Mars: How Ingenuity helicopter made the first flight on another planet
Imagine that you are flying a model helicopter or a drone. You are there with the auto controls. You switch them on. The rotors start to turn, gradually increasing their spin. You watch, then push the control for lift. Your helicopter rises, hovers,.....»»
Here’s how that iPhone survived a 16,000-foot drop from the Alaska Airlines plane
Back in January, a fully intact iPhone was discovered along the side of the road after plummeting 16,000 feet when a door blew off an Alaska Airlines flight. At the time, we pointed out that it was pretty incredible the iPhone 14 Pro Max survived suc.....»»
Rocket Report: SLS workforce cuts; New Glenn launch to launch in the early fall
"This is a vital component in our preparations for launch." Enlarge / The flight hardware core stage for Europe’s new rocket, Ariane 6, is moved onto the launch pad for the first time this week. A launch is possible some time t.....»»
NASA gives Starliner’s first crewed launch the go-ahead
With the first crewed test flight of the new Boeing Starliner spacecraft less than two weeks away, NASA has given the go-ahead for the launch......»»
TESS finds its first rogue planet
Well over 5,000 planets have been found orbiting other star systems. One of the satellites hunting for them is TESS, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite. Astronomers using TESS think they are made a rather surprising discovery; their first free.....»»
Hera asteroid mission"s side-trip to Mars
ESA's Hera asteroid mission for planetary defense will make a swingby of Mars next March, borrowing speed to help reach its target Didymos binary asteroid system......»»
Did climate chaos cultivate or constrain 2023"s greenery?
In the ongoing quest to track the progression of climate change, scientists frequently examine the state of our planet's vegetation—forests, grasslands, agricultural lands, and beyond......»»
Solar geoengineering to cool the planet: Is it worth the risks?
When I first wrote about geoengineering in 2012 , it was considered far-fetched at best, and crazy by most. But 12 years later, while there is still controversy and considerable resistance to deploying it, respectable scientists and institutions are.....»»
The Mars Sample Return mission has a shaky future, and NASA is calling on private companies for backup
A critical NASA mission in the search for life beyond Earth, Mars Sample Return, is in trouble. Its budget has ballooned from US$5 billion to over $11 billion, and the sample return date may slip from the end of this decade to 2040......»»
Warming Arctic reduces dust levels in parts of the planet, study finds
Climate change is a global phenomenon, but its impacts are felt at a very local level. Take, for example, dust. Dust can have a huge impact on local air quality, food security, energy supply and public health. Yet, little is known about how global cl.....»»
If Starship is real, we’re going to need big cargo movers on the Moon and Mars
"I left SpaceX knowing the width of the Starship door." Enlarge / The author tries not to crash a lunar rover. (credit: Eric Berger) As a SpaceX engineer working on the Starship program about five years ago, Jaret Matthe.....»»
US announces sweeping cuts to power sector carbon emissions
President Joe Biden's government on Thursday finalized sweeping plans to curb planet-warming emissions from the nation's fossil fuel plants as part of the United States' efforts to confront the climate crisis......»»
Africa"s megacities threatened by heat, floods, disease—action needed to start greening, adapt to climate change
Cities cover just 3% of the planet. But they emit 78% of all global greenhouse gas emissions, absorb 80% of final global energy (what consumers use) and consume 60% of clean drinking water......»»
Signs of "spider" phenomenon on Mars
ESA's Mars Express has snapped the telltale traces of "spiders" scattered across the southern polar region of Mars......»»
A NASA rover has reached a promising place to search for fossilized life on Mars
While we go about our daily lives on Earth, a nuclear-powered robot the size of a small car is trundling around Mars looking for fossils. Unlike its predecessor Curiosity, NASA's Perseverance rover is explicitly intended to "search for potential evid.....»»
NASA to overhaul mission returning samples from Mars—here"s why it must and will go ahead
NASA recently announced that it is seeking new ways to complete the return to Earth of rock cores drilled by the Perseverance Rover in the Jezero Crater on Mars. This has led to some anxiety among space scientists, who view the Mars Sample Return (MS.....»»
New evidence found for Planet 9
A small team of planetary scientists from the California Institute of Technology, Université Côte d'Azur and Southwest Research Institute reports possible new evidence of Planet 9. They have published their paper on the arXiv preprint server, and i.....»»
Astronauts take major step toward Starliner’s first crewed flight
After numerous delays across many years, NASA is closer than ever to launching its first astronauts aboard the Boeing-made CST-100 Starliner spacecraft......»»
High-speed imaging and AI help us understand how insect wings work
Too many muscles working too fast had made understanding insect flight challenging. Enlarge / A time-lapse showing how an insect's wing adopts very specific positions during flight. (credit: Florian Muijres, Dickinson Lab).....»»
NASA video maps all 72 flights taken by Mars Ingenuity helicopter
NASA has shared a video that maps all 72 of the flights taken on Mars by its trailblazing Ingenuity helicopter during its almost three-year mission......»»
Planet sees 10 straight months of record-breaking heat
Californians have had weekend after weekend of cool, stormy weather and the Sierra Nevada has been blessed with a healthy snowpack. But the reality is that even the last few months have been more than 2 degrees hotter than average......»»