Berlin, Germany (SPX) May 19, 2025
Astronomers have uncovered a vast population of protoplanetary disk candidates within the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ) near the Milky Way's core, a region known for its extreme conditions that differ significantly from those in the more studied areas of our galaxy. These findings come from a comprehensive survey conducted by an international research team from the Kavli Institute for Astronomy a

Los Angeles CA (SPX) May 19, 2025
The Ultraviolet Spectrograph (UVS) aboard NASA's Europa Clipper, developed by the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), has completed its initial commissioning phase following the spacecraft's October 14, 2024, launch. The mission aims to reach the Jovian system by 2030, where it will conduct numerous close flybys of the icy moon Europa, believed to harbor a subsurface ocean that could potentiall

Los Angeles CA (SPX) May 19, 2025
Planetary scientists have discovered a new way to investigate the Martian subsurface by analyzing the debris ejected from impact craters. This approach, which relies on measuring the size and distribution of ejecta blankets, could offer critical insights into hidden features like glaciers and sediment deposits, using only satellite data. Traditionally, researchers have studied crater shape

Tokyo, Japan (SPX) May 19, 2025
China is set to launch its first asteroid sample-return mission, Tianwen 2, within the next two weeks from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan province, as confirmed by the China National Space Administration (CNSA). The Tianwen 2 probe, which reached the launch preparation area on Sunday, is now undergoing prelaunch checks at the center. It arrived at the spaceport in late Febr

Washington DC (UPI) May 17, 2025
American aerospace firm Rocket Lab on Saturday carried a successful launch mission from its facility in New Zealand. The California-based publicly-traded company completed its third mission for Japanese firm the Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space, using one its partially-reusable Electron orbital launch vehicle. "Another fantastic launch by the Electron team to flawlessly deli

Los Angeles CA (SPX) May 19, 2025
Akoustis Technologies, a leading provider of patented bulk acoustic wave (BAW) high-band RF filters, has completed the sale of most of its assets to Tune Holdings Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX). The sale, conducted as a going-concern transaction under Section 363 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, was approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Dist

Tokyo, Japan (SPX) May 19, 2025
China's satellite navigation and positioning service industry achieved a total output value of 575.8 billion yuan ($79.9 billion) in 2024, reflecting a 7.39 percent year-on-year growth, according to a white paper released on Sunday. The report highlights the ongoing expansion and technological advancements within the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS). By the end of 2024, the cumulat

Washington DC (UPI) May 18, 2025
India failed in its attempt to launch a satellite to observe Earth when the third stage failed, the nation's space agency said Sunday. The Indian Space Research Organization's EOS-09 spacecraft lifted off atop a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle rocket from Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota at 5:59 a.m. local time Sunday. There have been 101 launches from Sriharikota, which is 1417

Los Angeles CA (SPX) May 19, 2025
The idea of transforming Mars into a habitable world has long captured the public imagination, but recent research led by Pioneer Research Labs and the University of Chicago, with contributions from Los Alamos National Laboratory, is taking a closer look at the scientific feasibility of this ambitious goal. In a perspective paper published in Nature Astronomy, the authors examine the pract