Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 10, 2026
Gas giants are large planets composed mainly of hydrogen and helium with dense cores but no solid surfaces. Astronomers have long debated how the most massive of these worlds form and where the boundary lies between true planets and brown dwarfs. A new investigation of the HR 8799 planetary system using the James Webb Space Telescope provides key evidence that even very massive gas giants can gr

Berlin, Germany (SPX) Feb 10, 2026
Volcanic activity is a key force shaping the surfaces of rocky planets, and new work from Italy indicates that Venus hosts a giant empty lava tube beneath its surface. Using radar images from NASA's Magellan mission, a team at the University of Trento has identified a skylight feature in the Nyx Mons region that reveals a large underground cavity interpreted as a lava conduit. The study, p

Paris, France (SPX) Feb 10, 2026
Sydney, Australia (SPX) Feb 10, 2026 For many years, scientists viewed the deep ocean as a nutrient poor realm where microbes in the water column scraped by on scarce resources. New research from the University of Southern Denmark now shows that these dark waters receive a significant and previously overlooked energy subsidy from sinking organic particles. The study, led by biologists at

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 10, 2026
Amino acids discovered in samples from the Bennu asteroid may have formed in an icy, radioactive environment in the early solar system, according to a new study led by Penn State researchers. The findings challenge long-held assumptions that these building blocks of life on asteroids formed primarily in the presence of warm liquid water. The team analyzed a small amount of Bennu material,

London, UK (SPX) Feb 06, 2026
A new electric propulsion laboratory for satellite engines has opened at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire, providing UK space companies with access to advanced testing and development facilities. The Disruptive Experimental Electric Propulsion (DEEP) Lab has been built by space technology company Magdrive with support from the UK Space Agency's Space Clusters Infrastructu

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 10, 2026
Voyager Technologies has secured a new Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity mission management contract from NASA's Johnson Space Center with a ceiling of 24.5 million dollars over four years to support International Space Station operations through 2030. Under the agreement, Voyager will provide full service mission management for ISS payloads, anchoring recurring mission execution across mu

Video: 00:01:21

For its most powerful flight yet, Ariane 6 lifts off for the first time with four boosters.

Designed for versatility, Ariane 6 can adapt to each mission: flying with two boosters for lighter payloads, or four boosters when more power is needed.

In its four-booster configuration, Ariane 6 can carry larger and heavier spacecraft into orbit, enabling some of Europe’s most ambitious missions — from science missions like PLATO to exploration systems such as Argonaut.