Astana, Kazakhstan (AFP) July 11, 2024
Three EU citizens were detained this week for illegally entering the Russian-controlled Baikonur Cosmodrome in central Kazakhstan, local authorities said Thursday. The secretive space launch facility in a remote area of the Kazakh steppe has become a magnet for daredevil tourists, many of whom attempt to break into the hangars housing old Soviet-era spacecraft. The three foreigners, two

Riverside CA (SPX) July 12, 2024
Gravitational waves, ripples in space-time predicted by Einstein almost a century ago, were first detected in 2015. A new study led by Yanou Cui, an associate professor of physics and astronomy at the University of California, Riverside, suggests that very simple forms of matter could soon generate detectable gravitational wave backgrounds shortly after the Big Bang. "This mechanism of cre

Paris (AFP) July 11, 2024
A planet relatively close to Earth could be the first ever detected with a potentially life-sustaining liquid ocean outside our Solar System, according to scientists using the James Webb space telescope. More than 5,000 planets have been discovered outside of the Solar System so far, but only a handful are in what is called the "Goldilocks zone" - neither too hot or too cold - that could h

Houston TX (SPX) Jul 12, 2024
When the first humans travel to the Red Planet, they will need to know how to repair and maintain equipment, grow their own food, and stay healthy, all while contending with Earth-to-Mars communication delays. They must also find ways to build comradery and have fun. The first all-volunteer CHAPEA (Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog) crew accomplished all of that and more durin

Berlin, Germany (SPX) Jul 11, 2024

Tyvak International SRL, a subsidiary of Terran Orbital Corporation (NYSE: LLAP) and a prominent European nano and microsatellite manufacturer, has announced that Milani has successfully passed its Qualification and Acceptance Review. Delivered in March 2024 to the European Space Agency (ESA), the satellite completed system-level testing with the Hera mothercraft at the ESA's Space Research an

Sydney, Australia (SPX) Jul 15, 2024
The Laboratory for Space Research at The University of Hong Kong (HKU-LSR) has signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) with the International Lunar Observatory Association Hawai'i (ILOA) on May 16, 2024, marking a partnership to participate in the ILOA-led Chang'e 7 lunar mission. This mission features a small, wide-field optical telescope named ILO-C. The HKU-LSR telescope design has been selected, and

London, UK (SPX) Jul 15, 2024
BAE Systems, in collaboration with L3Harris Technologies and the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), has been chosen as one of three teams to develop technologies for NASA's Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO). HWO is an innovative telescope designed to search for signs of life beyond our solar system and conduct detailed astronomical observations. Its primary objective is to identify and

Sydney, Australia (SPX) Jul 15, 2024
A new study suggests that galaxies avoid early demise due to an internal "heart and lungs" system that regulates their "breathing," preventing uncontrolled growth. Without this mechanism, the Universe would have aged faster, leaving us with enormous "zombie" galaxies filled with dead and dying stars. Published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, the study addres

Paris, France (SPX) Jul 15, 2024
To mark the second anniversary of the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope's scientific operations, a captivating image of two interacting galaxies known as Arp 142 has been released. The interaction between the Penguin galaxy (NGC 2936) and the Egg galaxy (NGC 2937) began between 25 and 75 million years ago when they first approached each other. This cosmic dance will continue for hund

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jul 15, 2024
Astronauts on spacewalks face the uncomfortable and unhygienic task of relieving themselves inside their spacesuits, resulting in wasted resources as the urine is not recycled. Unlike wastewater on the International Space Station (ISS), urine produced during spacewalks isn't processed for reuse. Inspired by the 'stillsuits' from the Dune series, researchers at Cornell University have devel