Syracuse NY (SPX) Jan 12, 2024
At the center of most large galaxies lives a supermassive black hole (SMBH). The Milky Way has Sagittarius A*, a mostly dormant SMBH whose mass is around 4.3 million times that of the sun. But if you look deeper into the universe, there are vastly larger SMBHs with masses that can reach up to tens of billions of times the mass of our sun. Black holes grow in mass by gravitationally consumi

Yuma AZ (SPX) Jan 15, 2024
A modified parachute system for Boeing's Starliner spacecraft for NASA's Commercial Crew Program was tested over the Arizona desert on Jan. 9. Parachute deployment and a soft landing of the test article were visually confirmed. Preliminary data analysis of this two-parachute test suggest the primary test objectives were met. Engineering teams will continue to review the results, inspect the test

Pullman WA (SPX) Jan 12, 2024
Researchers have taken the first steps toward finding liquid solvents that may someday help extract critical building materials from lunar and Martian-rock dust, an important piece in making long-term space travel possible. Using machine learning and computational modeling, Washington State University researchers have found about half a dozen good candidates for solvents that can extract m

Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Jan 12, 2024
A team of astronomers including those from the University of Tokyo created the first-ever map of magnetic field structures within a spiral arm of our Milky Way galaxy. Previous studies on galactic magnetic fields only gave a very general picture, but the new study reveals that magnetic fields in the spiral arms of our galaxy break away from this general picture significantly and are tilted away

Greenbelt MD (SPX) Jan 12, 2024
Astronomers analyzing 13 years of data from NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope have found an unexpected and as yet unexplained feature outside of our galaxy. "It is a completely serendipitous discovery," said Alexander Kashlinsky, a cosmologist at the University of Maryland and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, who presented the research at the 243rd meeting of the American As

Washington DC (SPX) Jan 12, 2024
Russia and China are deploying capabilities that can target GPS and other vital space-based systems in an effort to degrade the military space advantage of the U.S. and its allies, said Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks. Hicks made the remarks in Colorado Springs, Colorado, as Army Gen. James H. Dickinson relinquished command of U.S. Space Command to Space Force Gen. Stephen N. Whiti

Washington DC (UPI) Jan 12, 2024
A bipartisan pair of lawmakers introduced a bill Thursday that would provide legal protection to civilian pilots who report UAP sightings. Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif. and Rep. Glenn Grothman, R-Wis., introduced the Safe Airspace for Americans Act, which aims to facilitate reporting of the unidentified aerial phenomena formerly called UFOs and to increase transparency of the reports coming

Beijing (XNA) Jan 16, 2024
The latest mission in China's expanding space program, involving the Tianzhou 7 cargo spaceship, is underway at the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan province, as confirmed by the China Manned Space Agency. This spacecraft is set to join the Tiangong space station, a significant step in China's ongoing efforts in space exploration and station maintenance. Preparations for this critica

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 16, 2024
Pixxel has opened its first-ever spacecraft manufacturing facility, aptly named "MegaPixxel," in Bengaluru, India. The inauguration, which marks a new chapter in Pixxel's journey, was attended by Shri S Somanath, the Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), alongside other notable industry stakeholders and investors. Spanning 30,000 square feet, the MegaPixxel facility in

Berlin, Germany (SPX) Jan 16, 2024
The Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission, under the leadership of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), is gearing up for a historic endeavor with the German-French rover IDEFIX poised to play a pivotal role. This ambitious mission aims to unravel the enigmatic origins of Mars' moons, Phobos and Deimos, marking a significant leap in our quest to understand the Martian system. T