Berlin, Germany (SPX) Sep 01, 2025
A research team led by Stockholm University has identified a planet-forming disk with an unexpectedly high concentration of carbon dioxide, detected in the terrestrial planet-forming region around a young star. The findings, made with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), challenge long-standing assumptions that water vapor dominates these zones. "Unlike most nearby planet-forming disks,

Paris, France (SPX) Sep 01, 2025
ESA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) are moving closer to a joint mission to the asteroid Apophis, which will pass Earth at a record-setting distance in 2029. The proposed Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety (Ramses) would rendezvous with the 375 m asteroid and monitor how Earth's gravity alters its physical state during the flyby. Scientists expect the close passage to

London, UK (SPX) Sep 01, 2025
New seismic evidence suggests that Mars's interior is far from the smooth textbook image often imagined. Instead, the planet's mantle is littered with ancient fragments, some up to 4 km wide, formed during violent early collisions more than 4.5 billion years ago. The study, based on seismic data collected by NASA's InSight lander, shows that seismic waves moving through Mars's mantle encou

Paris, France (SPX) Sep 01, 2025
The European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Commission have confirmed the first five missions of the Flight Ticket Initiative, a program designed to test and validate new European technologies in orbit while supporting the continent's launch sector. Three missions will launch on Avio's Vega-C rocket from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana. Spanish firm Persei will demonstrate the E.T

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Sep 01, 2025
Rocket Lab Corporation (Nasdaq: RKLB) has officially opened Launch Complex 3, a dedicated test, launch, and landing site for its reusable Neutron rocket. The new facility, located at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, represents the largest orbital launch capacity in the spaceport's history. Neutron is designed to lift 13,000 kg (33,000 pounds) to orbit, supporting comm

Perth, Australia (SPX) Sep 01, 2025
Western Australia's Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) has entered its next chapter, with the completion of an upgrade set to expand our view of the Universe and solidify WA's role as a global hub for radio astronomy. Operating since 2013, the MWA is a powerful telescope comprising 8,192 antennas spread across more than 30sqkm on Wajarri Yamaji land, about 300km north-east of Geraldton, at In

London, UK (SPX) Sep 01, 2025
Scientists studying the origins of planetary systems have found that protoplanetary discs are often warped, overturning the traditional view of smooth, flat discs. The findings, published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, show that these subtle tilts can significantly influence how planets grow and establish orbits. The research team, using the Atacama Large Millimetre/submillimetre Ar

Washington DC (UPI) Aug 31, 2025
Elon Musk's SpaceX launched 28 more satellites into low-Earth orbit on Sunday as the company continues to build out its constellation. The satellites were launched by a Falcon 9 rocket at 7:49 a.m. local time from Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, the company said in a statement. After separation, the rocket's first stage booster, numbe

Pasadena CA (JPL) Sep 01, 2025
Perseverance has continued exploring beyond the rim of Jezero crater, spending time last week at Parnasset conducting a mini-campaign on aeolian bedforms. After wrapping up that work, three separate drives brought Perseverance further southeast to an outcrop named Soroya. Soroya was first picked out from orbital images as a target of interest because, as can be seen in the above image, it

The European Space Agency-led Solar Orbiter mission has split the flood of energetic particles flung out into space from the Sun into two groups, tracing each back to a different kind of outburst from our star.