Solar Orbiter blasts off with Swiss telescope on board
The European-American Solar Orbiter probe took off from Florida on Sunday night with a Swiss X-ray telescope on board to study the Sun close up.
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The European Space Agency (ESA) probe successfully launched at 11.03pm (local time, Sunday/5.03am Monday, Swiss time) from Cape Canaveral in Florida. It was launched aboard an American rocket as part of a partnership with NASA.
Ten scientific instruments (209 kilos of payload) are packed on the mission, which costs €1.5 billion (CHF1.6 billion). Over the next decade it will study particle-laden storms on the Sun that can cause breakdowns of technological infrastructure on Earth.
After passing through the orbit of Venus and then Mercury, the satellite, whose maximum speed will reach 245,000 km/h, will travel as close as 42 million kilometres from the Sun, or less than a third of the distance between the Sun and Earth.
STIX will analyse high-energy X-rays, which are only produced at very high temperatures. By combining STIX’s results with those of the other instruments, scientists hope to get a very accurate picture of the enormous energy released by the Sun.
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Swiss-developed exoplanet telescope launched into space
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A Russian Soyuz rocket carrying the CHEOPS (Characterising ExOPlanets Satellite) telescope blasted off from Kourou, French Guiana.
Geneva decides not to remove controversial memorials
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The city of Geneva has presented an action plan regarding a series of controversial local statues and monuments of historical figures linked to racism, colonialism or slavery.
University of Lausanne calls for end to pro-Palestine sit-in
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The pro-Palestinian occupation continues at the University of Lausanne (UNIL). On Monday evening, a group of students refused to agree to the deadline set by the rectorate.
Ukraine peace conference should include Russia, says Chinese ambassador
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China supports a peace conference on the Ukraine war that would see equal participation of all parties, says Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui.
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A majority of Swiss citizens have open attitudes towards various infertility treatments, including even egg donation, which is currently prohibited.
Reports of Swiss cyber fraud almost doubled in six months
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The head of the new Federal Office for Cybersecurity (FOC), Florian Schütz, has presented a new strategy after just over four months in office.
Ecological status of Swiss streams insufficient according to study
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Pesticide use and obstructions of waterways have a particularly negative impact on sensitive organisms, completely absent in 70% of streams analysed.
Train line between Brig and Domodossola interrupted
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One day after a derailment approximately 15 kilometres from the Swiss border, BLS is running buses for passengers between Preglia and Domodossola, in Italy.
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Swiss start-up embarks on space cleaning mission
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Cleaning up space is the mission of a new Swiss start-up, ClearSpace, which will capitalise on technology developed by engineers at the EPFL.
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The mission of the gift box-sized device is to map airglow, the faint bands of green and mauve light caused when the sun’s high-energy radiation collides with atoms and molecules in the upper atmosphere. “Mission accomplished,” said an emotional Muriel Noca, project coordinator at the Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL). “I can’t believe…
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A nanosatellite developed by Swiss start-up Astrocast was launched into space Monday at a SpaceX rocket launch in California.
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