Washington DC (UPI) Aug 6, 2025
Astronaut Barry "Butch" Wilmore announced his retirement Wednesday after 25 years with NASA and serving as a U.S. Navy test pilot before becoming an astronaut. Wilmore, 62, and astronaut Suni Williams gained a lot of media attention when their 10-day Boeing Starliner test flight turned into a nine-month stay on the International Space Station after lifting off on June 5, 2024, and retur

Boston MA (SPX) Aug 05, 2025
In the push to shrink and enhance technologies that control light, MIT researchers have unveiled a new platform that pushes the limits of modern optics through nanophotonics, the manipulation of light on the nanoscale, or billionths of a meter. The result is a class of ultracompact optical devices that are not only smaller and more efficient than existing technologies, but also dynamically

Washington DC (UPI) Aug 6, 2025
The Perseid meteor shower is set to peak in mid August, allowing stargazers to see up to 100 shooting stars per hour. The shower takes place each year when the Earth barrels through the trail of ancient debris from the Comet Swift-Tuttle. As the Earth's atmosphere collides with the cometary fragments, the friction vaporizes the debris, creating the flashes of "shooting stars." Th

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Aug 07, 2025
As graduation approaches, high school students are faced with numerous decisions that will shape their futures. Among those pivotal choices, selecting the right college can sometimes take a back seat to another crucial aspect: financing that college education. Understanding financial hurdles is imperative for students and their families as they embark on this journey. These hurdles can sometimes

Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Aug 01, 2025
Researchers at the Beijing Institute of Technology have developed a novel type of microphone that captures sound using light, offering a low-cost solution for detecting audio in situations where traditional microphones fall short. Rather than detecting airborne soundwaves directly, this "visual microphone" reads minute surface vibrations triggered by sound, converting them into audible signals.

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Aug 06, 2025
Parsons Corporation and Globalstar have reached a key milestone in the development of a joint commercial satellite solution, announcing the successful completion of a proof of concept across three European ground stations. The demonstration integrated Globalstar's Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite network with Parsons' software-defined communication technology and confirmed operational readiness f

Paris, France (SPX) Aug 06, 2025
This summer, astronauts aboard the International Space Station directed a team of advanced robots through a simulated martian terrain in Germany, concluding the fourth and final session of ESA and DLR's Surface Avatar experiment. The collaborative initiative between the European Space Agency and the German Aerospace Center aims to develop robotic control techniques for future lunar and martian e

Washington DC (UPI) Aug 5, 2025
Sean Duffy, acting NASA administrator and secretary of transportation, wants to fast-track putting a nuclear reactor on the moon, according to a directive he sent out Thursday. NASA already has plans to put a small nuclear reactor on the moon but this directive would create a timeline despite the agency's heavy budget cut, Politico, The New York Times and The Independent reported.

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Aug 06, 2025
Sidus Space (NASDAQ: SIDU) has successfully activated its proprietary SpacePilot software on the LizzieSat-3 satellite, enabling advanced autonomous guidance, navigation, and control capabilities. The company also confirmed the commissioning of the satellite's Attitude Determination and Control System (ADCS), a critical component in satellite orientation and stability. These developments m

Washington (AFP) Aug 5, 2025
The United States is rushing to put nuclear power reactors on the Moon and Mars, and hopes to launch the first system by the end of the decade. A new NASA directive - first reported by Politico and seen by AFP on Tuesday - calls for the appointment of a nuclear power czar to select two commercial proposals within six months, framing the push as crucial to outpacing a joint Chinese-Russian