Second ESCAPADE spacecraft completes key trajectory fix on path to Mars
Thursday, 08 January 2026 04:14
Washington DC (SPX) Jan 07, 2026
NASA's twin ESCAPADE spacecraft are back on a fully synchronized path to Mars after mission controllers successfully carried out a critical trajectory correction maneuver for the second probe on Jan. 6. The burn followed a brief pause in December 2025, when engineers delayed the attempt to investigate low thrust seen during earlier correction efforts on one of the two small satellites.
The
NASA's twin ESCAPADE spacecraft are back on a fully synchronized path to Mars after mission controllers successfully carried out a critical trajectory correction maneuver for the second probe on Jan. 6. The burn followed a brief pause in December 2025, when engineers delayed the attempt to investigate low thrust seen during earlier correction efforts on one of the two small satellites.
The Lunar spacecraft exhaust could obscure clues to origins of life
Thursday, 08 January 2026 04:14
Washington DC (SPX) Jan 08, 2026
Over half of the exhaust methane from lunar spacecraft could end up contaminating areas of the moon that might otherwise yield clues about the origins of earthly life, according to a recent study. The pollution could unfold rapidly regardless of a spacecraft's touchdown site; even for a landing at the South Pole, methane molecules may "hop" across the lunar surface to the North Pole in under two
Over half of the exhaust methane from lunar spacecraft could end up contaminating areas of the moon that might otherwise yield clues about the origins of earthly life, according to a recent study. The pollution could unfold rapidly regardless of a spacecraft's touchdown site; even for a landing at the South Pole, methane molecules may "hop" across the lunar surface to the North Pole in under two Sandblasting winds sculpt Mars landscape
Thursday, 08 January 2026 04:14
Berlin, Germany (SPX) Jan 08, 2026
Martian winds lift sand grains into the air and drive them across the surface, where they erode soft sedimentary layers and gradually carve elongated grooves and ridges near the planet's equator. The remaining ridges, mounds, or columns, known as yardangs, stand above the surrounding terrain and often extend for tens of kilometres in the direction of the prevailing winds.
In northern Eumen
Martian winds lift sand grains into the air and drive them across the surface, where they erode soft sedimentary layers and gradually carve elongated grooves and ridges near the planet's equator. The remaining ridges, mounds, or columns, known as yardangs, stand above the surrounding terrain and often extend for tens of kilometres in the direction of the prevailing winds.
In northern Eumen NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory spots record-breaking asteroid in pre-survey observations
Thursday, 08 January 2026 04:14
Washington DC (SPX) Jan 08, 2026
As part of the NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory First Look event in June 2025, Rubin announced that it had observed thousands of asteroids cruising about our Solar System, about 1900 of which have been confirmed as never-before-seen. Within the flurry, a team of astronomers has discovered 19 super- and ultra-fast-rotating asteroids. One of these is the fastest-spinning asteroid larger than 500
As part of the NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory First Look event in June 2025, Rubin announced that it had observed thousands of asteroids cruising about our Solar System, about 1900 of which have been confirmed as never-before-seen. Within the flurry, a team of astronomers has discovered 19 super- and ultra-fast-rotating asteroids. One of these is the fastest-spinning asteroid larger than 500 M dwarf plasma torus offers window into space weather and planetary habitability
Thursday, 08 January 2026 04:14
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 08, 2026
Carnegie researcher Luke Bouma is using a naturally occurring plasma structure around certain young M dwarf stars as a kind of space weather station to investigate how stellar particles shape planetary environments and potential habitability. M dwarfs are smaller, cooler and dimmer than the Sun and commonly host at least one Earth-sized rocky planet, many of which are either too hot for liquid w
Carnegie researcher Luke Bouma is using a naturally occurring plasma structure around certain young M dwarf stars as a kind of space weather station to investigate how stellar particles shape planetary environments and potential habitability. M dwarfs are smaller, cooler and dimmer than the Sun and commonly host at least one Earth-sized rocky planet, many of which are either too hot for liquid w We finally know how the most common types of planets are created
Thursday, 08 January 2026 04:14
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 07, 2026
Thanks to the discovery of thousands of exoplanets to date, we know that planets bigger than Earth but smaller than Neptune orbit most stars. Oddly, our sun lacks such a planet. That's been a source of frustration for planetary scientists, who can't study them in as much detail as they'd like, leaving one big question: How did these planets form?
h3>Now we know the answer /h3>
An interna
Thanks to the discovery of thousands of exoplanets to date, we know that planets bigger than Earth but smaller than Neptune orbit most stars. Oddly, our sun lacks such a planet. That's been a source of frustration for planetary scientists, who can't study them in as much detail as they'd like, leaving one big question: How did these planets form?
h3>Now we know the answer /h3>
An interna Puffy young exoplanets reveal origin of super Earths
Thursday, 08 January 2026 04:14
Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Jan 08, 2026
Astronomers have identified a young planetary system that links newborn giant worlds to the compact super Earths and sub Neptunes that dominate the Milky Way. V1298 Tau, a star about 20 million years old, hosts four planets between the sizes of Neptune and Jupiter in close-in orbits, offering a snapshot of planets during a brief and dynamic stage of evolution.
