Huntsville AL (SPX) May 03, 2024
After months of preparation and years since its last flight, the upgraded High Resolution Coronal Imager Flare mission - Hi-C Flare, for short - took to the skies for a never-before-seen view of a solar flare. The low-noise cameras - built at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama - are part of a suite of state-of-the-art instruments on board the Black Brant IX sounding

Boulder CO (SPX) May 03, 2024
Precisely measuring the energy states of individual atoms has been a historical challenge for physicists due to atomic recoil. When an atom interacts with a photon, the atom "recoils" in the opposite direction, making it difficult to measure the position and momentum of the atom precisely. This recoil can have big implications for quantum sensing, which detects minute changes in parameters, for

Boston MA (SPX) May 03, 2024
Proximity is key for many quantum phenomena, as interactions between atoms are stronger when the particles are close. In many quantum simulators, scientists arrange atoms as close together as possible to explore exotic states of matter and build new quantum materials. They typically do this by cooling the atoms to a stand-still, then using laser light to position the particles as close as

Berlin, Germany (SPX) May 03, 2024
Quantum teleportation, the process where the state of a quantum particle, or qubit, is transferred from one place to another without moving the particle itself, typically relies on entanglement between an additional pair of qubits. Ideally, this transfer should occur flawlessly, but real-world conditions introduce noise that can degrade teleportation quality. Researchers at the University

Wenchang, China (AFP) May 3, 2024
China is set Friday to launch a probe to collect samples from the far side of the Moon, a world first as Beijing pushes ahead with an ambitious programme that aims to send a crewed lunar mission by 2030. A rocket carrying the Chang'e-6 lunar probe is scheduled to blast off from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in southern China's Hainan province just before 5:30 pm (0930 GMT), officials have

Ithaca NY (SPX) May 03, 2024
An asteroid discovered last November is in fact a solar system toddler - just 2-3 million years old, a Cornell University-led research team estimates using novel statistical calculations. The team derived the age of Selam, a "moonlet" circling the small asteroid Dinkinesh in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, based only on dynamics, or how the pair moves in space. Their calcu

Pasadena CA (JPL) May 03, 2024
One of the 'science fiction-like' concepts - for a lunar railway system to provide payload transport on the Moon - is being developed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. NASA's Innovative Advanced Concepts program (NIAC) has selected six visionary concept studies for additional funding and development. Each study has already completed the initial NIAC phase, showing their futuristic ideas

Los Angeles CA (SPX) May 03, 2024
Sidus Space (NASDAQ: SIDU), a Space and Data-as-a-Service satellite company, has successfully delivered two electronic LCS cabinets to Bechtel as part of NASA's mobile launcher 2 project. These cabinets are essential to the Launch Control System and signify a major milestone in Sidus Space's involvement in NASA's Artemis Campaign, which focuses on lunar exploration and colonization. Sidus Space

Washington DC (UPI) May 2, 2024
SpaceX successfully launched the Maxar 1 mission carrying two next-generation WorldView Legion satellites Thursday in California. The mission launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base at approximately 11:36 a.m. local time. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket was used. The 20th launch and landing of the Falcon 9 first stage was completed by 11:45 a.m. Pacific Time. The two satellites

Los Angeles CA (SPX) May 03, 2024
Excitement was high when NASA's James Webb Space Telescope reported potential signs of life on a distant exoplanet. However, a new study by UC Riverside researchers published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters tempers these claims, discussing both the limitations and future possibilities of confirming life on such planets. The research focuses on the exoplanet K2-18b, which in 2023 appea