Darker-winged birds have better flight performance

Many seabirds evolved dark wings, independent from each other. New research shows that these darker wings heat up more and that this heating up increases the efficiency of flight in birds. Furthermore, the study confirmed ...

Research leads to better modeling of hypersonic flow

Hypersonic flight is conventionally referred to as the ability to fly at speeds significantly faster than the speed of sound and presents an extraordinary set of technical challenges. As an example, when a space capsule re-enters ...

Leonardo da Vinci's take on dynamic soaring

Although Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) is known to have studied bird flight, few people realise that he was the first to document flight maneuvers, now called dynamic soaring. Birds use these maneuvers to extract energy from ...

Sounding rocket will take 1,500 images of sun in five minutes

On May 5, 2017, scientists will launch a sounding rocket 200 miles up into the atmosphere, where in just five minutes, it will take 1,500 images of the sun. The NASA-funded RAISE mission is designed to scrutinize split-second ...

Image: ExoMars mission control team

This week, the ExoMars mission control team at ESA's centre in Darmstadt, Germany, is training to prepare for next month's arrival at the Red Planet.

ESA teams ready for Europe's next weather satellite

Ground control teams are ready to shepherd Europe's next weather satellite through its critical first days in orbit, ensuring it is working and healthy in the harsh environment of space.

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