Germany's armed forces are planning to build their own constellation of satellites, to avoid becoming reliant on SpaceX's Starlink or other orbiting communications networks.
Space News & Blog Articles
Forest mission sealed within rocket fairing for liftoff
With the launch of ESA’s Biomass satellite scheduled for 29 April, preparations at Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, have reached a key milestone. The satellite has now been sealed inside the protective fairing of the Vega-C rocket – now hidden from view, the satellite is almost ready for its journey into space.
The best value VR headset, the Meta Quest 3, is now at its lowest-ever price, perfect if you want a bargain or to explore the world of virtual reality for less
The Meta Quest 3 is one of the best VR headsets on the market, and now it's on offer for its lowest-ever price when you grab it from Amazon, Walmart or Best Buy.
How artificial intelligence is helping scientists hunt for alien Earths
An AI algorithm designed to look for planetary systems that could host Earth-like, habitable zone planets, has found 44 candidates.
Roadmap for Obtaining First Sample Returns from Mercury and Venus
How can we successfully collect and return samples from Mercury and Venus to Earth? This is what a recent study presented at the 56th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference hopes to address as a pair of researchers from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) discussed how future missions could successfully conduct sample return missions from the two innermost planets in our solar system. This study has the potential to help scientists, engineers, and mission planners better understand new methods for conducting sample returns throughout the solar system, and specifically from hard-to-reach destinations.
Matter-spewing 'singularities' could eliminate the need for dark energy and dark matter
A new cosmic model suggests that singularities could briefly pop into existence, spewing matter and energy into the cosmos, negating the need for dark energy and dark matter.
New photos from European Mars orbiter show dynamic, volcanic Red Planet terrain
The European Space Agency just released some new snapshots from its Mars Express orbiter that detail the dynamic terrain of the Red Planet's Acheron Fossae region.
The Most Metal Poor Stars are Living Fossils from the Beginning of the Universe
Our Sun, like all stars, is made mostly of hydrogen and helium. They are by far the most abundant elements, formed in the early moments of the Universe. But our star is also rich in other elements astronomers call "metals." Carbon, nitrogen, iron, gold, and more. These elements were created through astrophysical processes, such as supernovae and neutron star collisions. The dust of long-dead stars that gathered together into molecular clouds and formed new, younger stars such as the Sun. Stars rich in metals. But there are still stars out there that are not metal rich. These extremely metal-poor stars, or EMPs, hold clues to the origin of stars in the cosmos.
Aisha Bowe becomes 1st Bahamian woman to reach space, remembers Alan Shepard’s landmark flight: 'He landed in Grand Bahama' (video)
On Monday (April 14), Aisha Bowe became the first Bahamian woman to launch to space — and she already wants to go back.
Aurora alert! Powerful geomagnetic storm could spark northern lights as far south as Illinois and Oregon tonight
Heads up aurora chasers! Powerful geomagnetic storm conditions could trigger northern lights at mid-latitudes overnight as CME impact is detected.
Katy Perry just became the 1st pop star to sing in space — but Lance Bass, Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Sarah Brightman and Justin Bieber had their chance
Katy Perry isn't the first performer with space ambitions; Lance Bass, Beyonce, Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber all hoped to be first at one time or another.
Astronomers Push Webb to its Limits to Visualize the Most Distant Galaxies Of All!
When JWST launched, it found the most distant known galaxy: JADES-GS-z14-0, with a redshift of 14.32, and seen about 290 million years after the Big Bang. Now, a team of astronomers has gone even deeper, searching for galaxies in the redshift 15-30 range, which would be galaxies from 270 to 100 million years after the beginning of the Universe. They've found a few candidates in the 15-20 range, but these could be closer, low-mass dusty galaxies.
Star's swan song captured by Hubble Telescope | Space picture of the day for April 15, 2025
Planetary nebula Kohoutek 4-55 as viewed by the Hubble Space Telescope.
NASA astronaut Don Pettit and 2 cosmonauts will return to Earth on April 19
NASA astronaut Don Pettit and two cosmonaut colleagues will return to Earth from the International Space Station on Saturday night (April 19), if all goes to plan.
'I've never been more proud of my friend than today,' Oprah Winfrey says as she watches Gayle King launch on Blue Origin rocket (video)
Oprah Winfrey was on hand April 14 to witness the launch of Blue Origin's historic NS-31 mission, which carried her friend of nearly 50 years, journalist Gayle King, to and from suborbital space.
Alien life could exist on Saturn's big moon Titan — but finding it will be tough
Alien life could exist on the huge Saturn moon Titan, but probably not in the abundance scientists once hoped, according to a new study.
Hera's Mars flyby - Asteroid Framing Camera (colourised)
Video: 00:02:14
On 12 March 2025, ESA’s Hera spacecraft soared just 5000 km above Mars and passed within 300 km of its distant moon, Deimos. Captured by Hera’s 1020x1020 pixel Asteroid Framing Camera, this video sequence offers a rare view of the red planet and its enigmatic moon. The original greyscale images have been colour-enhanced based on known surface features.
Bungie's next sci-fi shooter 'Marathon' has been revealed with a trio of action-packed trailers, a release date, and a closed alpha (video)
Cybernetic mercenaries team up to venture into an abandoned colony planet, grab valuable loot, and fight each other in Bungie's Marathon reboot.
Pulsar Fusion unveils vision for ‘Sunbird’ nuclear rocket to reach Mars in half the time (video)
Pulsar Fusion just released a video showcasing its planned Sunbird nuclear fusion rocket, which is designed to reach speeds of about 329,000 mph (500,000 kph).
James Webb Space Telescope sees a celestial Venn diagram around a dying star
A stunning new image from the James Webb Space Telescope is allowing astronomers to examine the complex and turbulent final stages of a dying star.
Preserving Life’s Blueprint Beyond the Earth
It’s no surprise that the future of humanity and even Earth’s biodiversity hangs in the balance and so the race to preserve life on our planet has never been more urgent. Species and ecosystems are vanishing at alarming rate so teams of scientists are turning to cutting-edge solutions to safeguard the natural world for future generations. A new paper explores cryopreservation as one solution, a technology that allows living cells to be frozen and stored for centuries, preserving genetic material and even entire organisms. This approach comes with its own challenges but as we explore this innovative frontier, it becomes clear that reimagining how and where we protect life is essential to securing the planet’s biological legacy.