana, beginning an eight-year cruise to the solar system’s largest planet before becoming the first-ever spacecraft to orbit one of Jupiter’s moons in the 2030s.
Relativity Space shelves Terran 1 rocket, focuses on bigger, reusable Terran R
Relativity Space has moved on from its pathfinder Terran 1 rocket after a single flight, focusing on the development of the bigger, reusable Terran R.
Space debris problem spurs a bold change in US government regulations
The Federal Communications Commission will create a new Space Bureau to work with regulations regarding space debris, space safety and other low Earth orbit needs.
Preparations underway for SpaceX’s next Falcon Heavy launch
SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket for the ViaSat 3 Americas mission inside the hangar at Launch Complex 39A. Credit: SpaceX
SpaceX’s next Falcon Heavy mission, set for April 18 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, will launch a powerhouse bus-sized broadband satellite for Viasat into a high-altitude circular geostationary orbit, a demanding flight profile that will require disposal of all three of the rocket’s reusable boosters.
Europe's JUICE Jupiter mission rolls out to pad for April 13 launch (photos)
The European Space Agency (ESA) shared images of the Ariane 5 rocket that will send its JUICE spacecraft to Jupiter and its moons as it is rolled out to the pad ahead of its April 13 launch.
Private Japanese moon lander targeting April 25 for historic touchdown try
Japan's Hakuto-R spacecraft is preparing to make a historic lunar landing attempt on April 25.
Not Snowball Earth, More of a Slushball Earth
Our planet hasn’t always been the warm, inviting place we know today. At least five times in its history, Earth froze over, locked in the grip of an ice age. Scientists sometimes refer to these periods as “Snowball Earth.” The popular idea is that everything was covered with ice, making life difficult, if not impossible. But, there’s new evidence that during at least one of these icy periods, parts of Earth’s surface could have been more like a giant mushy ball of slush.
Europe's JUICE mission has to squeeze into a 1-second launch window. Here's why.
Europe's Jupiter mission JUICE has only one second a day to launch to hit the correct trajectory that will take it to the gas giant planet in eight years' time.
Earth-observing satellite captures rare photos of Jupiter and its moons
The European Earth-observing satellite Pleiades Neo snapped a rare sequence of images capturing the giant planet Jupiter and its moons.
How to watch the launch of Europe's JUICE mission to Jupiter on April 13
Europe's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer mission is set to launch for its 8-year cruise to the solar system's largest planet on Thursday at 8:15 EDT (1215 GMT) and you can watch it live via Space.com.
Scorpio
Scorpio is one of the 12 zodiac constellations and is located in the southern sky. It is best seen during the summer months in the Northern Hemisphere and during the winter months in the Southern Hemisphere. The constellation is represented by a scorpion, and its brightest star is Antares, which is a red giant star located about 600 light-years away from Earth.
Mystery Bursts Give Astronomers a View into Galaxy Halos
Flashes of radio waves — whose exact sources are still a bit of a mystery — are helping astronomers learn about the hot gas that surrounds the Milky Way.
Newfound asteroid is a long-term 'quasi-moon' of Earth
A newfound asteroid called 2023 FW13 has been Earth's companion for centuries, astronomers say.
Unistellar eQuinox 2 telescope review
A smart telescope designed for beginners and pros, the Unistellar eQuinox 2 provides excellent views and photos of the cosmos.
'Star Wars: Dark Droids' brings robotic horror to the galaxy far, far away
Marvel Comics reveals a first look at new "Star Wars: Dark Droids" horror comic book series at Star Wars Celebration 2023.
Mother of Dragons: Astronomers Peer Inside the “Dragon Cloud”
How did the most massive stars form? Astronomers have debated their origins for decades. One of the biggest problems facing these theories is the lack of observations. Massive stars are relatively rare, and so it’s hard to catch them in the act of formation. But new observations of the so-called Dragon cloud may hold the clue to answering this mystery.
A Rocket-Powered Spaceplane Completes a Successful Test Flight
Access to space is getting easier and more accessible as more and more platforms are coming online that can significantly decrease the cost of getting into Earth’s orbit or even beyond. Now, another company has taken a step forward in making inexpensive, reusable access to space a reality. Dawn Aerospace, which operates out of the US, New Zealand, and the Netherlands, has successfully tested a prototype spaceplane.
Olympus 8x25 WP II binocular review
The portable Olympus 8x25 WP II boasts an excellent optical system for clear views of the moon and bright targets with superb contrast.
Machine Learning Tidies Up the Cosmos
Amanda Morris, a press release writer at Northwestern University, describes an important astronomical effect in terms entertaining enough to be worth reposting here: “The cosmos would look a lot better if the Earth’s atmosphere wasn’t photobombing it all the time.” That’s certainly one way to describe the air’s effect on astronomical observations, and it’s annoying enough to astronomers that they constantly have to correct for distortions from the Earth’s atmosphere, even at the most advanced observatories at the highest altitudes. Now a team from Northwestern and Tsinghua Universities have developed an AI-based tool to allow astronomers to automatically remove the blurring effect of the Earth’s atmosphere from pictures taken for their research.
New 'warm Jupiter' exoplanet discovered by NASA's planet-hunting satellite
Things could be heating up for a newly discovered warm Jupiter planet. The exoplanet planet around 1,000 light years away could snuggle up to its star but only if another planet plays matchmaker.
