Beijing (XNA) Nov 11, 2022
The Tianzhou 5 cargo spacecraft launched on Saturday morning has docked with the Tiangong space station around noon, setting a world record for the fastest rendezvous and docking operations between two spacecraft, according to the China Manned Space Agency. The Tianzhou 5 was placed into a low-Earth orbit by a Long March 7 rocket that blasted off at 10:03 am at the Wenchang Space Launch

Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Nov 11, 2022
The Subaru Telescope successfully demonstrated engineering first light with a new instrument that will use about 2400 fiberoptic cables to capture the light from heavenly objects. Full operation is scheduled to start around 2024. The ability to observe thousands of objects simultaneously will provide unprecedented amounts of data to fuel Big Data Astronomy in the coming decade. In addition

Bern, Germany (SPX) Nov 11, 2022
Cosmological observations of the orbits of stars and galaxies enable clear conclusions to be drawn about the attractive gravitational forces that act between the celestial bodies. The astonishing finding: visible matter is far from sufficient for being able to explain the development or movements of galaxies. This suggests that there exists another, so far unknown, type of matter. Accordingly, i

Bath UK (SPX) Nov 11, 2022
Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have been detected by satellites orbiting Earth as luminous flashes of the most energetic gamma-ray radiation lasting milliseconds to hundreds of seconds. These catastrophic blasts occur in distant galaxies, billions of light years from Earth. A sub-type of GRB known as a short-duration GRB starts life when two neutron stars collide. These ultra-dense stars have the

Amsterdam, Netherlands (SPX) Nov 11, 2022
Black holes are the most extreme objects in the universe, packing so much mass into so little space that nothing - not even light - can escape their gravitational pull once it gets close enough. Understanding black holes is key to unravelling the most fundamental laws governing the cosmos, because they represent the limits of two of the best-tested theories of physics: the theory of general rela

Pasadena CA (JPL) Nov 11, 2022
Curiosity is continuing to climb towards a Gediz Vallis ridge viewing spot, and we can already get a glimpse of it rising in the distance. In today's plan we will collect a large stereo Mastcam mosaic of the parts of Gediz Vallis ridge that were visible to us today, and this image combined with the ones we hope to collect from our end of drive location on Monday, will help the team decide if we

Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany (SPX) Nov 11, 2022
The origin of Mars' two moons, Phobos and Deimos, is still unclear. To unravel this mystery, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission is scheduled to launch in 2024. A German-French rover will be on board to explore the surface of the 27-kilometre-diameter Phobos in detail. The German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum fur Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) h

Washington DC (UPI) Nov 11, 2021
NASA said Friday it would proceed with the Artemis I launch after inspections showed minimal damage to the rocket from Hurricane Nicole. The Artemis I mission launch is still scheduled for Nov. 16, after it was delayed due to the Hurricane. "There's nothing preventing us from getting to the 16th," Jim Free, an associate administrator, told reporters during a Friday news conferenc

Washington DC (UPI) Nov 11, 2021
Divers off the east coast of Florida have discovered remnants from the Space Shuttle Challenger which exploded after liftoff from Cape Canaveral more than 36 years ago. A television crew inadvertently made the find while searching for the wreckage of a WWII-era warplane at the bottom of the Atlantic. That's where the dive team noticed a large, flat metal object with distinct 8-in

Washington (AFP) Nov 11, 2022
NASA said Friday it plans to attempt its long-delayed uncrewed mission to the Moon as scheduled next Wednesday, after inspections revealed only minor damage from Hurricane Nicole's passage through Florida. Jim Free, a senior official at the US space agency, told journalists there was "nothing preventing" a launch on that date, and said that NASA teams had managed to access the launch pad on