European Space Agency welcomes new astronauts to corps representing five different countries

Canadian Press Videos

April 22, 2024 at 2:35 p.m.

The European Space Agency has added five new members to its astronaut corps. They graduated Monday during a ceremony in Cologne, Germany, after completing a year of training. That brings the space agency’s astronaut roster up to 11. The new astronauts are from France, Belgium, Britain, Switzerland and Spain. An Australian has also joined them as part of an agreement. The newcomers are now eligible for trips to the International Space Station. More than 20,000 people applied for the five slots.

Popular Mechanics
A Remarkable New Thruster Could Achieve Escape Velocity—and Interplanetary Travel
Scientists are on the brink of a propulsion breakthrough.
Futurism
Spacecraft Takes Close Up Video of the Sun, Revealing Otherworldly Hellscape
The European Space Agency has released an incredible video of the Sun's roiling surface, which was taken by its Solar Orbiter last year. The video shows strands of energized particles leaving the star's lower atmosphere in the form of "coronal rain," with small eruptions of plasma dotting a fuzzy, "coronal moss" surface — a […]
Futurism
Astronaut Recalls Spacecrafts Flying Through Deadly "Black Zones"
In a matter of days, NASA astronauts Suni Wiliams and Butch Wilmore will launch on board a Boeing Starliner to travel to the International Space Station. The pair have been in quarantine at the Kennedy Space Center since April 22 for a daring journey. Boeing's much-maligned Starliner has faced years of setbacks and major […]
Futurism
James Webb Detects Weather on Exoplanet From 280 Light Years Away
Cloudy With a Chance of Molten Iron The scientific instruments on board NASA's James Webb Space Telescope are so sensitive, they can tell the weather on an exoplanet a whopping 280 light-years away. Using the telescope mid-infrared light spectrometer, a team of international scientists managed to map the weather on the surface of WASP-43 b, […]
Associated Press
Boeing is on the verge of launching astronauts aboard new capsule, the newest entry to space travel
After years of delays and stumbles, Boeing is finally poised to launch astronauts to the International Space Station for NASA. It’s the first flight of Boeing’s Starliner capsule with a crew on board, a pair of NASA pilots who will check out the spacecraft during the test drive and a weeklong stay at the space station. NASA turned to U.S. companies for astronaut rides after the space shuttles were retired.
Miami Herald
Ancient Mayan compartments — used to hold water — discovered in Mexico. See them
One chultún is the first of its kind, found built under a building, officials said.
HowStuffWorks
10 Deep Sea Creatures That Are (Almost) Too Bizarre to Be Real
Far below the ocean's surface, in the dark depths of the deep sea floor ecosystem (about 3,000 feet or 1,000 meters deep), exists an entire world of deep sea creatures that humans rarely glimpse.
BBC
Museum spotlights ancient Egypt beyond the mummies
Curators showcase environment of the ancient Nile Valley in a new display.
BBC
What is the mystery Roman object found on hill in Norton Disney?
Historian and broadcaster Dr Jonathan Foyle gives his take on suggestions put forward by BBC website users.
Euronews
Wild orangutan uses a medicinal plant to treat a wound in 'first time' observation by scientists
“This is the first time that we have observed a wild animal applying a quite potent medicinal plant directly to a wound.”
CNN
The Space Race Heats Up as China Launches Moon Probe
Tariq Malik, the editor-in-chief of Space.com, joins Paula Newton
Engadget
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft may finally take its first crewed flight next week
Boeing's Starliner crew capsule is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Launch Complex-41 in Florida on Monday, May 6. The launch window opens at 10:34PM ET. Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will be on board.
CNN
Orangutan observed treating wound using medicinal plant in world first
CNN’s Kim Brunhuber speaks with Dr. Isabelle Laumer, from the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, about her work with orangutan research
CNN
Boeing and NASA decide to move forward with historic crewed launch of new spacecraft
The long-awaited Starliner mission is on track to carry two NASA astronauts — Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore — to the International Space Station.
The New York Times
What Happens When NASA Loses Eyes on Earth? We’re About to Find Out.
Sometime in the next few years — no one knows exactly when — three NASA satellites, each one as heavy as an elephant, will go dark. Already they are drifting, losing height bit by bit. They have been gazing down at the planet for over two decades, far longer than anyone expected, helping us forecast the weather, manage wildfires, monitor oil spills and more. But age is catching up to them, and soon they will send their last transmissions and begin their slow, final fall to Earth. It’s a moment s
Miami Herald
Injured orangutan observed treating his own wound with medicinal plant, scientists say
Is this the history of medicine in action?
CNN
H5N1 bird flu was circulating in dairy cows for four months before it was detected, USDA scientists say
Bird flu was probably circulating in dairy cows for at least four months before it was confirmed to be the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus, according to a new analysis of genomic data by scientists at the US Department of Agriculture’s Animal Disease Center.
The Canadian Press
Boeing is on the verge of launching astronauts aboard new capsule, the latest entry to space travel
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — After years of delays and stumbles, Boeing is finally poised to launch astronauts to the International Space Station for NASA. It’s the first flight of Boeing’s Starliner capsule with a crew on board, a pair of NASA pilots who will check out the spacecraft during the test drive and a weeklong stay at the space station. NASA turned to U.S. companies for astronaut rides after the space shuttles were retired. Elon Musk's SpaceX has made nine taxi trips for NASA since 202
Reuters Videos
China launches mission to the far side of the moon
STORY: The Long March-5, China's largest rocket, blasted off at 5:27 p.m. Beijing time (0927 GMT) from Wenchang Space Launch Center on the southern island of Hainan with the more than 8 metric ton Chang'e-6 probe.Chang'e-6 is tasked with landing in the South Pole-Aitken Basin on the far side of the moon, which perpetually faces away from the Earth, after which it will retrieve and return samples.The launch marks another milestone in China's lunar and space exploration programme.
Canadian Press Videos
A wild orangutan used a medicinal plant to treat a wound, scientists say
Scientists say they've observed an orangutan named Rakus appearing to treat a wound with medicine from a tropical plant. It's the latest example of how some animals attempt to soothe their own ills with remedies found in the wild.

Latest Stories