How Rosetta arrives at a comet

After travelling nearly 6.4 billion kilometres through the Solar System, ESA's Rosetta is closing in on its target. But how does a spacecraft actually arrive at a comet?

Landsat looks to the Moon (w/ Video)

Every full moon, Landsat 8 turns its back on Earth. As the satellite's orbit takes it to the nighttime side of the planet, Landsat 8 pivots to point at the moon. It scans the distant lunar surface multiple times, then flips ...

Using thoughts to control airplanes

Pilots of the future could be able to control their aircraft by merely thinking commands. Scientists at the Institute of Flight System Dynamics of the Technische Universität München have now demonstrated the feasibility ...

The experts behind Gaia's arrival at nothingness

With a final, modest, thruster burn yesterday afternoon, ESA's billion-star surveyor finalised its entry into orbit around 'L2', a virtual point far out in space. But how do you orbit nothing? And who can show you how to ...

ESA's Cluster satellites in closest-ever 'dance in space'

(Phys.org) —Since 2000, the four identical satellites of the Cluster quartet have been probing Earth's magnetosphere in three dimensions. This week, two of them made their closest-ever approach, just 4 km, enabling valuable ...

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter sees GRAIL's explosive farewell

(Phys.org) —Many spacecraft just fade away, drifting silently through space after their mission is over, but not GRAIL. NASA's twin GRAIL (Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory) spacecraft went out in a blaze of glory ...

Mosquitos fail at flight in heavy fog

Mosquitos have the remarkable ability to fly in clear skies as well as in rain, shrugging off impacts from raindrops more than 50 times their body mass. But just like modern aircraft, mosquitos also are grounded when the ...

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