Webb finds dwarf galaxies reionised the Universe
Wednesday, 28 February 2024 15:00
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Using the unprecedented capabilities of the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, an international team of scientists has obtained the first spectroscopic observations of the faintest galaxies during the first billion years of the Universe. These findings help answer a longstanding question for astronomers: what sources caused the reionisation of the Universe?
Virgin Galactic expects no delay to next suborbital flight
Wednesday, 28 February 2024 14:32
Who owns the moon?
Wednesday, 28 February 2024 13:38 Write a comment
The first successful moon landing of a private lander, Odysseus, last week came a month after Japan and six months after India touched down on Earth's natural satellite.
As more states and private companies reach the moon, some experts say, adequate legal framework and international agreements may be needed to avoid conflicts.
"Many hundreds of billions of dollars have been invested over the last several decades with the hope that the moon will turn out to be a resource for commercial activity, commercial development of the minerals and the water ice on the moon," says Anthony Grayling, a British philosopher and founder of New College of the Humanities in London. NCH finalized its merger with Northeastern in 2019.
"Exploration of new frontiers will produce new ways of imagining, new challenges, new technologies that can be of tremendous utility," says Grayling, who moderated a fireside chat Monday that was part of Northeastern's "Thinking the Future" series and recently published a book, "Who Owns the Moon? In Defence of Humanity's Common Interests in Space."
Commercialization can also create friction and rivalries between different parties, he says, that can lead to potential conflicts.
Study finds the West is best to spot UFOs
Wednesday, 28 February 2024 12:24 Write a comment
In July of 2023, retired commander in the U.S. Navy David Fravor testified to the House Oversight Committee about a mysterious, Tic Tac-shaped object that he and three others observed over the Pacific Ocean in 2004. The congressional hearings riveted the world by bringing Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) out of the "alien truther" realm and into the mainstream.
"This [Tic Tac-shaped object that] had just traveled 60 miles in…less than a minute, was far superior in performance to my brand-new F/A-18F and did not operate with any of the known aerodynamic principles that we expect for objects that fly in our atmosphere," claimed Fravor.
As sensor technology has advanced and personal aircraft use has skyrocketed, our ability to explain strange events has become harder to resolve. The U.S. Department of Defense has increasingly taken UAP, formerly known as Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs), as a serious threat to national security.
Rocket Lab pushing for first Neutron launch in 2024
Wednesday, 28 February 2024 11:42
Sand dunes meet stacked ice at Mars’s north pole
Wednesday, 28 February 2024 08:18 Write a comment
ESA’s Mars Express has captured an intriguing view near Mars’s north pole, imaging where vast sand dunes meet the many layers of dusty ice covering the planet’s pole.
Astra founders reduce offer to take company private
Tuesday, 27 February 2024 23:02
FAA closes investigation into SpaceX Starship's double-explosion 2nd flight
Tuesday, 27 February 2024 21:02 Write a comment
As SpaceX continues to gear up for flight No. 3 of its massive Starship and Super Heavy from Texas, the Federal Aviation Administration has closed the investigation into the second flight that resulted in explosions of both the booster and upper stages back in November.
The FAA on Monday said the SpaceX-led investigation into what was classified as a "mishap," cited 17 action items that have to be addressed before any future launch licenses from SpaceX's Boca Chica, Texas launch site Starbase are approved.
Starship is SpaceX's replacement launch system for its Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets and is completely reusable. It's aiming to launch a third test flight as soon as next month if it can get approval.
The first launch of Starship and Super Heavy in April 2023 also ended in an explosion, but with the booster still connected to the upper stage. That launch also walloped the launch pad, and it took more than six months to close out that mishap investigation with 63 corrective actions.
The second flight performed much better despite the double combustive incidents mid-flight.
Under pressure - space exploration in our time
Tuesday, 27 February 2024 19:29 Write a comment
A new paradigm is taking shape in the space industry as the countries and entities accessing space continue to grow and diversify. This dynamic landscape creates both competition and potential for scientific collaboration, as well as the challenges and opportunities of progress.
In the past decade, humanity has seen the birth and expansion of a commercial space sector with new, private pla Mining Into Mineral King: Sols 4110-4111
Tuesday, 27 February 2024 19:29 Write a comment
The planning team came in after the weekend to see another beautiful Martian drill hole on the target Mineral King! Mineral King is named after a silver mining district in Sequoia National Park, California. This was a pretty odd-looking rock, with the big overhanging ledges and several different colors, so we were all pretty anxious to see the drilling results. Fortunately, the rock was strong e GPS war: Israel's battle to keep drones flying and enemies baffled
Tuesday, 27 February 2024 19:29 Write a comment
Omer Sharar had just received the first delivery of his new GPS anti-jamming technology when Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7.
Since then he and his team at InfiniDome, a start-up based in Caesarea, north of Tel Aviv, have been working around the clock to prevent the Israeli army's mini-drones from being intercepted by cheap and simple jamming in Gaza.
Israel - one of the wo Chang'e 6 and new rockets highlight China's packed 2024 space agenda
Tuesday, 27 February 2024 19:29 Write a comment
China has announced plans to undertake around 100 space launch missions within the year, setting a new precedent for its national space industry's activity levels. This ambitious agenda, disclosed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp (CASC), the leading state-owned space contractor, at a news conference in Beijing, underscores China's accelerating pace in the global space race. NASA's Planetary Radar Images Slowly Spinning Asteroid
Tuesday, 27 February 2024 19:29 Write a comment
On Feb. 2, a large asteroid safely drifted past Earth at a distance of about 1.8 million miles (2.9 million kilometers, or 7 0.5 times the distance between Earth and the Moon). There was no risk of the asteroid - called 2008 OS7 - impacting our planet, but scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California used a powerful radio antenna to better determine the size, rotation, Japan's SLIM moon responds after outlasting 'lunar night'
Tuesday, 27 February 2024 19:29 Write a comment
Japan's Aerospace Exploration Agency said very early Monday they have regained communication with the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon exploration vehicle after nearly a month.
The Japanese space agency said on social media minutes after 12 a.m. local time that after sending a command to the machine, known as SLIM, a response had unexpectedly been received back.
"Confirming th LeoLabs names Tony Frazier as CEO to expand its role in global space operations
Tuesday, 27 February 2024 19:29 Write a comment
In a strategic move poised to significantly impact the landscape of space situational awareness and safety, LeoLabs, a front-runner in monitoring space activity, has announced the appointment of Tony Frazier as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). With a storied career at the confluence of commercial space ventures and national security, Frazier's leadership is expected to catalyze LeoLabs' gr