In a first step towards uncovering the Moon's subterranean secrets, in 2019 we asked for your ideas to detect, map and explore lunar caves. Five ideas were selected to be studied in more detail, each addressing different phases of a potential mission.

Gottingen, Germany (SPX) Feb 19, 2021
A team of researchers from the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum fur Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) in Gottingen have evaluated the Dornier Seastar seaplane in a ground vibration test (GVT) campaign. These tests are part of the certification process that all aircraft must undergo. The tests were carried out in Oberpfaffenhofen on behalf of Dornier Seawings GmbH. Ground vibration tests

Stuttgart, Germany (SPX) Feb 19, 2021
The German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum fur Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) is conducting research into new materials for more powerful batteries and fuel cells. DLR scientists are now using a quantum computer to simulate electrochemical processes within energy storage systems. This makes it possible to design the materials used in such a way that the performance and energy density of batteries

Beijing (XNA) Feb 23, 2021
President Xi Jinping encouraged Chinese space industry workers on Monday to strive for successes in the nation's future lunar explorations and carry out interplanetary expeditions with a methodical approach. Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, urged space industry workers to take advantage of C

Bremen, Germany (SPX) Feb 23, 2021
For the fifth time, a team of 25 international scientists used the Northrop Grumman CYGNUS supply vehicle for the International Space Station to conduct experiments with large fires in space. This time, amazing data was transmitted from the return journey to Earth that even the combustion researchers could not have predicted: in weightlessness, a flame tends to spread in the opposite direction t

Berkeley CA (SPX) Feb 23, 2021
The latest star data from the Gaia space observatory has for the first time allowed astronomers to generate a massive 3D atlas of widely separated binary stars within about 3,000 light years of Earth - 1.3 million of them. The one-of-a-kind atlas, created by Kareem El-Badry, an astrophysics Ph.D. student from the University of California, Berkeley, should be a boon for those who study bina

Washington DC (UPI) Feb 22, 2021
Astrophysicists have traced a subatomic particle called a neutrino to its cosmic origins, a tidal disruption event located some 700 million light-years from Earth. The new research - published Monday in the journal Nature Astronomy - suggests the violent destruction of a faraway star by a supermassive black hole was powerful enough to send a tiny, near-frictionless particle racing acr

New York NY (SPX) Feb 23, 2021
A team of scientists has detected the presence of a high-energy neutrino - a particularly elusive particle - in the wake of a star's destruction as it is consumed by a black hole. This discovery, reported in the journal Nature Astronomy, sheds new light on the origins of Ultrahigh Energy Cosmic Rays - the highest energy particles in the Universe. The work, which included researchers from m

Washington DC (DOD) Feb 19, 2021
The Israel Missile Defense Organization (IMDO), in the Directorate of Defense Research and Development of the Israel Ministry of Defense, and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) have begun the development of the Arrow 4 interceptor. Arrow 4 will be the next generation of endo-exoatmospheric interceptors for the Arrow Weapon System, which today consists of Arrow 2 and Arrow 3 interceptors.

Boulder CO (SPX) Feb 23, 2021
On Feb. 22, 1906, German astrophotographer Max Wolf helped reshape our understanding of the solar system. Again. Born in 1863, Wolf had a habit of dramatically altering the astronomy landscape. Something of a prodigy, he discovered his first comet at only 21 years old. Then in 1890, he boldly declared that he planned to use wide-field photography in his quest to discover new asteroids, whi