Over ten years, researchers c
Astronomers have identified a young planetary system that links newborn giant worlds to the compact super Earths and sub Neptunes that dominate the Milky Way. V1298 Tau, a star about 20 million years old, hosts four planets between the sizes of Neptune and Jupiter in close-in orbits, offering a snapshot of planets during a brief and dynamic stage of evolution.
Over ten years, researchers c NJIT researchers discover long-hidden source of gamma rays unleashed by solar flares
Thursday, 08 January 2026 04:14
Newark NJ (SPX) Jan 08, 2026
Solar physicists say they have found a key source of intense gamma rays unleashed when Earth's nearest star produces its most violent eruptions.
In findings published in Nature Astronomy, scientists at NJIT's Center for Solar-Terrestrial Research (NJIT-CSTR) have pinpointed a previously unknown class of high-energy particles in the Sun's upper atmosphere responsible for generating the long
Solar physicists say they have found a key source of intense gamma rays unleashed when Earth's nearest star produces its most violent eruptions.
In findings published in Nature Astronomy, scientists at NJIT's Center for Solar-Terrestrial Research (NJIT-CSTR) have pinpointed a previously unknown class of high-energy particles in the Sun's upper atmosphere responsible for generating the long Dark matter neutrino link may ease cosmic tension
Thursday, 08 January 2026 04:14
London, UK (SPX) Jan 08, 2026
Scientists report signs that dark matter and neutrinos may interact, a possibility that would extend the standard cosmological model and change how structure growth in the universe is understood.
The study examines how such interactions could influence the formation of galaxies and other large-scale structures, addressing a known mismatch between predictions from early-universe measurement
Scientists report signs that dark matter and neutrinos may interact, a possibility that would extend the standard cosmological model and change how structure growth in the universe is understood.
The study examines how such interactions could influence the formation of galaxies and other large-scale structures, addressing a known mismatch between predictions from early-universe measurement NASA continues to work toward February launch of Artemis 2
Thursday, 08 January 2026 03:38
NASA says it is continuing to prepare for a possible Artemis 2 launch as soon as February, but with remarkably little publicity for the historic mission.
Terran Orbital Appoints Michael Vishion as Vice President of Program Management
Wednesday, 07 January 2026 14:44
Space Force moves to standardize satellites with ‘Handle 2.0’ contract
Wednesday, 07 January 2026 13:53
Falcon ExoDynamics wins contract to mature satellite interface developed by Aerospace Corp.
We have no idea what most of the universe is made of, but scientists are closer than ever to finding out
Wednesday, 07 January 2026 13:12
College Station TX (SPX) Jan 06, 2026
When it comes to understanding the universe, what we know is only a sliver of the whole picture. Dark matter and dark energy make up about 95% of the universe, leaving only 5% "ordinary matter," or what we can see. Dr. Rupak Mahapatra, an experimental particle physicist at Texas A&M University, designs highly advanced semiconductor detectors with cryogenic quantum sensors, powering experiments w
When it comes to understanding the universe, what we know is only a sliver of the whole picture. Dark matter and dark energy make up about 95% of the universe, leaving only 5% "ordinary matter," or what we can see. Dr. Rupak Mahapatra, an experimental particle physicist at Texas A&M University, designs highly advanced semiconductor detectors with cryogenic quantum sensors, powering experiments w Star like early galaxies challenge views of cosmic evolution
Wednesday, 07 January 2026 13:12
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 07, 2026
Scientists at the University of Missouri have identified a small group of unusual objects in the early universe that look like stars in images yet behave like compact galaxies when analyzed in detail. Using NASAs James Webb Space Telescope JWST, Haojing Yan and colleagues at Mizzous College of Arts and Science found that these sources appear as single points of light while carrying the spectral
Scientists at the University of Missouri have identified a small group of unusual objects in the early universe that look like stars in images yet behave like compact galaxies when analyzed in detail. Using NASAs James Webb Space Telescope JWST, Haojing Yan and colleagues at Mizzous College of Arts and Science found that these sources appear as single points of light while carrying the spectral NASA's IXPE Measures White Dwarf Star for First Time
Wednesday, 07 January 2026 13:12
Huntsville AL (SPX) Jan 05, 2026
For the first time, scientists have used NASA's IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarization Explorer) to study a white dwarf star. Using IXPE's unique X-ray polarization capability, astronomers examined a star called the intermediate polar EX Hydrae, unlocking the geometry of energetic binary systems.
In 2024, IXPE spent nearly one week focused on EX Hydrae, a white dwarf star system located in the c
For the first time, scientists have used NASA's IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarization Explorer) to study a white dwarf star. Using IXPE's unique X-ray polarization capability, astronomers examined a star called the intermediate polar EX Hydrae, unlocking the geometry of energetic binary systems.
In 2024, IXPE spent nearly one week focused on EX Hydrae, a white dwarf star system located in the c