Space News & Blog Articles

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This sulfur-based space molecule could tell us about the emergence of life on Earth

Researchers have created a "fingerprint" of a sulfur-based molecule found in space that may offer new clues about the formation of life on Earth.

SpaceX's private Fram2 launch over Earth's poles will send astronauts where no one has gone before

SpaceX's Fram2 astronaut mission is set to launch toward a polar orbit on March 31, which will be a first for human spaceflight. Why has this never been done before?

Watch SpaceX launch historic Fram2 astronaut mission over Earth's poles tonight (video)

SpaceX plans to launch the Fram2 astronaut mission over Earth's poles tonight (March 31), and you can watch the action live.

Solar eclipse shines over Stonehenge in stunning photo from Astrophotographer Josh Dury

'Capturing the partial solar eclipse from the iconic landmark at Stonehenge was awe-inspiring in more ways than one'

Cosmic rays may be the elusive spark for lightning here on Earth

Cosmic rays may play a role in triggering lightning, a new study suggests, offering an out-of-this-world answer to a long-standing mystery.

This newly found super-Earth might have blown off its own atmosphere

A newly found super-Earth could help provide answers as to why there are hardly any planets twice the diameter of Earth.

ESA’s Arctic Weather Satellite hailed as excellent

Launched just seven months ago, ESA’s Arctic Weather Satellite has been proving how the New Space approach can accelerate the development of missions capable of delivering detailed temperature and humidity profiles for short-term weather forecasts.

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Using HIFI to “Sniff” Enceladus’ Plumes

What kinds of scientific instruments can be used to sample the plumes of Enceladus with the goal of identifying the ingredients for life as we know it? This is what a recent study presented at the 56th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference hopes to address as a team of international researchers investigated how the novel High Ice Flux Instrument (HIFI) could be the next-generation instrument used to sample the plumes of Enceladus while building off the groundbreaking findings from the NASA Cassini spacecraft’s Cosmic Dust Analyzer (CDA). This study has the potential to help scientists and engineers develop new and efficient methodologies for finding life on Enceladus and throughout the solar system.

Exploring Mars with Next-Generation Helicopters

How can scientists and engineers build off the success of NASA’s Ingenuity Mars helicopter to better explore the Red Planet? This is what a recent study presented at the 56th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference hopes to address as an aerospace executive with more than two decades of research and engineering experience investigated how a next-generation Mars helicopter could conduct groundbreaking science while delivering peak efficiency and performance. This study has the potential to help scientists and engineers develop new methods for exploring Mars with cost-effective and efficient methods.

Uranus’ Moons Could Have Cryovolcanism from Potential Interior Oceans

What can cryovolcanism on the dwarf planet Ceres teach us about potential cryovolcanism on Uranus’ five largest moons, which include Oberon, Umbriel, Ariel, Titania, and Miranda? This is what two studies recently presented at the 56th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference hopes to address, as a team of researchers investigated using Ceres as an analog for the potential ocean moons, Umbriel and Oberon, and the likelihood of an impact crater on Umbriel showing evidence of cryovolcanism. These studies have the potential to help researchers better understand the formation and evolution of ocean worlds in the outer solar system and whether they could potentially have life as we know it.

Many Protoplanetary Disks Aren't Much Bigger Than Earth's Orbit

When it comes to the planets produced in protoplanetary disks, size matters, but not the way you might think. That's the conclusion a group of astronomers found when they aimed the Atacama Large Millimeter Array in Chile at hundreds of these disks around young stars in the southern constellation Lupus. They used the observatory in 2023 and 2024 to focus on the disks and supplemented that with archival data.

SpaceX rolls out rocket for historic Fram2 astronaut flight over Earth's poles (photos)

SpaceX has rolled out the rocket and Crew Dragon capsule that will launch the Fram2 astronaut mission on Monday night (March 31).

ISS National Lab explores the future of space in new podcast 'Between a Rocket and a Hard Space'

The International Space Station National Laboratory just launched "Between a Rocket and a Hard Space," a brand-new podcast series that explores the future of space innovation.

Earth's sea ice hits all-time low, NASA satellites reveal

Sea ice impacts storms and coastal erosion — and NASA says Earth's total sea ice content has hit an all-time low.

European Space Agency launches competition to find its next commercial rocket by 2028

The European Space Agency has kicked off a competition to support the development of new launch vehicles and boost Europe's access to space.

1st-ever orbital rocket launch from European soil falls to Earth and explodes seconds into flight

The first orbital rocket launch from European soil ended in an explosion when Isar Aerospace's rocket fell to Earth seconds after launching on March 30.

ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover will have a European landing platform

The European Space Agency (ESA) has selected Airbus to design and build the landing platform for the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover. In 2028, ESA will launch this ambitious exploration mission to search for past and present signs of life on Mars.

SpaceX's Fram2 astronaut flight over Earth's poles will be the 1st to grow mushrooms in space

SpaceX's upcoming Fram2 astronaut mission will attempt to grow mushrooms in microgravity for the first time, as part of an experiment called Mission MushVroom.

Live coverage: SpaceX to launch 28 Starlink V2 Mini satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral

File: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands at Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) ahead of the launch of the Starlink 12-18 mission. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now

SpaceX is hoping to close out the weekend with a Falcon 9 rocket launching a batch of 28 Starlink V2 Mini satellites. The weather forecast on Sunday, however, is quite problematic, with meteorologists tracking storms that “may pack strong wind gusts and even small hail.”

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Are Nuclear Propulsion Systems the Future of Space Exploration?

Efforts are underway to develop advanced propulsion systems that can reduce transit times to Mars and other locations in the Solar System. These include nuclear propulsion concepts, which NASA began researching again in 2016 for its proposed "Moon to Mars" mission architecture. In a recent paper, two aerospace innovators reviewed some key nuclear-electric propulsion concepts, their respective advantages, and challenges. In the end, they conclude that nuclear propulsion has the potential to revolutionize space exploration and make humanity "multiplanetary."


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