American scientists have announced what they have called a major breakthrough in a long-elusive goal of creating energy from nuclear fusion.
Space News & Blog Articles
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Look up! The Ursid meteor shower starts tonight (Dec. 17)
A more low-key meteor shower than the Geminids, the Ursid meteor shower begins on Saturday, Dec. 17, and last throughout the Christmas period.
Leaky Soyuz spacecraft tests thrusters at space station, US spacewalk delayed
A leaky Russian-built Soyuz capsule at the International Space Station test-fired its thrusters on Friday (Dec. 16) as part of troubleshooting efforts.
SpaceX launches 2 telecom satellites to orbit in landmark 200th mission
SpaceX carried out its milestone 200th orbital mission on Friday (Dec. 16), sending up a pair of powerful new communications satellites.
Aztecs Used an Extremely Accurate Solar Observatory to Manage Their Farming
Pre-Columbian Mexico (or Mesoamerica) hosted one of the largest civilizations and populations in the world. The most well-known and dominant of these civilizations (prior to the arrival of the Conquistadors) were the Aztecs (or Mexica). Their empire, known as the Triple Alliance, was centered around Lake Texcoco and consisted of the major cities Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan. In addition to engineering massive temples, aqueducts, canal systems, and estuaries, the Aztecs are renowned for being accomplished astronomers and agronomists.
Are Planets Tidally Locked to Red Dwarfs Habitable? It’s Complicated
Astronomers are keenly interested in red dwarfs and the planets that orbit them. Up to 85% of the stars in the Milky Way could be red dwarfs, and 40% of them might host Earth-like exoplanets in their habitable zones, according to some research.
Juno’s has Been Touring Jupiter’s Moons on its Extended Mission. Next Stop: Volcanic Io
For a tiny moon orbiting a giant planet, Io sure packs a giant wallop. It’s the most volcanic world in the solar system. Due to that extreme volcanism, scientists with the Juno mission are now focusing the spacecraft’s instruments and cameras on Io. They want to know more about its eruptions and how its constant stream of material into space interacts with Jupiter’s magnetosphere.
Rocket startup ABL Space Systems pushes debut launch to Jan. 9
ABL Space Systems has pushed the debut liftoff of its RS1 rocket to no earlier than Jan. 9, allowing more time to investigate issues with the vehicle.
See the 2022 FIFA World Cup from space in this dazzling satellite image
The UAE's Khalifasat satellite caught a dizzying orbital shot of Education City Stadium in Qatar on Dec. 6, as Morocco stunned Spain in the 2022 World Cup.
Perseverance Mars rover set to start caching samples for future return to Earth
NASA's Perseverance rover is set to cache its first Mars sample in the next few days, kicking off a roughly month-long process that will see the robot drop 10 tubes of Red Planet material.
Baby stars throw cosmic tantrums in iconic James Webb Space Telescope image
Scientists reexamining the James Webb Space Telescope's iconic "Cosmic Cliffs" image of the star cluster NGC 3324, have spotted a rare sight: protostars emitting two dozen powerful jets and outflows.
Jupiter moons take center stage in bonus science from NASA's Juno spacecraft
The Juno team got an unexpected opportunity to snatch close glimpses of some of Jupiter's bizarre moons.
Live coverage: SpaceX launch to begin deploying SES’s O3b mPOWER network
EDITOR’S NOTE: Watch a replay of our live coverage of the launch here.
Soyuz capsule leak could strand 3 astronauts on space station, raising safety concern, expert says
A Russian Soyuz spacecraft docked to the International Space Station is most likely unusable after a coolant leak, which means the orbital outpost has a serious safety problem, an expert said.
Nuclear fusion reactor 'breakthrough' is significant, but light-years away from being useful
Useful, cost-effective nuclear fusion remains a distant dream, despite a small step in the right direction from the government's NIF reactor.
NASA's DART asteroid smash flung 2 million pounds of rock into space
The massive tail created by the collision of a spacecraft and an asteroid earlier this year is unlocking key information about space rocks and how to respond if an asteroid ever threatens Earth.
ESA Highlights 2022
Video: 00:07:33
2022 was a year of many ‘firsts’ for space in Europe, seeing the first European female ISS commander, the launch of the first Vega-C rocket, Solar Orbiter’s first close encounter with our home star, the launch of the first Artemis mission working to bring humans back to the Moon, and first images from the James Webb Space Telescope.
Super rare pink and orange auroras surprise Norwegian skywatchers again
For the second time in less than two months, Norwegian skywatchers were stunned by extremely rare pink auroras which at moments turned into even rarer shades of orange.
Snowy Lapland and the white balloon
At this time of the year, the mention of Lapland conjures up visions of Santa getting his gift-laden sleigh and nine reindeer ready to take to the skies for the most important deliveries of all. However, the skies of Lapland have witnessed something rather different recently – a big white balloon, which may not provide the immediate gratification of a much-wanted Christmas present, but nonetheless plays a role in helping to safeguard our children’s future.
Watch SpaceX launch 2 telecom satellites to orbit Friday afternoon
SpaceX will launch two satellites for the telecom company SES on Friday (Dec. 16), and you can watch the liftoff live.
