While ESA's Integral was observing the sky, it suddenly spotted a burst of gamma-rays coming from the nearby galaxy M82. Only a few hours later, ESA’s XMM-Newton searched for an afterglow from the explosion but found none. Astronomers realised that the burst must have been an extra-galactic flare from a magnetar, a young neutron star with an exceptionally strong magnetic field.
Space News & Blog Articles
Tune into the SpaceZE News Network to stay updated on industry news from around the world.
Pre-Star Wars Day Lego deal: 20% off the Emperor's Throne Room
Never underestimate the power of the Dark Side again and Save 20% on the Lego Emperor's Throne Room Diorama ahead of Star Wars Day, May 4.
There are Four Ways to Build with Regolith on the Moon
Over the last few years I have been renovating my home. Building on Earth seems to be a fairly well understood process, after all we have many different materials to chose from. But what about future lunar explorers. As we head closer toward a permanent lunar base, astronauts will have very limited cargo carrying capability so will have to use local materials. On the Moon, that means relying upon the dusty lunar regolith that covers the surface. Researchers have now developed 20 different methods for creating building materials out of the stuff. They include solidification, sintering/melting, bonding solidification and confinement formation. But of all these, which is the best?
How Saturn’s Moon Mimas Might Have Melted
Maybe everything in the outer solar system is an ocean world.
Signs of spiders from Mars
No sign of Ziggy Stardust – but ESA’s Mars Express has snapped the telltale traces of ‘spiders’ scattered across the southern polar region of Mars.
Virtual tour of ESA’s Test Centre
Image: Virtual tour of ESA’s Test Centre
From space to soil
Soil sealing might not be a term that everyone's familiar with, but its effects are felt far and wide, particularly in urban areas.
NASA ends CloudSat Earth-observing mission after 18 years
NASA's pioneering CloudSat weather and climate mission has come to an end after nearly 18 productive years in Earth orbit.
Purple Bacteria — Not Green Plants — Might Be the Strongest Indication of Life
Astrobiologists continue to work towards determining which biosignatures might be best to look for when searching for life on other worlds. The most common idea has been to search for evidence of plants that use the green pigment chlorophyll, like we have on Earth. However, a new paper suggests that bacteria with purple pigments could flourish under a broader range of environments than their green cousins. That means current and next-generation telescopes should be looking for the emissions of purple lifeforms.
Birthplace of weird Earth 'quasi-moon' Kamo’oalewa found
Scientists turned into cosmic crime scene investigators to reconstruct the impact that sent Earth's "quasi-moon" Kamo'oalewa rocketing from the lunar surface millions of years ago.
See the Southern Ring Nebula in 3D
Planetary nebula are some of nature’s most stunning visual displays. The name is confusing since they’re the remains of stars, not planets. But that doesn’t detract from their status as objects of captivating beauty and intense scientific study.
Hubble Has Accidentally Discovered Over a Thousand Asteroids
The venerable Hubble Space Telescope is like a gift that keeps on giving. Not only is it still making astronomical discoveries after more than thirty years in operation. It is also making discoveries by accident! Thanks to an international team of citizen scientists, with the help of astronomers from the European Space Agency (ESA) and some machine learning algorithms, a new sample of over one thousand asteroids has been identified in Hubble‘s archival data. The methods used represent a new approach for finding objects in decades-old data that could be applied to other datasets as well.
Fortnite launches to the moon in new 'Lunar Horizons' simulation game
A preview of Fortnite's new free-to-play "Lunar Horizons" mission experience on the moon.
NASA astronauts enter quarantine for 1st crewed Boeing Starliner launch on May 6
Veteran NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are in quarantine at agency facilities before the 1st Boeing Starliner launch. They are expected to fly on May 6.
Building rockets and looking for life on Venus: Q&A with Rocket Lab's Peter Beck
Space.com caught up with Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck recently to talk about the company's ambitious plans for the future, which include a private life-hunting mission to Venus.
Live coverage: Rocket Lab to launch NASA, Korean payloads on Electron flight
An artist’s concept of NASA’s Advanced Composite Solar Sail System spacecraft in orbit. Graphic: NASA/Aero Animation/Ben Schweighart
Rocket Lab is gearing up for its fifth launch of the year, which will be a rideshare mission between the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and NASA. This will also be the company’s 47th Electron launch to date.
Live coverage: SpaceX aims for 300th Falcon booster landing during Starlink mission
A Falcon 9 stands ready for a Starlink mission at Cape Canaveral’s pad 40. File photo: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now.
SpaceX is preparing for a Falcon 9 launch that will set up the company to complete its 300th booster landing to date. The Starlink 6-53 mission will also mark the 30th orbital launch from Florida in 2024.
Watch 4 solar flares erupt from the sun at nearly the same time in extremely rare event (video)
The quadruple eruption was captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory.
Meteorites Tighten Timeline for Giant Planets’ Movement through the Solar System
By linking a family of meteorites on Earth to their relatives in the asteroid belt, scientists have arrived at a new understanding of the giant planets' movement early in the solar system's history.
Slovenia signs NASA's Artemis Accords for cooperative space exploration
Slovenia signed NASA's Artemis Accords on April 19, becoming the 39th country to affirm their cooperation in future space endeavors to the moon and beyond.
Ariane 6 flies OOV-Cube: Internet of (wild) Things
Europe’s newest rocket soon launches, taking with it many space missions each with a unique objective, destination and team at home, cheering them on. Whether launching new satellites to look back and study Earth, peer out to deep space or test important new technologies in orbit, Ariane 6’s first flight will showcase the versatility and flexibility of this impressive, heavy-lift launcher. Read on for all about OOV-Cube, then see who else is flying first.
