Space News & Blog Articles

What can parabolic flights teach scientists and engineers about electrolyzers and how the latter can help advance human missions to the Moon and Mars? This is the goal of a recent grant awarded to the Mars Atmospheric Reactor for Synthesis of Consumables (MARS-C) project, which is sponsored by the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). The $500,000 award for this research is part of NASA’s TechLeap Prize program with the goal of testing experimental electrolyzer technology that can be used for future missions.

Check out Part 1 of the series here.

Stars have layers like onions, according to theory. The layers are made of different elements, progressing from light to heavy the deeper the layers are. While the theory is strong, observing the inner layers of a star has been basically impossible.

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are some of the most powerful signals in the universe. They can emit as much power in a few milliseconds as our Sun does in several days. Despite their strength, we still don’t have a definitive answer to what causes them. That is partly because, at least for the ones that only happen once, they are really hard to point down. But a new extension to the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) might provide the resolution needed to determine where non-repeating FRBs come from - and its first discovery was one of the brightest FRBs of all time, which helped researchers track it with an unprecedented level of precision, as described in a new paper in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Jupiter holds secrets at its heart that continue to puzzle scientists. The largest planet in our Solar System has what researchers call a "dilute core,” a central region that doesn't have sharp boundaries like once expected. Instead of a distinct rocky centre surrounded by layers of gas, Jupiter's core gradually blends into the hydrogen-rich layers above it, creating a smooth transition zone.

When NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope launches in October 2026, it won't just be peering into the distant universe to study dark energy and exoplanets. This powerful observatory will also serve as Earth's newest guardian, helping scientists track and understand potentially dangerous asteroids and comets that could threaten our planet.

Asteroids floating through our Solar System are debris left over from when our planetary neighbourhood formed 4.6 billion years ago. Scientists study these ancient fragments as time capsules that reveal secrets about our Solar System's earliest days. Now, new research has uncovered a surprising connection between two completely different types of asteroids that may actually share the same dramatic origin story.

Supernovae are among the most energetic phenomena in the Universe, and definitely one of the most spectacular! These events take place when a star has reached the end of its life cycle and undergoes gravitational collapse at its center, exploding and shedding its outer layers in the process. For astronomers, supernovae are not only a fascinating field of study, shedding light on the evolution of stars, but are also a means of measuring distance and the rate at which the Universe is expanding. They are an essential part of the Cosmic Distance Ladder because their brightness makes them very reliable "standard candles."

The “Wow!” signal has been etched red marker in the memory of advocates for the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) since its unveiling in 1977. To this day, it remains one of the most enigmatic radio frequency signals ever found. Now a new paper from a wide collection of authors, including some volunteers, provides some corrections, and some new insights, into both the signal and its potential causes.

Where is everybody?

Using scientific instruments in novel ways is a common practice, but still results in significant new discoveries. But sometimes, it doesn’t happen so much as a “that’s funny” moment as an intentional new use of old equipment. A new paper from researchers that Imperial College London (ICL), PhD student Solomon Hirsch and his advisor Mark Sephton, shows how the gas chromatograph-mass spectrometers that have been a mainstay of Martian probes since the Viking era could be used to find extant life there.

You know, if you think about it, and trust me we’re about to, the Moon is kind of weird. Of all the terrestrial worlds of the solar system, we’re the only one with a substantial natural satellite. Mercury and Venus have nothing. And while Mars technically has two moons, they’re really just captured asteroids and don’t really count. Sorry Phobos and Deimos, but that’s the way it is.

When NASA's Dawn mission arrived at Ceres in 2015, scientists and the general public got their first detailed look at this strange and beautiful planetoid. As the largest object in the Main Asteroid Belt, accounting for more than 39% of its total mass, Ceres is the only object in the Belt that has undergone hydrostatic equilibrium (aka. became round under the influence of its own gravity). The data Dawn obtained between 2015 and 2018, when the mission ran out of fuel, revealed some very interesting things about this mysterious, icy planetoid.

Since the dawn of the Space Age, agencies have relied on powerful arrays of communication antennas positioned worldwide to control, coordinate, and retrieve data from their missions. Today, NASA and its partner agencies rely on the Deep Space Network (DSN) to communicate with the many probes, orbiters, landers, and rovers they have operating beyond Earth. These signals also lead to "spillover," where radio signals reach far beyond robotic missions and propagate for light-years through space.

How do you tell how old an astronomical object is? I mean, the next time the Moon is in the sky, take a look at it. How would you even begin to answer that question?

How can thermoelectric generators (TEGs) help advance future lunar surface habitats? This is what a recent study published in Acta Astronautica hopes to address as a team of researchers from the Republic of Korea investigated a novel technique for improving power efficiency and reliability under the Moon’s harsh conditions. This study has the potential to help mission planners, engineers, and future astronauts develop technologies necessary for deep space human exploration to the Moon and beyond.

Since the turn of the century, the growing impact of Climate Change has inspired plans for space settlement. For many, establishing habitats in space and on other celestial bodies is a matter of survival, of creating "backup locations" for humanity so no single cataclysmic fate could lead to our extinction. This presents many challenges since spaceflight presents numerous hazards, including radiation exposure and the physiological and psychological effects of time spent in microgravity. Ongoing research aboard the International Space Station (ISS) has shown that these effects include muscle atrophy, bone density loss, and genetic changes.

Comets are like the archeological sites of the solar system. They formed early on, and their composition helps us understand what the area around the early Sun was like, potentially even before any planets were formed. A new paper from researchers at a variety of US and European institutions used the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) to capture detailed spatial spectral images of comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, which is very similar to the famous Halley’s comet, and might hold clues to where the water on the Earth came from.

A set of instruments shut off almost 50 years ago are still producing useful results. It’s the seismometers left by the Apollo missions to monitor moonquakes, which as the name suggests are earthquakes but on the Moon. First off, the Apollo seismometers were the first to reveal that the Moon does indeed have quakes, which is an impressive achievement in its own right. And once we realized that the Moon shakes, we’ve been able to use the natural seismic vibrations produced inside the Moon to map out its interior structure.

The 33rd SpaceX commercial resupply mission will launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sunday, August 24th, for the International Space Station (ISS). Along with a regular complement of sundries, this mission will carry numerous science investigations, like a 3D bioprinted implantable medical device, engineered liver tissues, and another 3D metal printing experiment. In addition, the mission will send an important medical investigation examining potential bone density loss, a common health effect that comes from extended periods spent in microgravity.

As missions like Kepler and TESS discovered more rocky exoplanets in recent years, scientists looked forward to the launch of the JWST. The powerful space telescope has the ability gather infrared spectra of exoplanet atmospheres, a key need in understanding the planets being discovered. It was hoped that these atmospheric characterizations would advance our understanding of habitability.