China debuts $553 million spaceport with launch of new Long March-12 rocket (video) (Image Credit: Space.com) Last week, China successfully debuted its new launch vehicle Long March-12, delivering two experimental satellites into orbit and marking the inaugural flight from the country’s first commercial spaceport that will support the country’s upcoming surge in […]

Gigantic ‘spiderwebs’ on Mars are the next big target for NASA’s Curiosity rover, agency reveals (Image Credit: Space.com) The ever-reliable Curiosity rover is about to begin a new quest to study giant “spiderwebs” on Mars’ surface, after successfully concluding its previous mission, NASA has announced. The web-like rocks span for miles and […]

SpaceX launch Wednesday marks record 24th flight of booster (Image Credit: Phys.org) Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain SpaceX set a new standard for its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket on Wednesday using a first-stage booster for a record 24th time. The rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 […]

New odd radio circle discovered with MeerKAT telescope (Image Credit: Phys.org) Composite image of ORC J0219-0505 consisting of the MeerKAT Stokes I image (green) superimposed on an RGB optical image from the Legacy Survey Interactive Sky Viewer. Credit: arXiv (2024). DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2411.17311 Using the MeerKAT telescope, astronomers have discovered a new odd […]

MeerKAT confirms the gravitational wave background of the universe in record time (Image Credit: Phys.org) MeerKAT results showing pulsar correlations across the sky. Credit: Miles, et al The universe is a turbulent place. Stars are exploding, neutron stars collide, and supermassive black holes are merging. All of these things and many more […]

Could we use an asteroid to shield astronauts on their way to Mars? (Image Credit: Phys.org) Illustration of the asteroid Bennu. Credit: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Radiation is a primary concern for long-duration human spaceflight, such as the planned trips to Mars, which are the stated goal of organizations such as NASA […]

Some minerals seen on Mars today may have formed in liquid CO₂ instead of water (Image Credit: Phys.org) At left: Steel is seen to corrode into siderite (FeCO3) when immersed in subcritical liquid carbon dioxide (LCO2). At right: Samples of albite (a plagioclase feldspar) and a sandstone core are observed to form […]

India launches European Proba-3 satellites to create artificial eclipses in space (video) (Image Credit: Space.com) A European mission that will use two satellites to create artificial eclipses in Earth orbit launched early Thursday morning (Dec. 5) after a 24-hour delay. The European Space Agency‘s (ESA) Proba-3 formation-flying mission lifted off atop an […]

SpaceX completes 1st Starlink direct-to-cell constellation with launch from California (video) (Image Credit: Space.com) SpaceX notched a big milestone with a launch of its Starlink internet satellites on Wednesday night (Dec. 4). A Falcon 9 rocket launched 20 Starlink spacecraft from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base on Wednesday at 10:05 p.m. EST […]