Tag: European Space Agency
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Sweet! Scientists narrow down source of mysterious burst of methane on Mars
The European Space Agency’s Mars Express orbiter, shown in this artist’s conception, has been circling Mars since 2003. (Spacecraft image credit: ESA / ATG Medialab; Mars: ESA / DLR / FU Berlin, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO) It may sound like an April Fool’s joke about flatulent aliens, but this is serious: The scientists behind the…
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All-Italian launch from French Guiana lofts innovative environmental satellite
A Vega rocket lifted off from French Guiana at 10:50 p.m. local time (9:50 p.m. EDT) Thursday. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – S. Martin A Vega rocket fired into orbit Thursday night from French Guiana with Italy’s PRISMA hyperspectral Earth-imaging satellite, commencing a busy period for the Vega launcher program as…
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Facing more delays, NASA opens door to launching lunar mission with commercial rockets
Artist’s illustration of NASA’s Orion spacecraft and its European-built service module, powered toward the moon by an upper stage engine. Credit: NASA In a major shift, NASA is considering using two commercial launchers to send an unpiloted Orion crew capsule and its European-built service module on a test flight around the moon next year, maintaining…
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Israeli moon lander prepared for launch
The completed SpaceIL Beresheet lunar lander is pictured with its solar panels attached. Credit: SpaceIL The privately-funded Israeli Beresheet lunar lander is ready for its historic mission to the moon, aiming to become the first space probe to land on another planetary body without government funding. Funded by philanthropists and donors, the Beresheet lunar lander…
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Crew of three safely lands in Kazakhstan after 197-day space mission
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst exits the Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft shortly after landing Thursday. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls A Russian cosmonaut, a German flight engineer and a NASA astronaut undocked from the International Space Station and plunged back to Earth overnight Wednesday, landing on the snowy steppe of…
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Station crew set for overnight landing in Kazakhstan
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION NASA astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor, Expedition 57 commander Alexander Gerst, and Soyuz commander Sergey Prokopyev are set for landing in Kazakhstan Thursday. Credit: Roscosmos Eight days after a dramatic spacewalk to inspect the site of a leak in the hull of his Soyuz ferry ship, Russian commander Sergey Prokopyev,…
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European weather satellite blasts off from French Guiana
A Soyuz rocket blasts off with Europe’s MetOp-C weather satellite. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – JM Guillon A Russian-built Soyuz rocket launched Tuesday from the Guiana Space Center on the northeastern coast of South America, boosting Europe’s MetOp-C satellite into orbit to benefit weather forecasters worldwide and closing out a generation…
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Photos: Europe’s MetOp-C weather satellite readied for liftoff
A new European weather satellite is ready for launch Tuesday night aboard a Soyuz rocket from French Guiana, and these photos illustrate the final weeks of the spacecraft’s launch campaign. The 9,003-pound (4,084-kilogram) MetOp-C weather satellite will launch into a polar orbit roughly 500 miles (800 kilometers) above Earth to measure key atmospheric variables, data…
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Live coverage: Soyuz rocket launches from French Guiana with weather satellite
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a Soyuz rocket from French Guiana with the European MetOp-C weather satellite. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter. Arianespace’s live video stream begins at 0027 GMT (7:27 p.m. EST) and will be available here. If you appreciate what we do, please consider becoming a…
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Soyuz rocket rolls out for launch of European weather satellite
A Russian Soyuz rocket rolls out to its launch pad in French Guiana on Friday. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – P. Baudon A Russian-built Soyuz booster arrived at its tropical launch pad in South America on Friday and was joined with a European weather satellite for launch Tuesday night. The MetOp-C…