Riverside CA (SPX) Mar 13, 2025
Scientists have identified a promising new way to detect life on faraway planets, hinging on worlds that look nothing like Earth and gases rarely considered in the search for extraterrestrials. In a new Astrophysical Journal Letters paper, researchers from the University of California, Riverside, describe these gases, which could be detected in the atmospheres of exoplanets - planets outsi

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Mar 13, 2025
For over a century, astronomers have been intrigued by Barnard's Star, the closest single-star system to Earth, in their quest to identify planetary bodies orbiting it. Initially observed in 1916 by E. E. Barnard at Yerkes Observatory, this red dwarf has long been a target for exoplanet research. Red dwarfs are known for their propensity to host compact planetary systems, often composed of multi

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Mar 13, 2025
NASA's mission team is continuing efforts to restore communication with the Lunar Trailblazer spacecraft after losing contact on February 27, just a day after its launch. The mission operators at Caltech's IPAC are working alongside NASA's Deep Space Network to send commands in an attempt to establish a connection. Several radio ground stations have also volunteered their resources to dete

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Mar 13, 2025
Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB), a leading provider of space systems and launch services, has been awarded a contract by Airbus Constellation Satellites to supply high-efficiency solar panels for 100 OneWeb Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites commissioned by Eutelsat Group. These satellites are designed to extend high-speed, low-latency internet connectivity to underserved regions worldwide.

Sydney, Australia (SPX) Mar 13, 2025
China's first commercial spaceport successfully launched 18 satellites into orbit early Wednesday, utilizing a Long March 8 carrier rocket from the Hainan International Commercial Aerospace Launch Center in Wenchang, Hainan province. According to China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), the state-owned enterprise overseeing the mission, the rocket lifted off at 12:38 a.m.

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Mar 13, 2025
NASA's Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) mission has successfully established full contact with its four small satellites, confirming they are operational and fully powered. Over its planned two-year duration, PUNCH will conduct extensive 3D imaging of the Sun's corona, or outermost atmosphere, and its transformation into the solar wind. The solar wind, along wi

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Mar 13, 2025
NASA's SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer) mission has successfully established communication with ground controllers, confirming that the spacecraft is fully operational and generating power as expected. In the coming weeks, mission specialists will ready the observatory for its scientific survey by performing instrument ca

Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Mar 13, 2025
Within the next decade, space agencies aim to bring back rock samples from Mars for examination on Earth. A major concern surrounding these missions is the potential presence of extraterrestrial microbes, which could pose unknown risks. To mitigate such concerns, scientists are developing advanced methods to detect life. For the first time, researchers from the University of Tokyo and NASA have

Washington (AFP) Mar 13, 2025
A pair of astronauts stuck aboard the International Space Station (ISS) for over nine months may have to wait a little longer to return home after the launch of their replacements was postponed. The Falcon 9 rocket propelling the NASA-SpaceX Crew-10 mission was set to blast off from Florida's Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday at 7:48 pm (2348 GMT). But with around 45 minutes left on the

European scientists are asking volunteers to lie down on a waterbed for 10 days as part of a pioneering dry immersion study to recreate some of the effects of spaceflight on the body.