NASA selects bold proposal to "swarm" Proxima Centauri with tiny probes
Humans have dreamed about traveling to other star systems and setting foot on alien worlds for generations. To put it mildly, interstellar exploration is a very daunting task. As we explored in a previous post, it would take between 1000 and 81,000 y.....»»
The future of Boeing’s crewed spaceflight program is muddy after Starliner’s return
"The final chapter on Starliner has not been written yet." Enlarge / Boeing's uncrewed Starliner spaceraft backs away from the International Space Station moments after undocking on September 6, 2024. (credit: NASA) Near.....»»
Voyager 1 team accomplishes tricky thruster swap
Engineers working on NASA's Voyager 1 probe have successfully mitigated an issue with the spacecraft's thrusters, which keep the distant explorer pointed at Earth so that it can receive commands, send engineering data, and provide the unique science.....»»
How to watch NASA’s oldest active astronaut launch to the ISS on Wednesday
Don Pettit isn't your average senior citizen. Instead of enjoying life in the slow lane, he's getting ready for a rocket ride to the ISS......»»
Multiple ways to evolve tiny knee bone could have helped humans walk upright
The evolution of bones in primates' knees could have implications for how humans evolved to walk upright, a new study has found......»»
Whales are recovering from near extinction, but industrial fishing around Antarctica competes for their sole food source
The Southern Ocean encircling Antarctica is the world's largest feeding ground for baleen whales—species like humpbacks that filter tiny organisms from seawater for food. In the 20th century, whalers killed roughly 2 million large whales in the Sou.....»»
Orchestrating a swarm of robots for exploration of canyon on Mars
An enormous canyon stretches across Mars: Valles Marineris is 3,000 kilometers long, 600 kilometers wide and on average 8 kilometers deep. Its Latin name goes back to the Mars orbiter Mariner, which discovered the valley in the early 1970s......»»
SpaceX launches billionaire to conduct the first private spacewalk
A daredevil billionaire rocketed back into orbit Tuesday, aiming to perform the first private spacewalk and venture farther than anyone since NASA's Apollo moonshots......»»
Atomic diffusion technique could lead to mass production of metal nanowires
A group from Nagoya University in Japan has created a new technique for growing the tiny metal nanowires (NWs) that are expected to be used in next-generation electronics. Their results suggest a way to mass produce pure metal NWs, which has until no.....»»
NASA spacecraft to study Jupiter moon"s underground ocean cleared for October launch
NASA on Monday approved next month's launch to Jupiter's moon Europa after reviewing the spacecraft's ability to withstand the intense radiation there......»»
NASA will proceed with final preps to launch Europa Clipper next month
After a four-month review, NASA says suspect transistors on Europa Clipper are good to go. Enlarge / The main body of NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft is reflected in one of the mission's deployable solar array wings during testi.....»»
SpaceX’s delayed Polaris Dawn mission to launch tonight
The historic SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission, which includes the first ever commercial spacewalk, will launch tonight from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida......»»
Could alternative meat meet a growing demand?
Inside a UC Davis engineering lab, tiny round pellets swirl in a brown liquid inside a 5-liter glass tank. The tank, a bioreactor, is brewing edible fungi high in protein and designed to look and taste like meat......»»
Like a diamond in the sky: How to spot NASA"s solar sail demo in orbit
Now that its reflective sail has deployed fully open in orbit, the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System can be seen in the night sky from many locations across the world!.....»»
NASA scientific balloon takes flight with student-built payloads
NASA's Scientific Balloon Program's fifth balloon mission of the 2024 fall campaign took flight Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, from the agency's Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility in Fort Sumner, New Mexico. The HASP 1.0 (High-Altitude Student Platform).....»»
New mass spectrometry technology could transform tiny sample analysis
Mass spectrometry is a powerful technique that allows scientists to break down and identify the building blocks of just about anything by measuring the mass of the tiny particles of which something is comprised. It has a major limitation, however—a.....»»
Hubble and Chandra find supermassive black hole duo
Like two Sumo wrestlers squaring off, the closest confirmed pair of supermassive black holes have been observed in tight proximity. These are located approximately 300 light-years apart and were detected using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and the Ch.....»»
Parker Solar Probe lines up for final Venus flyby
NASA's Parker Solar Probe executed a short maneuver on Aug. 26 that kept the spacecraft on course for the mission's seventh and final planned Venus flyby on Nov. 6......»»
Ultimate Ears Miniroll speaker is tiny, waterproof, and wearable
Ultimate Ears' latest portable Bluetooth speaker is also its smallest......»»
Hidden, compact galaxies in the distant universe—searching for the secrets behind the little red dots
Astronomers exploring the faraway universe with the James Webb Space Telescope, NASA's most powerful telescope, have found a class of galaxies that challenges even the most skillful creatures in mimicry—like the mimic octopus. This creature can imp.....»»
Tiny glass beads suggest the moon had active volcanoes when dinosaurs roamed Earth
Volcanoes were still erupting on the moon when dinosaurs roamed Earth, new research suggests......»»