Boston MA (SPX) Sep 01, 2025
Growing up in the suburban town of Spring, Texas, just outside of Houston, Erik Ballesteros couldn't help but be drawn in by the possibilities for humans in space. It was the early 2000s, and NASA's space shuttle program was the main transport for astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). Ballesteros' hometown was less than an hour from Johnson Space Center (JSC), where NASA's m

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Sep 01, 2025
New results from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory reveal that Cassiopeia A's progenitor star violently reshaped its interior just hours before it exploded. This previously hidden stellar upheaval helps explain the asymmetry of the remnant and may even have triggered the supernova itself. Cassiopeia A, one of the most studied remnants in the night sky, began as a massive star that lived for

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Sep 01, 2025
The search for elusive dark matter has gained a new tool, now operating deep within the French Alps. An international team, including Johns Hopkins University scientists, has deployed an ultrasensitive detector designed to probe particles far lighter than those targeted in decades of past experiments. Researchers believe dark matter makes up about 85 percent of the universe, yet no direct

Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Sep 01, 2025
The Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) in Guangdong Province has completed the filling of its 20,000 tons of liquid scintillator and initiated data taking, marking a major milestone after more than a decade of construction. The experiment is the first of a new generation of large-scale neutrino detectors to become fully operational. Early commissioning results confirm that the dete

Berlin, Germany (SPX) Sep 01, 2025
A research team led by Stockholm University has identified a planet-forming disk with an unexpectedly high concentration of carbon dioxide, detected in the terrestrial planet-forming region around a young star. The findings, made with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), challenge long-standing assumptions that water vapor dominates these zones. "Unlike most nearby planet-forming disks,

Paris, France (SPX) Sep 01, 2025
ESA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) are moving closer to a joint mission to the asteroid Apophis, which will pass Earth at a record-setting distance in 2029. The proposed Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety (Ramses) would rendezvous with the 375 m asteroid and monitor how Earth's gravity alters its physical state during the flyby. Scientists expect the close passage to

London, UK (SPX) Sep 01, 2025
New seismic evidence suggests that Mars's interior is far from the smooth textbook image often imagined. Instead, the planet's mantle is littered with ancient fragments, some up to 4 km wide, formed during violent early collisions more than 4.5 billion years ago. The study, based on seismic data collected by NASA's InSight lander, shows that seismic waves moving through Mars's mantle encou

Paris, France (SPX) Sep 01, 2025
The European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Commission have confirmed the first five missions of the Flight Ticket Initiative, a program designed to test and validate new European technologies in orbit while supporting the continent's launch sector. Three missions will launch on Avio's Vega-C rocket from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana. Spanish firm Persei will demonstrate the E.T

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Sep 01, 2025
Rocket Lab Corporation (Nasdaq: RKLB) has officially opened Launch Complex 3, a dedicated test, launch, and landing site for its reusable Neutron rocket. The new facility, located at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, represents the largest orbital launch capacity in the spaceport's history. Neutron is designed to lift 13,000 kg (33,000 pounds) to orbit, supporting comm

Perth, Australia (SPX) Sep 01, 2025
Western Australia's Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) has entered its next chapter, with the completion of an upgrade set to expand our view of the Universe and solidify WA's role as a global hub for radio astronomy. Operating since 2013, the MWA is a powerful telescope comprising 8,192 antennas spread across more than 30sqkm on Wajarri Yamaji land, about 300km north-east of Geraldton, at In