Astrobiologist Nathalie Cabrol seeks answers to two key questions: Are we alone in the universe? How did life on Earth begin in the first place?
Space News & Blog Articles
Tropical Storm Helene delays SpaceX's Crew-9 astronaut launch to Sept. 28
SpaceX and NASA have delayed the Crew-9 astronaut launch from Thursday (Sept. 26) to no earlier than Saturday (Sept. 28) due to a strengthening tropical storm.
US Space Force partners with India to open a microchip factory for next-gen tech
The United States is partnering with India to establish a new factory that will manufacture microchips to enable next-generation technologies for the U.S. Space Force.
Earth's New Temporary Mini-moon Arrives This Weekend
Starting September 29th, another moon of sorts will briefly accompany Earth. The house-size asteroid will stick around less than 2 months.
'Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2' brings glory to the Emperor (review)
Space Marine 2 reminds us how good third-person action games can be.
Live coverage: SpaceX to launch 20 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base
A stack of SpaceX Starlink satellites, which included the first six featuring Direct to Cell capabilities. The batch launched on the Starlink 7-9 mission, which lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Jan. 2, 2024. Image: SpaceX
SpaceX is preparing to launch its latest Falcon 9 rocket on a Starlink mission as Tropical Storm Helene threatens the timeline for the next mission to the International Space Station.
SpaceX Recovers the Super Heavy Booster from Flight 4
On June 6th, 2024, the fourth orbital test flight of the Starship successfully lifted off at 07:50 a.m. CT (08:50 a.m. EDT; 06:50 PDT) from SpaceX’s Starbase in Texas. This test was the first time the Starship (SN29) and Super Heavy (BN11) prototypes reentered Earth’s atmosphere and landed successfully. While the SN29 conducted a powered vertical landing before splashing down in the Indian Ocean, the BN11 executed a similar powered landing before splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico. In a recent tweet, Elon Musk shared a photo of the BN11 booster being pulled out of the sea.
SpaceX stacks Starship megarocket ahead of 5th test flight (photos)
SpaceX has stacked and tested its Starship megarocket ahead of the vehicle's fifth flight, which isn't expected to launch until late November.
Shape-Shifting Robots Mimic Muscle Movements
Researchers have developed a set of hexagon-shaped robotic components that can be snapped together into larger and larger structures. Each one of the component hexagons is made of rigid plates that serve as its exoskeleton. Driven by electricity, the plates can change their shape, shifting from long and narrow to wide and flat at high speed. The combined structures are capable of jumping four times their own body height, then can shape-shift to roll extremely fast, or use multimodal actuation to crawl through confined spaces.
Scientists have found evidence of past extreme solar storms. Their return could be disastrous for our technology-based societies
In the not-so-distant past, the Earth was battered by much more extreme solar storms. Evidence of these storms has come, in particular, from analysing levels of radioactive carbon – known as radiocarbon, or carbon-14 – in tree rings.
Witness the Galactic Civil War's last gasp in 'Star Wars: Battle of Jakku' miniseries
A preview of Marvel Comics' three "Star Wars: Battle of Jakku" miniseries.
Space Perspective completes 1st uncrewed balloon flight to the edge of Earth's atmosphere (video)
Space Perspective completed the first uncrewed test flight of its Spaceship Neptune Excelsior balloon ride to the edge of Earth's atmosphere, and expects crewed flights to begin next year.
New image of China's secret space plane shows delta-wing design
Images captured by spacecraft tracker appear to show China's mysterious space plane sporting a delta-wing design.
Orion spacecraft can shield Artemis astronauts from deep-space radiation, study shows
Data from NASA's Artemis 1 moon mission has provided valuable space radiation measurements, which validate spacecraft performance and will help guide deep-space human spaceflight.
Draco mission made for destruction
Over the nearly 70 years of spaceflight, about 10 000 intact satellites and rocket bodies have reentered the atmosphere with many more to follow. Yet for such a ubiquitous event, we still lack a clear view on what actually happens to a satellite during its fiery last moments.
Boeing Starliner astronaut Suni Williams takes ISS command as 8-day mission turns into 8 months (video)
NASA astronaut Suni Williams did not expect to be taking command of the International Space Station when her eight-day Starliner Crew Flight Test launched in June. Now, the key to the station is hers.
'Missing link' black hole lurks in strange binary system with red giant star
Astronomers have discovered a "missing link:" a tiny black hole lurking with a red giant star in a strange and difficult-to-explain binary system.
What Happens to the Climate When Earth Passes Through Interstellar Clouds?
Noctilucent clouds were once thought to be a fairly modern phenomenon. A team of researcher have recently calculated that Earth and the entire Solar System may well have passed through two dense interstellar clouds causing global noctilucent clouds that may have driven an ice age. The event is thought to have happened 7 million years ago and would have compressed the heliosphere, exposing Earth to the interstellar medium.
SpaceX fishes Starship Super Heavy booster out of the sea (photo)
SpaceX has retrieved from the sea the first-stage booster that flew on its latest Starship test flight, which launched this past June.
From Frozen to Sweltering: Earth’s Climate Over the Last 485 Million Years
Earth’s last half-billion years were action-packed. During that time, the climate underwent many changes. There have been changes in ocean levels and ice sheets, changes in the atmosphere’s composition, changes in ocean chemistry, and ongoing biological evolution punctuated with extinction events.
China launches 10 satellites on 2 rockets less than 6 hours apart (video)
China launched separate sets of Earth-observation and "Internet of Things" satellites into orbit on Friday (Sept. 20) on two different missions.