Satellites, a chimpanzee and ancient footprints: the science of this week

This week shows just how broad science can look: at the earth from space, at the recovery of an old friend, and at traces from a distant past. From a launched satellite to a rediscovered tomb and even the footprints of a T. rex: everywhere, patience and careful work lead to beautiful results. On 15 September, the satellites Sentinel-3C and FLEX departed together aboard a Vega-C rocket from French Guiana [1]. Sentinel-3C measures, among other things, sea and land temperatures and helps detect algal blooms and extreme heat. FLEX looks at plants: it measures the fluorescence they emit during photosynthesis,...