space exploration

Stories 61 - 80 | << Prev   Next >>

In Clouds of Venus, a Tantalizing Find
Something
Weird Is
Happening
on Venus
new study
Sep 14, 2020 11:23 AM CDT

Something Weird Is Happening on Venus

Chemical associated with biological life is detected in the clouds

(Newser) - Astronomers have found something unexpected in the clouds of Venus—a chemical usually associated with biological life. Does this mean there's life on Venus? Nope, far from it, explains the MIT Technology Review . But the gist from coverage is that the discovery is extremely intriguing. In their paper in...

NASA Patents Cheaper Way to Reach the Moon

New course is for small, unmanned missions

(Newser) - One of NASA's newest patents is about something laymen might not have thought was necessary—a map to the moon. But as the Observer reports, the newly patented route is designed for small, unmanned scientific missions. And it will not only save money, it will allow those missions to...

Rare Splashdown Nears
Rare Splashdown Nears
Jul 31, 2020 5:30 PM CDT

Rare Splashdown Nears

Crew expects to bob in the water off Florida for a while before being picked up

(Newser) - Two US astronauts about to make the first splashdown return in 45 years said Friday they'll have seasick bags ready if needed. SpaceX and NASA plan to bring Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken back Sunday afternoon in the company's Dragon capsule, aiming for the Gulf of Mexico just...

Rock From Mars Continues Its Strange Journey

NASA is bringing the small meteorite back to the red planet

(Newser) - Somewhere around 700,000 years ago, an asteroid or comet slammed into Mars and sent debris flying everywhere. And perhaps 1,000 years ago, one small piece of rock finally ended up on Earth. Now that same bit of basalt is going back to Mars, reports the BBC . As the...

China's Launch Was a Success. '7 Minutes of Terror' Is to Come

Nation just sent its first unmanned Tianwen-1 rover to Mars

(Newser) - It's a big first for China: the independent launch of an unmanned probe to Mars. Riding a Long March 5 rocket out of the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan province, the Tianwen-1 rover was sent into space at around 12:40pm local time on Thursday. "I now...

Scientists Have Surprisingly Specific Answer on Alien Life
Scientists Have Surprisingly
Specific Answer on Alien Life
in case you missed it
Jun 20, 2020 7:00 AM CDT

Scientists Have Surprisingly Specific Answer on Alien Life

Study estimates 36 alien civilizations exist in our galaxy capable of communicating with us

(Newser) - Asked the meaning of life, the supercomputer in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy came up with a very specific answer: 42 . Tasked with a different Big Question—how many intelligent alien civilizations exist in our galaxy—real-life scientists have gotten just as specific: 36. That's the estimate...

Scientists Just Found Closest Black Hole to Earth

'Washington, DC, would quite easily fit into the black hole'

(Newser) - Meet your new but shy galactic neighbor: A black hole left over from the death of a fleeting young star, per the AP . European astronomers have found the closest black hole to Earth yet, so near that the two stars dancing with it can be seen by the naked eye....

Mystery of Missing Exoplanet May Be Solved
Mystery of Missing
Exoplanet May Be Solved
in case you missed it
Apr 25, 2020 7:00 AM CDT

Mystery of Missing Exoplanet May Be Solved

Turns out, Fomalhaut b may not have been an exoplanet after all

(Newser) - Anyone seen Fomalhaut b? In 2008 we learned the exoplanet had been spotted in groundbreaking fashion by the Hubble Telescope, but nobody's caught a glimpse of it for quite a while. Now astronomers think they know why. Turns out, Fomalhaut b may not have been an exoplanet at all,...

Trump Order: US Should Mine Moon for Minerals

This 'order establishes US policy toward the recovery and use of space resources'

(Newser) - President Trump issued an executive order Monday urging the US to mine the moon, and possibly other celestial bodies, for minerals, the Guardian reports. "Americans should have the right to engage in commercial exploration, recovery, and use of resources in outer space," says the order, which notes that...

It&#39;s the Biggest Bang Since the Big Bang
It's the Biggest Bang
Since the Big Bang
new study
Feb 28, 2020 8:20 AM CST

It's the Biggest Bang Since the Big Bang

Astronomers discover explosion of mind-boggling proportions from a black hole

(Newser) - It was a quite a bang. In fact, it was the biggest one in the universe since the Big Bang itself, say astronomers in a news release . Using data from multiple telescopes—including NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory—astronomers reported Thursday that the long-ago blast came from a black hole...

