Intuitive Machines‘ Odysseus lander made space history today — becoming the first commercial spacecraft to survive a descent to the moon, and the first U.S.-built spacecraft to do so since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. But it wasn’t a trouble-free landing.
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Anti-Satellite Weapons Will Threaten Everyone’s Access to Space
It’s a headline straight out of the movies yet the White House has recently confirmed it believes that Russia is building space-based anti-satellite weapon! There seems to be no conclusive evidence what this might be but one option may be a nuclear bomb that would indiscriminately wipe out satellites within a huge volume of space! Not only would it devastate satellites but would cause more problems down on the surface and create a whole load of space junk.
Intuitive Machines lands on moon in nail-biting descent of private Odysseus lander, a 1st for US since 1972
The private Odysseus lander touched down near the moon's south pole this evening (Feb. 22), etching its name into the history books with a nail-biting descent.
A Lunar Odyssey: "Odie" Lander Touches Down on the Moon
Odysseus has become the first mission of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program to soft-land on the Moon.
SpaceX Falcon 9 launches 22 Starlink satellites from California
An onboard camera captures the plume from the nine Merlin 1D engines on the first stage of the Falcon 9 as it climbed away from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Feb, 22, 2024. Image: SpaceX.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from the West Coast with another batch of 22 Starlink satellites at 8:11 p.m. PST Thursday (11:11 p.m. EST / 0411 UTC).
Powerful Jets From a Black Hole are Spawning Star Clusters
Supermassive black holes are messy feeders, and when they’re gorging on too much material, they can hurl high-energy jets into the surrounding Universe. Astronomers have found one of the most powerful eruptions ever seen, emanating from a black hole 3.8 billion light-years away. The powerful jets are blowing out cavities in intergalactic space and triggering the formation of a huge chain of star clusters.
NASA Eclipse Soundscapes Project will record how 2024's total solar eclipse impacts nature
The public is invited to contribute to NASA's Eclipse Soundscapes Project by recording sensory data as 2024's total eclipse passes overhead to determine its effect on the animal kingdom.
We Could Snoop on Extraterrestrial Communications Networks
The conditions for life throughout the Universe are so plentiful that it seems reasonable to presume there must be extra-terrestrial civilizations in the galaxy. But if that’s true, where are they? The Search for Extra-terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) program and others have long sought to find signals from these civilizations, but so far there has been nothing conclusive. Part of the challenge is that we don’t know what the nature of an alien signal might be. It’s a bit like finding a needle in a haystack when you don’t know what the needle looks like. Fortunately, any alien civilization would still be bound by the same physical laws we are, and we can use that to consider what might be possible. One way to better our odds of finding something would be to focus not on a direct signal from a single world, but the broader echos of an interstellar network of signals.
Gotcha: Firm Evidence for a Neutron Star in Supernova 1987A
After decades of debate, James Webb Space Telescope observations provide firm evidence of a neutron star inside the 1987A supernova remnant.
James Webb Space Telescope spots neutron star hiding in supernova wreckage
Using the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers spotted a neutron star that evaded detection for 37 years. It lives in Supernova 1987A, the aftermath of a stellar explosion in the Large Magellanic Cloud.
Webb finds clues of neutron star at heart of supernova remnant
The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has found the best evidence yet for emission from a neutron star at the site of a recently observed supernova. The supernova, known as SN 1987A, occurred 160 000 light-years from Earth in the Large Magellanic Cloud. SN 1987A was observed on Earth in 1987, the first supernova that was visible to the naked eye since 1604 — before the advent of telescopes.
Radio signals from Orion nebula reveal new data about strange celestial objects: 'JuMBOS'
Astronomers have discovered a radio signal from a 'JuMBO' in the Orion nebula, a weird celestial object discovered by the James Webb Space Telescope that defy star and planet formation models.
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launching for record-tying 19th time tonight
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is set to launch for a record-tying 19th time tonight (Feb. 22), sending a batch of Starlink internet satellites to orbit.
New 'Lunarcraft' game lets you build your own moon base in the Minecraft world
JAXA's new 'Lunarcraft' game allows Minecraft fans to create an outpost on the moon.
Intuitive Machines moon lander sends home a haunting crater picture ahead of touch down today
The Intuitive Machines Odysseus lander imaged a crater on the moon ahead of its expected landing today. It may soon become the first private lander to touch down on the moon.
Live coverage: Intuitive Machines aims to become first commercial lander to safely reach the Moon
Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lander named Odysseus cruises over the near side of the Moon on Feb. 21, 2024, a day ahead of its scheduled landing attempt. Image: Intuitive Machines
Update 2:34 p.m. EST: Intuitive Machines said it “chose to exercise an additional orbit before starting the IM-1 mission landing sequence” and therefore, adjusted the anticipated landing time.
Astroscale’s Satellite is Now Chasing Down a Real Piece of Space Debris
Space debris is a thing.. It seems whether we explore the Earth or space we leave rubbish in our wake. Thankfully, organisations like Astroscale are trying to combat the problem of debris in space with a new commercial debris inspection demonstration satellite. Named ADRAS-J, the satellite – which is now in orbit – is hunting down an old Japanese upper stage rocket body which was launched in 2009. It will approach to within 30 metres to study the module from every angle and work out how it can be safely de-orbited by a future mission.
'Intruder' stars have changed Earth's climate over the eons. Here's how.
Intruding stars may have thrown Earth's orbit off-kilter in the past, causing shifts in our planet's climate, a new study suggests.
Powerful twin solar flares erupt from sun as cell phone outages spike across US (video)
Tens of thousands of outages were reported by major cellular carriers throughout the United States after a pair of powerful solar flares erupted from the sun on Feb. 21 and Feb. 22.
Astronauts celebrate success of 1st surgery robot on ISS: 'It's a real game-changer'
Space delays during surgery? No sweat. A team of surgeons showed a robot can safely slice through rubber bands in space, in research that could one day help faraway astronauts.
New mission to track changes in the cryosphere
Video: 00:15:00
Tracking ice lost from the world’s glaciers, ice sheets and frozen land shows that Earth is losing ice at an accelerating rate. Monitoring the cryosphere is crucial for assessing, predicting and adapting to climate change.
