Latest news with #DanielNeuenschwander
Forbes
22-04-2025
- Science
- Forbes
SpaceX Launches Atomic Clocks With Lasers To Test Einstein Theory
Two cutting-edge atomic clocks — the most accurate ever created — have launched on a SpaceX rocket and are on their way to the International Space Station. In the coming months, they will use lasers to synchronize global clocks using global navigation satellite networks. Artist's impression showing the European space laboratory Columbus that is part of the International ... More Space Station with the Atomic Clock Ensemble in Space containing the PHARAO and Space H-Maser atomic clocks. The Atomic Clock Ensemble in Space will 'redefine how we measure time,' according to the European Space Agency, which developed it. It will transmit the most accurate time signal ever from space and create an 'internet of clocks,' comparing them to measure the flow of time. That will help scientists study Earth's gravity. According to ESA, an atomic clock measures time by observing an atom's transition from an excited state to a ground state with a fixed frequency. The ACES clocks — PHARAO and SHM — will be used to test fundamental physics from orbit, including Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity and the search for dark matter, said ESA. It will do that by defining how time and space are related. Built by the French space agency CNES and Safran Timing Technologies in Switzerland, the ACES clocks are so precise that they would lose just one second in 300 million years. However, they will not stay in orbit for long. With the ISS due to be deorbited in the late 2020s, they are destined to burn up in Earth's atmosphere alongside the rest of the station. The ACES clocks have a time transfer system built by German company TimeTech that will use microwave and laser links to synchronize time between space and Earth. The mission will also test how to synchronize clocks worldwide using GPS satellites. 'We are placing the most precise timepiece ever sent to orbit aboard the International Space Station — opening new frontiers in fundamental physics, time transfer, and global synchronization,' said Daniel Neuenschwander, Director of Human & Robotic Exploration at ESA. He called it a 'major milestone for European science and international cooperation in space.' The ACES clocks launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 4:15 a.m. EDT on Monday, April 21. It was part of NASA's SpaceX 32nd Commercial Resupply Services mission to fly scientific experiments and 6,700 pounds of supplies to the International Space Station in a Dragon space capsule. It will dock at the ISS around 8:20 a.m. Tuesday, April 22. The ACES clocks are scheduled to be installed outside ESA's Columbus module on Friday, April 25, facing Earth, where they will begin at least 10 measurement sessions, each lasting 25 days. The 'bowling ball on a sheet' analogy is a popular way to visualize gravity in general relativity. Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity describes how the cosmos works. The universe is 4D — it has three dimensions in space and one in time. Relativity is about what happens when you introduce mass into the 4D universe. The theory is encapsulated by the bowling ball (mass) on the trampoline (space-time), with the former stretching the latter. Mass curves space-time. Space-time controls how mass moves. If space-time is curved, everything with mass moves in a curved line. Gravity is a symptom of curved space-time; the sun changes the geometry of space-time around it, and light beams curve as they pass through curved space-time. According to NASA, ACES will measure Einstein's 'gravitational redshift,' an effect of Einstein's theory whereby light shifts to redder colors because of gravity. Gravitational redshifts impact the accuracy of GPS positioning. This theory was first published by Einstein in 1915, during the First World War, but remained unproven until photographs were taken during a total solar eclipse on May 19, 1919, that demonstrated light deflection. The images showed that the presence of the sun's mass in a dark sky shifted where stars appeared to be because the sun curved space-time. The light from stars around it traveled in a curve through it and appeared in a slightly different place than where they normally would.
Arab News
14-02-2025
- Science
- Arab News
First astronaut with a disability cleared for space station mission
PARIS:The first-ever astronaut with a physical disability has been cleared for a mission onboard the International Space Station, the European Space Agency announced on McFall, a 43-year-old British surgeon and former Paralympian who lost a leg in a motorbike accident when he was 19, said he was 'hugely proud' of clearing the announcing McFall as a member of its astronaut reserve in 2022, the European Space Agency (ESA) has been assessing the feasibility of someone with a prosthesis becoming a crew member on a space Friday, the ESA announced that McFall had received medical clearance for a long-duration mission onboard the International Space Station (ISS).McFall emphasized that he was 'relatively passive' in the process, and just had to be medically healthy and carry out the required tasks.'This is way bigger than me — this is a cultural shift,' he told an online press is no date yet for when McFall will get his chance to become what the ESA has dubbed the first 'parastronaut.''Now he's an astronaut like everybody else who wants to fly to the space station, waiting for a mission assignment,' the ESA's director of human and robotic exploration Daniel Neuenschwander ESA's announcement comes as diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives have come under attack from the new US administration of Donald Trump.'We are now entering a world which is changing a bit from a DEI perspective from one of our partners of the International Space Station,' Neuenschwander said.'We will continue with our European values,' he emphasized, adding that all ISS partners — which includes the United States — had given McFall medical next phase of the feasibility study will look at some of the hardware needed, including prosthetics, so that McFall can best overcome any additional challenges in said that technologies they are working on 'are going to trickle down and have benefits for prosthetic users in wider society as well.'
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Europe signs contract for its 1st moon lander, Argonaut
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The European Space Agency (ESA) has signed a contract for a moon lander that's expected to last for years in the harsh environment of the lunar surface. The European Space Agency handed Thales Alenia Space a contract worth nearly $900 million to build the Argonaut Lunar Descent Element, which will transport and land the spacecraft on the moon. The descent element will be one of three main components of Argonaut. The other two will be the cargo platform element and the lander payload. A team led by Thales is now charged with delivering the Argonaut Lunar Descent Element in 2030. The first operational mission, ArgoNET, is planned to launch in 2031. Argonaut will have a payload capacity of 4,400 pounds (2,000 kilograms). Cargo could include supplies for astronauts, mobile spacecraft such as rovers, science and technology payloads and elements for lunar bases. "The first mission is envisioned to deal with delivery of dedicated navigation and telecommunication payloads as well as energy generation and storage system[s], as European enterprises to explore the Lunar southern area," a Thales Alenia Space statement reads. The spacecraft is designed to have a long life on the lunar surface, according to ESA, being able to survive the harsh temperature swings between lunar night and day for five years. Its longevity will assist sustainable lunar exploration. "The Argonaut contract signature is a pivotal moment for Europe's lunar exploration ambitions," Daniel Neuenschwander, ESA Director for Human and Robotic Exploration, said in a statement. RELATED STORIES: — European Space Agency: Facts & information — The moon: Everything you need to know about Earth's companion — Missions to the moon: Past, present and future "Argonaut will enable Europe to contribute meaningfully to international partnerships, while paving the way for a sustainable human presence on the Moon. Europe is on its journey to the Moon and has broken the ground towards European autonomy in exploration," Neuenschwander added. Argonaut is one way in which ESA is getting involved in international lunar exploration endeavors, most notably the NASA-led Artemis program.
