Berlin, Germany (SPX) Dec 17, 2025
Researchers at Empa are refining the multilayer insulation foils that wrap many satellites and space probes, aiming to improve their mechanical robustness while maintaining thermal protection. These foils, known as multilayer insulation or superinsulation, are built from stacked layers of a strong polymer coated with thin metal, typically aluminum, and are also used on Earth in items such as sur

Tokyo (AFP) Dec 22, 2025
Japan's flagship H3 rocket failed to launch a geolocation satellite into orbit on Monday due to engine failure, the country's space agency said. The second-stage engine "terminated prematurely" after the rocket blasted off at 10:51 am (0151 GMT) from the Tanegashima space centre in southern Japan, according to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). It could not release into orbit

London, UK (SPX) Dec 18, 2025
Researchers at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, working with Huzhou University in China, have shown that a standard source of entangled photons used in quantum optics carries a rich set of hidden topological structures in high dimensions. They report entanglement across 48 dimensions with more than 17 000 distinct topological signatures, providing a large alphabet for encodin

Berlin, Germany (SPX) Dec 19, 2025
In a historical milestone, catastrophic collisions in a nearby planetary system were witnessed for the first time by astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. As they observed the bright star Fomalhaut, the scientists saw the impact of massive objects around the star. The Fomalhaut system appears to be in a dynamical upheaval, similar to what our solar system experienced in its firs

Berlin, Germany (SPX) Dec 17, 2025
Scientists using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope have identified an exoplanet with an atmosphere unlike any seen before, orbiting a rapidly spinning neutron star known as a pulsar. The object, officially designated PSR J2322-2650b, has a mass comparable to Jupiter but is stretched into a lemon-like shape by the strong gravitational pull of its compact host star. Its atmosphere appears dominate

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Dec 17, 2025
December 16, 2025 - Southwest Research Institute's Compact Dual Ion Composition Experiment (CoDICE) instrument aboard NASA's Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) spacecraft has begun returning first-light particle measurements. IMAP launched in September to help researchers better understand the boundary of the heliosphere, the magnetic bubble that surrounds and protects our solar