Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander captures photo of its shadow on the Moon with the volcanic feature, Mons Latreille, visible on the top right side of the lunar surface. Image: Firefly Aerospace
The journey of Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lunar lander came to an end over the weekend. The 14-day operation on the surface of the Moon was officially declared over on Sunday, March 16, when the robotic lander sent its final transmissions back to Earth.
From far enough away, most supernovas are benign. But the thing you have to watch out for are the X-rays.
When water is sprayed or splashed, different size microdroplets develop opposite charges. This "microlightning" could've provided the energy needed to synthesize prebiotic molecules necessary for life.
Helium-3 (He-3) on the Moon's surface has drawn attention for decades. In 1939, a paper first noted the presence of Helium-3 on the Moon. Still, it really came into the collective consciousness of space resource enthusiasts during the 1980s when they realized just how valuable a resource it was and how much the Moon had of it. Now, a new paper from a company called Interlune, a relatively new start-up based out of Seattle, presented a paper at the recent Lunar and Planetary Science Conference that discusses plans to try to mine some of that wealth of material economically.
Even tipped over onto its side, the Odysseus Lunar Lander was able to do some science. Though a broken leg means it's doomed to spend eternity in an awkward position, its solar panels were able to gather some energy. Enough for its radiotelescope to take observations for about 80 minutes.
We are so familiar with our solar system that we often presume it is generally how star systems are built. Four little planets close to the star, four large gas planets farther away, and all with roughly circular orbits. But as we have found ever more exoplanets, we've come to understand just how unusual the solar system is. Large planets often orbit close to their star, small planets are much more common than larger ones, and as a new study shows, orbits aren't always circular.
The four SpaceX Crew-10 members and the seven Expedition 72 crew members join each other for a welcoming ceremony shortly after the SpaceX Dragon crew spacecraft docked to the International Space Station and the hatches opened. Image: NASA
The Crew 10 Dragon capsule caught up with the International Space Station and moved in for a textbook docking early Sunday, bringing four fresh crew members to the lab and clearing the way for the Starliner astronauts to return to Earth after nearly 300 days in space.
Gravitational slingshots are now a common part of space missions where the trajectory of a spacecraft is altered using the gravity of another body. These often bring fabulous opportunities for an extra bit of bonus science such as that demonstrated by ESA’s Hera mission on its way to asteroid Dimorphos. It’s following up on the DART 2022 impact but to get there, it’s used the gravity of Mars. It came within 5,000 km of the red planet and on its way, was able to take a look at Mars’ smaller moon Deimos from its far side.
Supernova explosions are powerful enough to cause mass extinctions if they're close enough. But can we tie supernovae to any of Earth's five mass extinctions? New research shows supernovae could be responsible for the Late Devonian and Late Ordovician mass extinctions.
When Betelgeuse goes off, it's going to be the show of a lifetime. But it’s not going to hurt us.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off at sunrise to begin the Starlink 12-16 mission on March 15, 2025. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now
Update March 15, 8:41 a.m. EDT: SpaceX confirmed deployment of the 23 Starlink satellites.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Launch Complex 39A to begin the Crew-10 mission. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now
Update March 14, 8:30 p.m. EDT: Dragon Endurance is making its way to the space station.
A streak shot of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as it soared away from Florida’s Space Coast. The launch of the Starlink 12-21 mission was captured next to a riverboat about 47 miles away in St. Cloud, Florida. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now
Update March 12, 11 p.m. ET: B1069 landed on the droneship, ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas.’
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket first stage booster, tail number B1086, lands on the droneship, ‘Just Read the Instructions,’ amid the Starlink 12-20 mission on Sunday, March 2, 2025. Shortly after touchdown, a fire broke out in the engine section and caused the loss of the booster. Image: SpaceX via livestream
SpaceX is preparing for the return to flight of its Falcon 9 on Monday evening following week without flying its workhorse rocket after a booster caught fire and exploded after landing. Two missions are on tap if the weather cooperates: one in California and the other in Florida.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Vandenberg Space Force Base to begin NASA’s SPHEREx and PUNCH missions on March 11, 2025. Image: SpaceX
Update March 12, 1:52 a.m. ET: NASA confirms acquisition of signal.
Venus, the second planet from the Sun, is often called Earth’s twin due to its similar size, mass, and composition. However, beyond these similarities, Venus is an incredibly hostile world with scorching temperatures, crushing atmospheric pressure, and toxic clouds. It has a diameter of 12,104 km (7,521 miles), making it slightly smaller than Earth. Unlike Earth, Venus has a thick, dense atmosphere composed mostly of carbon dioxide, trapping heat and creating the hottest planetary surface in the Solar System. Venus has no moons or rings, and its surface is dominated by vast volcanic plains, mountains, and deep craters. Despite its extreme conditions, Venus has fascinated astronomers for centuries and remains an important target for future exploration.
Whether President Donald Trump still supports returning astronauts to the lunar surface remains to be seen, but one thing is for certain: the moon no longer has a place in his White House.
Video: 00:06:40
A group of volunteers is spending two months lying in bed—with their feet up and one shoulder always touching the mattress—even while eating, showering, and using the toilet. But why? This extreme bedrest study is helping scientists understand how space travel affects the human body and how to keep astronauts healthy on long missions.
File: A Falcon 9 stands ready for the Starlink 8-10 mission at Cape Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex 40. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now.
Update 1:30 a.m. EST (0630 UTC): SpaceX has delayed the launch to Tuesday.
In the more than sixty years where scientists have engaged in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI), several potential examples of technological activity (“technosignatures”) have been considered. While most SETI surveys to date have focused on potential radio signals from distant sources, scientists have expanded the search to include other possible examples. This includes other forms of communication (directed energy, neutrinos, gravitational waves, etc.) and examples of megastructures (Dyson Spheres, Clarke Bands, Niven Rings, etc.)
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