The sun readies for its close-up as Europe’s Solar Orbiter approaches

The European Solar Orbiter mission will make its closest approach to the sun later this month, promising to capture images that could unravel some of the mysterious behaviours of the star at the heart of our solar system. Solar Orbiter, a European Space Agency (ESA) mission with a contribution from NASA, launched in February 2020. … Read more

NASA’s Artemis 1 moon mission readies for ‘wet dress rehearsal’

The first moonbound rocket and spacecraft of NASA’s Artemis program are expected to do a “wet dress rehearsal” on the launch pad in February, the agency said. Engineers on the mission, expected to launch later this year, put the mission hardware through a series of checks to make sure they’re ready for the milestone, which … Read more