Astronauts Try to Make Complicated Repair

Cosmic ray detector wasn't designed to be worked on in orbit

(Newser) - Spacewalking astronauts worked Saturday to complete repairs to a cosmic ray detector outside the International Space Station and give it new life. It was the fourth spacewalk since November for NASA's Andrew Morgan and Italy's Luca Parmitano to fix the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, the AP reports. They installed...

Theory on Getting to Mars &#39;Not So Crazy&#39;
Theory
on Getting
to Mars
'Not So Crazy'
new study
Nov 18, 2019 12:03 PM CST

Theory on Getting to Mars 'Not So Crazy'

Hibernating astronauts might do the trick, says new study

(Newser) - Hibernation might be the key to Mars travel. The European Space Agency says putting astronauts into a state of suspended animation could make it easier to reach other planets, per the AP . The agency said Monday that its researchers examined how hibernation would affect the design of a crewed mission...

Secretive Space Plane Left in 2017, Just Returned

Air Force's X-37B spent 780 days aloft

(Newser) - The Air Force's mystery space plane is back on Earth, following a record-breaking two-year mission. The X-37B landed at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida Sunday, per the AP . The Air Force is mum about what the unmanned plane did in orbit after launching aboard a SpaceX rocket...

Big Ask From NASA for Its 2024 Moon Expedition

Agency says it will need between $20B and $30B over the next 5 years

(Newser) - Back in March, Vice President Mike Pence vowed we'd get to the moon by 2024 by "any means necessary." Now, there's a number that NASA is pinning to "necessary": The agency says it will need between $20 billion and $30 billion over the next five...

Astronomers Find 'Forbidden Planet'

It's an exoplanet extremely close to a star

(Newser) - You can call it NGTS-4b if you're being formal, but astronomers have given their unprecedented new discovery a much sexier name—the Forbidden Planet. The reason for a label right out of a sci-fi thriller is that this exoplanet has been found where scientists didn't think one could...

SpaceX's Latest Launch Could Be a Big Deal

Elon Musk's company sends 60 satellites into orbit, and lots more will follow

(Newser) - SpaceX launched its heaviest load yet into space Thursday night—60 separate satellites weighing 500 pounds apiece, reports CNN . And if everything goes according to plan, Elon Musk's company will launch hundreds and perhaps thousands more such satellites, all part of an ambitious system called Starlink designed to beam...

Something Went Really Wrong in SpaceX Test

Company reports 'anomaly' in engine test

(Newser) - "Anomaly" might be an understatement. SpaceX was running engine tests on an unmanned space vehicle over the weekend at Cape Canaveral when something went seriously wrong. "The initial tests completed successfully but the final test resulted in an anomaly on the test stand," said the company in...

Israel's Ambitious Moon Landing Attempt Fails

It was supposed to be the first privately funded lunar mission

(Newser) - An Israeli spacecraft lost contact with Earth and crashed just moments before it was to land on the moon late Thursday, failing in an ambitious attempt to make history as the first privately funded lunar mission . The spacecraft lost communication with ground control as it was making its final descent...

Waiting for Astronauts Back on Earth: Fame, Accolades ... Herpes?
Astronauts'
Newest Health
Concern: Herpes
NEW STUDY
Mar 19, 2019 2:03 AM CDT

Astronauts' Newest Health Concern: Herpes

Study finds dormant viruses can reactivate in individuals who've endured stresses of space travel

(Newser) - Astronauts who "boldly go where no man has gone before," as William Shatner's Captain Kirk once put it , likely anticipate their body will undergo certain changes while in space. But how many have guessed they might see a herpes flare-up? New research from NASA shows that the...

China Just Made History on the Moon

Craft lands on the far side of the moon, the first to do so

(Newser) - A Chinese spacecraft on Thursday made the first-ever landing on the far side of the moon, state media said. The lunar explorer Chang'e 4 touched down at 10:26am, China Central Television said during its noon broadcast. The far side of the moon faces away from Earth and is...

Stories 61 - 80 | << Prev   Next >>
Most Read on Newser