ESA has given the green light to launch a mission designed to make the first flyby of a comet visiting the inner solar system for the first time. The "Comet Interceptor" mission will be set in a standby orbit, where it will wait for the discovery of an incoming comet to intercept.
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Last year astronomers discovered a gigantic “ghost” galaxy, named Antlia 2, orbiting the Milky Way. Now, new research led by Rochester University has found that the bizarre galaxy may have been involved in a hit-and-run that left the Milky Way with a wobbly galactic disc.
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The ESA is working on a specially radiation-hardened computer to control its Hera deep-space probe on its task to observe the effects of the Asteroid Impact and Deflection Assessment (AIDA) mission.
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Space flight requires quite a lot of single-use machinery, and that gets expensive and wasteful. Now ESA has outlined its reusable Space Rider capsule, which would carry scientific equipment to the edge of space and back several times over.
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A new study has examined 25 years of satellite data to get a sense of the extent of ice loss across Antarctica. According to the findings, warming waters have destabilized as much as a quarter of the glacier ice in West Antarctica.
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In an effort to reduce the amount of space debris circling the Earth, the World Economic Forum and its partners are working on a Space Sustainability Rating (SSR) that will indicate how well satellite operators and launchers are complying with debris mitigation guidelines.
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The latest SpaceX Dragon cargo mission to the International Space Station (ISS) included an experiment that could help to combat aging here on Earth, as well as chronic illness and space-related stresses for astronauts on prolonged space missions.
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Many black holes have been found to spew jets of high-speed particles. Those usually form long, straight beams but now astronomers have discovered a weird black hole that’s spinning like a wonky top, firing off “bullets” of plasma in all directions.
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A tabletop exercise at the 2019 Planetary Defense Conference (PDC) next week will consider a fictional scenario where an asteroid 100 to 300 m (330 to 990 ft) in diameter with a one-in-100 chance of striking the Earth on April 29, 2027 is detected.
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ESA and Hungary-based Admatis are developing infrared and phosphorescent navigation markers for satellites. The patches that attach to the outer hull or insulation of the spacecraft are designed to help space servicing vehicles more safely approach, rendezvous, and dock with the target satellite.
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