House hunting on Mars could soon become a reality, thanks to a new autonomous exploration system developed by researchers at the University of Arizona. The system, inspired by the Hansel and Gretel story, sees tracked rovers dropping wireless communication nodes as they explore, based on an “opportunistic deployment” schedule.[0] “If you remember the book, you […]
Continue readingAstra recently concluded the investigation into the June 2022 launch of its Rocket 3.3 vehicle from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and the launch failure of its two NASA TROPICS cubesats.[0] The investigation found that the primary factor leading to the combustion chamber burn-through was a partial blockage of the injector.[1] When the fuel injector is partially […]
Continue readingThe aurora borealis and its southern counterpart, aurora australis, are one of the most beautiful light shows in nature. Dazzling those lucky enough to catch a glimpse of its captivating shimmer, the aurora is Earth’s greatest light show. These colorful displays of light are caused by activity on the sun — particularly a type of […]
Continue readingIn September 2022, NASA launched its Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission to demonstrate a technique for deflecting asteroids on a collision course with Earth.[0] The DART spacecraft collided with a small asteroid moon called Dimorphos, which orbits a larger asteroid called Didymos.[1] Although neither asteroid posed a hazard to Earth, they were similar to […]
Continue readingScientists have pinpointed how a cocktail of specific amino acids informed the genetic code of every single lifeform on Earth, providing a glimpse into the mystery of how life arose out of non-living matter.[0] The findings, published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, suggest that natural selection may have played a role before […]
Continue readingA recent study has uncovered a remarkable new vocal ability in toothed whales, the ability to produce a range of vocalizations including some akin to human “vocal fry”. This remarkable discovery was made possible through the use of vocalization analysis, CT scans and other experiments.[0] Toothed whales dive as deep as 2000 meters and catch […]
Continue readingScientists have discovered a rare hummingbird hybrid in Peru’s Cordillera Azul National Park, a species with a dazzling gold throat that had never been seen before.[0] John Bates, a curator of birds at Chicago’s Field Museum, was the first to spot the bird.[1] “I looked at the bird and said to myself, ‘This thing doesn’t […]
Continue readingChina’s first Mars mission, Tianwen-1, has been orbiting the red planet since February 2021 and its Zhurong rover has been on the surface since May 2021. However, new images from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have revealed that the rover has not moved since September 2022. It is unclear if the rover is still operational or […]
Continue readingNASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission was a success.[0] On September 26, 2022, the DART spacecraft made contact with Dimorphos, a small asteroid moon that orbits its parent asteroid, Didymos.[1] Incredibly, the telescopes showed that Dimorphos’ orbit was shortened by a whopping 33 minutes – more than 25 times the minimum requirement for mission […]
Continue readingOn March 2, 2023, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission launched to the International Space Station (ISS) from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, US. The international crew, which includes NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg, the United Arab Emirates Sultan Al-Neyadi and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, is the agency’s sixth commercial crew rotation […]
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