Osaka, Japan (SPX) Aug 31, 2021
Although thousands of planets have been discovered in the Milky Way, most reside less than a few thousand light years from Earth. Yet our Galaxy is more than 100,000 light years across, making it difficult to investigate the Galactic distribution of planets. But now, a research team has found a way to overcome this hurdle. In a study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, research

Guildford UK (SPX) Aug 27, 2021
A new paper from the University of Surrey and the University of Cambridge has detailed how two relatively unexplored semiconducting materials can satisfy the telecommunication industry's hunger for enormous amounts of data at ever-greater speeds. Light-emitting diode (LED)-based communications techniques allow computing devices, including mobile phones, to communicate with one another by u

Image: 3D-printed lunar floor

Beijing, China (SPX) Sep 01, 2021
The solar wind-magnetosphere coupling and its dynamic process are the basic driving factors for space weather. To understand its physical connotation, it is necessary to understand the processes of global scale responses, mass and energy transportation, and the coupling between different regions. However, relying on single-point or multi-point in-situ measurements is not enough for graspin

Colorado Springs (Sputnik) Sep 01, 2021
Russian space agency Roscosmos has offered the European Space Agency (ESA) to continue using Russia's Soyuz carrier rockets from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana for different payloads, and the talks are ongoing, ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher told Sputnik. "The extended use of Soyuz is one of the topics we're considering right now. In fact, I have discussed it with Mr. [Dmitry

Traverse City, MI (SPX) Sep 01, 2021
SpaceFund has announced at the North American Space Summit, the formation of its SpaceFund Labs idea incubator. The goal of this new division of SpaceFund is to capture and turn exciting ideas into funded businesses by creating a unique incubation plan for each idea that is accepted into the program. "SpaceFund Labs is about discovering and nurturing the most brilliant ideas in AI, biotech

West Lafayette IN (SPX) Sep 01, 2021
A drag sail that a team at Purdue University developed to pull launch vehicles in space back to Earth is scheduled to undergo a test launch on Thursday (Sept. 2). The mission, set to take off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, will evaluate how well the prototype helps its vehicle deorbit from space after mission completion. A livestream of the launch will be available through

Houston TX (SPX) Sep 01, 2021
For centuries, humans have mined materials to build the tools we use every day, from batteries and cell phones to airplanes and refrigerators. While the process of obtaining these important minerals used to rely entirely on heavy machinery, fire, and human labor, scientists have learned how to harness the natural power of microbes to do some of the work. This process, called biomining, has

Yokneam, Israel (SPX) Sep 01, 2021
Ramon.Space has been selected by the Israel Space Agency to provide a space computing payload for a mission scheduled to launch in early 2022. As part of the mission, Ramon.Space digital payload will perform computing on-orbit including software updates and upgrades using the company's programmable space computing systems. Ramon.Space high performance computing systems are based on in-hous

Pasadena CA (JPL) Sep 01, 2021
A new study offers a tantalizing explanation for how a peculiar cosmic object called WISEA J153429.75-104303.3 - nicknamed "The Accident" - came to be. The Accident is a brown dwarf. Though they form like stars, these objects don't have enough mass to kickstart nuclear fusion, the process that causes stars to shine. And while brown dwarfs sometimes defy characterization, astronomers have a good