Beijing (XNA) Oct 01, 2025
China's Tianwen 2 spacecraft has reached the halfway point of its journey to near-Earth asteroid 2016 HO3 after more than four months in interplanetary flight, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA). The robotic probe has already traveled 43 million kilometers and remains in stable condition, with another 45 million kilometers left before arrival. The agency released a

Boston MA (SPX) Sep 30, 2025
A team of MIT geochemists has unearthed new evidence in very old rocks suggesting that some of the first animals on Earth were likely ancestors of the modern sea sponge. In a study appearing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers report that they have identified "chemical fossils" that may have been left by ancient sponges in rocks that are more than 541 mi

Melbourne FL (SPX) Sep 25, 2025
Florida Tech astrophysicist Howard Chen is offering new insights to help aid NASA's search for life beyond Earth. His latest theoretical work investigates the TRAPPIST-1 planetary system, one of the most widely studied exoplanetary systems in the galaxy. It has captured scientists' attention for its potential to host water, and thus possibly life, on its planets. Now, he's offering an explanatio

Paris, France (SPX) Sep 30, 2025
The European Space Agency has launched Pulse, a new initiative designed to transform mission monitoring and control across its expanding portfolio of space operations. Developed under ESA's Operations Directorate, Pulse provides a European, royalty-free, multi-mission solution that spans from spacecraft assembly and integration through to operations in low Earth orbit and deep space. Pulse

Waterloo, Canada (SPX) Oct 01, 2025
As cosmology data sets grow larger and increasingly complex, a new tool allows researchers to run advanced analyses with only a laptop in a fraction of the time once required. Dr. Marco Bonici, a postdoctoral fellow at the Waterloo Centre for Astrophysics, led an international collaboration that developed Effort.jl, an emulator designed to streamline studies using the Effective Field Theor

Satellite navigation is essential to everything from tracking your morning jog to landing air ambulances. But as reliance on satellite navigation grows, so do the risks associated with its interruption, natural or intentional. In its pursuit of strengthening European resilience in navigation, the European Space Agency (ESA) took part in Jammertest.

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Oct 06, 2025
T-Mobile (NASDAQ: TMUS) has expanded its T-Satellite partnership with Starlink to deliver satellite-powered app connectivity to more smartphones across the U.S., enabling popular services like WhatsApp, X, AccuWeather, AllTrails, and more to operate even without a cellular signal. The announcement marks a major leap just two months after T-Satellite's commercial debut with messaging and text-to-

London UK (SPX) Oct 06, 2025
Astronomers have discovered the most distant and powerful odd radio circle (ORC) ever observed, revealing a rare cosmic structure nearly halfway across the universe. The newly identified source, RAD J131346.9+500320, lies at a redshift of about 0.94 - when the universe was roughly half its present age. These enormous, faint rings of magnetised plasma emit only in the radio band and typical

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Oct 06, 2025
For decades, astronomers have assumed that dark matter and dark energy dominate the cosmos. Now, new research from the University of Ottawa challenges that foundation, proposing that these unseen components may be illusions caused by the gradual weakening of nature's fundamental forces as the universe ages. Rajendra Gupta, Adjunct Professor in the Department of Physics, suggests that if th

La Jolla CA (SPX) Oct 06, 2025
Phosphorus is one of six key elements necessary for life on Earth. When combined with hydrogen, phosphorus forms the molecule phosphine (PH3), an explosive, highly toxic gas. Found in the atmospheres of the gas giant planets Jupiter and Saturn, phosphine has long been recognized as a possible biosignature for anaerobic life, as there are few natural sources of this gas in the atmospheres of terr