Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 23, 2024
The International Space Station (ISS), a cornerstone of global space research and cooperation, is currently bustling with activity as it houses eleven astronauts and cosmonauts from across the globe. This unique congregation of space professionals is the result of the collaboration between the seven members of Expedition 70 and the four astronauts of Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3), who commenced their t

Tempe AZ (SPX) Jan 18, 2024
An interdisciplinary team including Alexandra Ros, professor in Arizona State University's School of Molecular Sciences and faculty member in the Biodesign Institute's Center for Applied Structural Discovery, is taking one giant leap into a new sector of the global aerospace industry. The team has received $9.87 million from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment Endeavour Fun

Noordwijk, Netherlands (SPX) Jan 19, 2024
In the realm of space exploration, testing equipment under conditions that mimic the unforgiving environment of space is critical. At the forefront of this endeavor is the European Space Agency's (ESA) Large Space Simulator (LSS), located at the ESTEC Test Centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands. This mammoth facility, known for its capability to simulate the vacuum, temperature, and solar radiatio

Pasadena CA (JPL) Jan 21, 2024
Earth planning date: Friday, January 19, 2024: This 3 sol weekend plan, like many of our recent plans (for example: here and here), focuses heavily on the fractures and cracks in this area. We are interested in cracks and fractures and the fracture fill (the material between cracks) as the chemistry and the physical features can tell us lots about conditions at the time of their formation, inclu

Tokyo (AFP) Jan 22, 2024
Japan switched off its Moon lander almost three hours after a historic touchdown to allow for a possible recovery of the craft when the sun hits its solar panels, the space agency said Monday. With its unmanned Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) mission - dubbed "Moon Sniper" for the craft's precision landing capabilities - Japan became the fifth country to achieve a soft lunar lan

Sydney, Australia (SPX) Jan 23, 2024
China is poised to take another significant step in lunar exploration with its upcoming Chang'e 6 mission, scheduled for later this year. This ambitious endeavor by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) aims to collect and return samples from the far side of the Moon, a feat not yet accomplished by any nation. The Chang'e 6 spacecraft, a complex assembly comprising an orbiter, lan

London, UK (SPX) Jan 23, 2024
The realm of space exploration is on the verge of a significant advancement with the introduction of the Aqualunar Challenge, a collaborative GBP1.2 million initiative between the UK and Canada, aimed at fostering the development of technologies for purifying water on the Moon. This challenge is a testament to the growing focus on making human habitation on the lunar surface a viable reality.

Berkeley CA (SPX) Jan 23, 2024
Nearly 70 years after the launch of the first satellite, we still have more questions than answers about space. But a team of Berkeley researchers is on a mission to change this with a proposal to build a fleet of low-cost, autonomous spacecraft, each weighing only 10 grams and propelled by nothing more than the pressure of solar radiation. These miniaturized solar sails could potentially visit

Newark DE (SPX) Jan 23, 2024
Lettuce and other leafy green vegetables are part of a healthy, balanced diet - even for astronauts on a mission. It's been more than three years since the National Aeronautics and Space Administration made space-grown lettuce an item on the menu for astronauts aboard the International Space Station. Alongside their space diet staples of flour tortillas and powdered coffee, astronauts can munch

Image:

This image from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope features an H II region in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a satellite galaxy of our Milky Way. This nebula, known as N79, is a region of interstellar atomic hydrogen that is ionised, captured here by Webb’s Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI).

N79 is a massive star-forming complex spanning roughly 1630 light-years in the generally unexplored southwest region of the LMC. N79 is typically regarded as a younger version of 30 Doradus (also known as the Tarantula Nebula), another of Webb’s recent targets. Research suggests that N79 has a star formation efficiency