Boston MA (SPX) Dec 26, 2024
MIT physicists have created a new and long-lasting magnetic state in a material, using only light. In a study appearing in Nature, the researchers report using a terahertz laser - a light source that oscillates more than a trillion times per second - to directly stimulate atoms in an antiferromagnetic material. The laser's oscillations are tuned to the natural vibrations among the material

Paris, France (SPX) Dec 28, 2024
Researchers at the University of Bologna, led by Prof. Alberto Credi, have developed an innovative method to manipulate molecular assembly using light energy. This approach allows for the creation of a molecular configuration that defies the natural thermodynamic equilibrium, a feat previously considered unattainable. "We have shown that by administering light energy to an aqueous solution

Evanston IL (SPX) Dec 23, 2024
Northwestern University engineers are the first to successfully demonstrate quantum teleportation over a fiber optic cable already carrying Internet traffic. The discovery, published in the journal Optica, introduces the new possibility of combining quantum communication with existing Internet cables - greatly simplifying the infrastructure required for for advanced sensing technologies or

Washington DC (UPI) Jan 4, 2024
SpaceX launched its first flight of 2025, sending a Falcon 9 rocket into space with a Thuraya 4 satellite from Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 40 in Florida. The Falcon 9 rocket took off at 8:27 p.m. EST Friday. Eight minutes and 40 seconds later, the booster returned to Earth for a landing aboard SpaceX's droneship "A Shortfall of Gravitas" offshore in the Atlantic Ocean. I

Cape Canaveral (AFP) Jan 5, 2025
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos's company Blue Origin is poised to launch its first orbital rocket next week, marking a pivotal moment in the commercial space race currently dominated by Elon Musk's SpaceX. Named New Glenn, the rocket is scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida as soon as Wednesday 1:00 am (0600 GMT), with a backup window on Friday, according to a F

Seattle WA (SPX) Jan 06, 2025
Life on Earth could not exist without carbon. But carbon itself could not exist without stars. Nearly all elements except hydrogen and helium - including carbon, oxygen and iron - only exist because they were forged in stellar furnaces and later flung into the cosmos when their stars died. In an ultimate act of galactic recycling, planets like ours are formed by incorporating these star-built at

Greenbelt MD (SPX) Jan 06, 2025
A NASA X-ray imager is heading to the Moon as part of NASA's Artemis campaign, where it will capture the first global images of the magnetic field that shields Earth from solar radiation. The Lunar Environment Heliospheric X-ray Imager, or LEXI, instrument is one of 10 payloads aboard the next lunar delivery through NASA's CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative, set to launch

Sydney, Australia (SPX) Jan 06, 2025
Icy moons like Europa and Enceladus offer intriguing environments for studying potential extraterrestrial life. These environments, particularly the icy shell, ice-water interface, and seafloor, are considered prime regions for identifying robust biosignatures, extant life, and prebiotic chemical systems. Extraterrestrial Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (Exo-AUVs) play a critical role in these ex

Huntsville AL (SPX) Jan 06, 2025
The Electric Propulsion Club (EPC) at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), recently traveled to Milan, Italy, to present STARGATE, an experimental gridded ion thruster developed by the group, at the 75th International Astronautical Congress (IAC). The group's STARGATE team consists entirely of UAH undergraduates and is an independent student research organization working in the fields

Charlottesville VA (SPX) Jan 04, 2025
Go faster, farther, more efficiently. That's the goal driving spacecraft propulsion engineers like Chen Cui, a new assistant professor at the University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science. Cui is exploring ways to improve electric propulsion thrusters - a key technology for future space missions. "In order to ensure the technology remains viable for long-term missi