#Image: Space Station stitch

“#Image: Space Station stitch” Credit: L. Brandon-Cremer This panorama of the International Space Station is a wider view of what ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano was capturing on camera during the first of a series of historic spacewalks that took place in November 2019. Author, journalist and researcher Lee Brandon-Cremer created this photo by stitching together…

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#China launches final satellite in GPS-like Beidou system

“#China launches final satellite in GPS-like Beidou system” In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, a rocket carrying the last satellite of the Beidou Navigation Satellite System blasts off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China’s Sichuan Province, Tuesday, June 23, 2020. China launched the final satellite in its Beidou constellation that…

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#Future space travelers may follow cosmic lighthouses

“#Future space travelers may follow cosmic lighthouses” An image of NICER on the exterior of the space station with one of the station’s solar panels in the background. Credit: NASA For centuries, lighthouses helped sailors navigate safely into harbor. Their lights swept across the water, cutting through fog and darkness, guiding mariners around dangerous obstacles…

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#TRACERS heliophysics mission enters Phase B

“#TRACERS heliophysics mission enters Phase B” Two NASA sounding rockets carrying SwRI-developed ion instruments studied the electrodynamics of the polar cusp. The instruments will fly on TRACERS, a heliophysics mission to study how the Earth’s and Sun’s magnetic fields interact, set to launch in 2023. Credit: NASA/Jamie Adkins NASA has approved the Tandem Reconnection and…

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#Evidence supports ‘hot start’ scenario and early ocean formation on Pluto

“#Evidence supports ‘hot start’ scenario and early ocean formation on Pluto” Extensional faults (arrows) on the surface of Pluto indicate expansion of the dwarf planet’s icy crust, attributed to freezing of a subsurface ocean. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute/Alex Parker The accretion of new material during Pluto’s formation may have generated…

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#ESA highlights protection for our planet ahead of Asteroid Day

“#ESA highlights protection for our planet ahead of Asteroid Day” Asteroids passing Earth. Credit: European Space Agency The United Nations’ International Asteroid Day on 30 June highlights ESA’s expanding efforts to secure our future by understanding and addressing risks posed by near-Earth objects that could impact our planet. “The work of ESA and the international…

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#Flight trials for greener aviation set for take off

“#Flight trials for greener aviation set for take off” Credit: European Space Agency Commercial flight trials that use satellite-enabled communications to reduce the environmental impact of flying are scheduled to commence once normal traffic levels resume. As nations begin to recover from the coronavirus pandemic and airports start to reopen in Europe, satellite communications provider…

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