Space companies in Europe that could create telecommunications and navigation services for missions to the Moon will be invited to bid for the work, following the completion of two feasibility studies.
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Juice launch kit
Download this launch kit (in English, other languages below) to learn more about the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) mission and its science goals.
Two Pléiades Neo Earth-imaging satellites lost in failure of Europe’s Vega C rocket
Illustration of the Vega C rocket with its Zefiro 40 second stage firing. Credit: Arianespace
The final two spacecraft in Airbus’s four-satellite, 600 million-euro commercial Pléiades Neo Earth observation fleet crashed into the Atlantic Ocean shortly after launch from French Guiana Tuesday night, falling victim to a failure of a European Vega C rocket.
Europe's Vega C rocket fails on 2nd-ever mission, 2 satellites lost
Europe's Vega C rocket failed during its second-ever mission on Tuesday night (Dec. 20), which was supposed to loft two satellites for Airbus' Pléiades Neo Earth-imaging constellation.
Live coverage: Vega C rocket set for operational debut
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a Vega C rocket with the Pléiades Neo 5 and 6 commercial Earth observation satellites for Airbus. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter.
Two potentially habitable Earth-like worlds orbit a star in our cosmic backyard
Astronomers have discovered two Earth-like exoplanets orbiting a red dwarf near our solar system that orbit their star with respective 'years' lasting just 10 and 21 days.
Watch 2 NASA astronauts conduct spacewalk early Wednesday
Two NASA astronauts will conduct a spacewalk early Wednesday (Dec. 21) to install new solar arrays on the International Space Station, and you can watch it live.
Astronomers Spot Stars in the Most Distant Galaxies for the First Time
Since it launched on December 25th, 2021 (quite the Christmas present!), the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has taken the sharpest and most detailed images of the Universe, surpassing even its predecessor, the venerable Hubble Space Telescope! But what is especially exciting are the kinds of observations we can look forward to, where the JWST will use its advanced capabilities to address some of the most pressing cosmological mysteries. For instance, there’s the problem presented by high-redshift supermassive black holes (SMBHs) or brightly-shining quasars that existed during the first billion years of the Universe.
Zero-G flight for disability ambassadors shows space is accessible for all
AstroAccess flew 14 individuals from 5 countries on a parabolic research flight Dec. 15, to open up space research to more people.
SpaceX aims to start launching next-gen Starlink satellites this month: report
SpaceX will soon start launching a new generation of Starlink broadband satellites, which could help the company deal with surging demand, according to a report.
Strange arrangement of Milky Way's groupie galaxies may undermine dark matter
Scientists may have explained the mysterious distribution of small satellite galaxies around our Milky Way that has long puzzled astronomers, but not everyone is in agreement.
We Could Spread Life to the Milky Way With Comets. But Should We?
Here’s a thorny problem: What if life doesn’t always appear on planets that can support it? What if we find more and more exoplanets and determine that some of them are habitable? What if we also determine that life hasn’t appeared on them yet?
NASA's InSight lander on Mars goes silent as power runs low
NASA lost contact with its Mars InSight lander on Monday (Dec. 18) after the spacecraft failed to respond to communications from its control team.
Shock wave from sun has opened up a crack in Earth's magnetic field, and it could trigger a geomagnetic storm
A mysterious shock wave in a gust of solar wind has sent a barrage of high-speed material smashing into Earth's magnetic field, opening up a crack in the magnetosphere.
Salute Apollo 17's 50th anniversary with freshly restored moon mission shots
NASA restoration wizard Andy Saunders on Apollo 17's restored photos in his new book, "Apollo Remastered"
Watch Europe's Vega C rocket launch its 2nd mission Tuesday night
Europe's Vega C rocket is scheduled to launch on its second-ever mission on Tuesday night (Dec. 20), and you can watch the action live.
China picks 4 international payloads for historic sample-return mission to moon's far side
China has revealed that four international experiments will fly on its historic Chang'e 6 sample-return mission to the far side of the moon in 2025.
Ursid meteor shower shines with ideal dark sky conditions this year
The moon will be at new moon phase on Dec. 23 when the Ursid meteor shower reaches its peak, meaning it won't provide any hindrance at all for meteor watching.
Europa's icy crust may let more material into hidden ocean than thought
New research shows that even smaller impacts can warm and soften enough ice on Jupiter's moon Europa to send material sinking into the underlying ocean.
Superdense neutron star likely has solid crust, NASA telescope finds
NASA's IXPE space telescope observed a neutron star with a powerful magnetic field in X-rays for the first time, finding polarization and a likely solid crust.
The Challenge of Weird Black Hole Mergers
When spacetime shivers last only a fraction of a second — as in the case of the massive-black-hole merger GW190521 — astronomers struggle to uncover their origins.
