Starship Super Heavy breezes through wind tunnel testing at NASA Ames
Wednesday, 11 September 2024 19:17
NASA and its industry partners continue to make progress toward Artemis III and beyond, the first crewed lunar landing missions under the agency's Artemis campaign.
SpaceX, the commercial Human Landing System (HLS) provider for Artemis III and Artemis IV, recently tested a 1.2% scale model of the Super Heavy rocket, or booster, in the transonic Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel at NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley.
NASA's EZIE mission set for 2025 launch
Wednesday, 11 September 2024 19:15
In 2025, NASA will launch its first mission to image the magnetic fingerprint of intense electrical currents that flow high in our atmosphere when auroras shimmer above Earth's poles.
The EZIE (Electrojet Zeeman Imaging Explorer) mission is designed to make groundbreaking measurements of the auroral electrojets, electrical currents about 60 miles (100 kilometers) above the ground in a layer of Earth's atmosphere called the ionosphere, which separates Earth from surrounding space.
The mission features a trio of CubeSats, or small satellites, with an orbit that goes pole to pole to map the electrojets. Mapping the electrojets can give scientists greater insight into the physics of Earth's magnetosphere and help create better models for predicting the effects of space weather phenomena such as geomagnetic storms and auroras in the upper atmosphere and at Earth's surface.
Space travel: Protection from cosmic radiation with boron nitride nanotube fibers
Wednesday, 11 September 2024 18:22
A Soyuz craft with 2 Russians and 1 American docks at the International Space Station
Wednesday, 11 September 2024 16:31
A Soyuz spacecraft carrying two Russians and an American docked at the International Space Station on Wednesday, a little more than three hours after its launch.
Polaris Dawn project aims to prevent bone loss in space
Wednesday, 11 September 2024 16:27
Dartmouth researchers have a project aboard the Polaris Dawn mission they hope will help address two major health risks of space flight—the breakdown of astronauts' bones in zero-gravity conditions and the resulting danger of developing kidney stones.
When subjected to weightlessness, bones freed from the burden of supporting the human body leach calcium. The shedding of this critical element reduces bone density and, as the calcium enters the urine, heightens the chance of painful kidney stones forming in the urinary tract.
Through Polaris Dawn, which launched from Florida on Sept. 10, researchers at Dartmouth's Geisel School of Medicine and Thayer School of Engineering are testing a critical element of a handheld device the team is developing that would alert crew members to high levels of calcium in their urine during space flight so they can take action.
Find Me on the Moon: NASA Seeks Navigation Solutions for Lunar Exploration
Wednesday, 11 September 2024 16:04
As part of the Artemis lunar exploration campaign, NASA aims to deepen its understanding of the moon's surface and prepare for future Mars missions. The Artemis missions will target the lunar south pole, a region that holds scientific interest due to its permanently shadowed areas, which may contain water ice reserves vital for sustaining human exploration. This will be NASA's first crewed moon Rover trials demonstrate autonomous sampling capabilities in UK quarry
Wednesday, 11 September 2024 16:04
European Space Agency (ESA) engineers are advancing the capabilities of autonomous Mars rovers, as demonstrated in recent trials conducted in a UK quarry. The ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover, nicknamed "Codi," showcased its ability to locate and retrieve sample tubes using its robotic arm and sophisticated computer vision system.
Codi drove to the sample locations with a remarkable accurac Mystery of Trans-Neptunian Orbits Solved by Stellar Flyby
Wednesday, 11 September 2024 16:04
Many imagine the solar system's edge is marked by Neptune, the furthest known planet. However, astrophysicist Susanne Pfalzner from Forschungszentrum Julich notes, "Several thousand celestial bodies are known to move beyond the orbit of Neptune." It is estimated that tens of thousands of objects larger than 100 kilometers exist in this region. "Surprisingly, many of these so-called trans-Neptuni AI-Assisted Discovery Reveals How Microbial Proteins Adapt to Extreme Pressures
Wednesday, 11 September 2024 16:04
Using a Google AI tool, scientists have revealed how proteins in a heat-loving microbe respond to intense pressure, similar to conditions found in the planet's deepest ocean trenches. This research offers key insights into how life's building blocks may have evolved under early Earth conditions and opens new doors for future studies.
The research, now published in 'PRX Life', highlights th Formation of super-Earths proven limited near metal-poor stars
Wednesday, 11 September 2024 16:04
In a new study, astronomers report novel evidence regarding the limits of planet formation, finding that after a certain point, planets larger than Earth have difficulty forming near low-metallicity stars.
Using the sun as a baseline, astronomers can measure when a star formed by determining its metallicity, or the level of heavy elements present within it. Metal-rich stars or nebulas form Massive merger could explain origin of Milky Way's supermassive black hole
Wednesday, 11 September 2024 16:04
The mystery of how supermassive black holes, which can be millions of times more massive than the sun and sit at the heart of most galaxies, came to exist is one of the great questions in astrophysics.
Researchers from the Nevada Center for Astrophysics at UNLV (NCfA) have uncovered new evidence that the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, called Sagittarius A' (Sgr A') NASA's Hubble, Chandra find supermassive black hole duo
Wednesday, 11 September 2024 16:04
Like two Sumo wrestlers squaring off, the closest confirmed pair of supermassive black holes have been observed in tight proximity. These are located approximately 300 light-years apart and were detected using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and the Chandra X-ray Observatory. These black holes, buried deep within a pair of colliding galaxies, are fueled by infalling gas and dust, causing them to s Parker Solar Probe Lines Up for Final Venus Flyby
Wednesday, 11 September 2024 16:04
NASA's Parker Solar Probe executed a short maneuver on Aug. 26 that kept the spacecraft on course for the mission's seventh and final planned Venus flyby on Nov. 6.
Operating on preprogrammed commands, Parker fired its small directional thrusters for about 17 seconds, changing its velocity by less than a mile per hour, and setting its trajectory some 386 miles (593 kilometers) closer to a AI distinguishes dark matter signals from cosmic noise
Wednesday, 11 September 2024 16:04
Dark matter, an unseen force believed to hold the universe together, constitutes approximately 85% of all matter and 27% of the universe's content. Although its gravitational effects on galaxies and cosmic structures are well-documented, the true nature of dark matter remains elusive.
A dominant theory posits that dark matter could be made up of particles that interact only through gravity Debris from NASA's DART Mission Could Potentially Reach Earth and Mars
Wednesday, 11 September 2024 16:04
NASA's Double Asteroid Redirect Test (DART) mission, which struck the asteroid Dimorphos in 2022, has not only altered the asteroid's orbit but has also created a plume of debris that may eventually reach both Earth and Mars, according to new simulations. The debris, although harmless, could potentially be observed as meteors.
On September 26, 2022, NASA's DART spacecraft, weighing approxi