A Russian spacecraft, Progress 90, leaked a strange odor and droplets upon docking with the International Space Station (ISS) on Saturday, alarming astronauts. The odor was described as “toxic,” prompting the crew to seal off the hatch and activate air scrubbers while monitoring air quality. After confirming the air was safe, the hatch was reopened, and the spacecraft, carrying supplies for the ISS, remained docked … Continue reading Russian spacecraft brings ‘toxic’ odor, unknown droplets to International Space Station

Curiosity rover discovered pure elemental sulfur on Mars in May when it accidentally cracked open a rock, revealing yellow sulfur crystals. While sulfates are common on Mars, this is the first time sulfur has been found in its pure form. The discovery was made in the Gediz Vallis Channel, where similar rocks suggest that elemental sulfur could be abundant in certain areas, Science Alert has … Continue reading NASA’s Curiosity Rover Uncovers Mars’ Mysterious Spiderweb Rocks and Hidden Crystals

SpaceX launched 20 Starlink satellites early Sunday morning (Nov. 24) from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base. The Falcon 9 rocket carried 13 satellites capable of providing internet service to smartphones. The rocket’s first stage successfully returned to Earth, landing on the droneship “Of Course I Still Love You” in the Pacific Ocean, Space.com has reported. This launch marked the 115th Falcon 9 flight of the … Continue reading SpaceX launches 20 Starlink satellites from California

Earth will soon part ways with a “mini moon,” asteroid 2024 PT5, which has been tagging along for the past two months. On Monday, the asteroid will be pulled away by the sun’s gravity, but it will return for a brief visit in January. NASA plans to observe the 33-foot asteroid with radar to learn more about it, as it may be a chunk of … Continue reading Earth’s ‘mini moon’ may have been a chunk of our actual moon

NASA and the European Space Agency’s Solar Orbiter spacecraft has captured the highest resolution images of the Sun’s surface ever taken. On March 22, 2023, when the spacecraft was 45 million miles from the Sun, it used its PHI and EUI instruments to capture detailed images of the photosphere, magnetic field, and corona. The images reveal granular patterns on the Sun’s surface, sunspots, and the … Continue reading Solar Orbiter Snaps Sharpest Ever Images of the Sun

On Tuesday, NASA conducted an orbital shift of the International Space Station (ISS) to avoid a piece of space debris. The maneuver, which lasted 5 minutes and 31 seconds, raised the ISS’s orbit to create more distance from debris from a defunct satellite that broke up in 2015. The debris would have come within 2.5 miles of the station. This was the first debris-avoidance maneuver … Continue reading The International Space Station adjusts its orbit to avoid space debris

SpaceX launched 24 more Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral on November 21, marking the company’s seventh launch in a week. The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 11:07 a.m. EST, with its first stage successfully landing on the droneship “A Shortfall of Gravitas” in the Atlantic. This marked the 20th launch and landing for the booster, with 16 of those being Starlink missions. The upper … Continue reading SpaceX launches 24 Starlink satellites from Florida

Astronomers have gathered tentative evidence of a sulphur-rich atmosphere on L 98-59 d, a super-Earth exoplanet 35 light years away, which could be the smallest exoplanet known to have an atmosphere. Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), scientists detected potential signs of sulphur dioxide (SO₂) and hydrogen sulphide (H₂S) in the planet’s atmosphere, suggesting a molten or volcanic surface. L 98-59 d, discovered by … Continue reading A distant planet seems to have a sulphur-rich atmosphere, hinting at alien volcanoes

The European Space Agency (ESA) is providing a combined 44.22 million euros ($46.7 million) to four launch vehicle startups—HyImpulse, Isar Aerospace, Orbex, and Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA)—to assist with testing their vehicles. This funding, through ESA’s “Boost!” program, supports integrated testing as the companies work towards their first launches. Isar Aerospace received 15 million euros for testing its Spectrum small launch vehicle, while Orbex received … Continue reading ESA awards funding to four European launch startups

SpaceX began serious development of Starship in 2019, debuting the “Starhopper,” a steel test vehicle designed to test landing maneuvers. After several test flights, including four that ended in explosions, SpaceX succeeded in achieving a soft landing in May 2021 after a 10-kilometer test. Since then, the company has focused on launching the Starship spacecraft and its Super Heavy booster, although no Starship has reached … Continue reading SpaceX launches Starship on its sixth test flight

The Exploration Company has secured $160 million in Series B funding to advance its Nyx cargo spacecraft, designed for missions to low Earth orbit (LEO) and later to cislunar space. Led by Balderton Capital and Plural, with support from European sovereign funds, the round is Europe’s largest Series B for a space company. Nyx Earth, the LEO version, will carry up to four tons of … Continue reading The Exploration Company raises $160 million for Nyx cargo vehicle

SpaceX launched a secret mission on Sunday evening from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, using a Falcon 9 rocket. While the mission was named “TD7,” regulatory filings referred to the payload as “Optus-X,” a communications satellite. The rocket’s first-stage booster successfully landed on the droneship “A Shortfall of Gravitas” about nine minutes after liftoff, marking SpaceX’s 85th landing on that ship. The payload is headed to … Continue reading SpaceX launches secret ‘Optus-X’ payload atop Falcon 9 rocket

China is advancing its plan to build the first lunar base by launching an experiment to test if Moon soil can be used to make bricks for construction. The test bricks, created from materials like basalt that mimic lunar soil, will be sent aboard a cargo rocket to China’s Tiangong space station. The experiment will expose the bricks to space conditions, including extreme temperatures, cosmic … Continue reading China tests building Moon base with lunar soil bricks

NASA and Roscosmos remain at odds over the cause and severity of an air leak in the Russian segment of the International Space Station, specifically in the Zvezda service module’s PrK vestibule. The leak, ongoing for years, is being investigated by both agencies, but they disagree on its root cause and potential risks. Russian engineers attribute it to “high cyclic fatigue” from micro-vibrations, while NASA … Continue reading NASA and Roscosmos disagree on cause and severity of ISS air leak

US and Chinese researchers have discovered evidence of volcanic activity on the far side of the Moon, with volcanic rock fragments dating back over 4.2 billion years. Samples collected by China’s Chang’e-6 mission, the first from this side of the Moon, revealed a “surprisingly young” eruption around 2.83 billion years ago. This discovery sheds new light on the Moon’s geology, as the far side remains … Continue reading Volcanoes once erupted on the far side of the moon

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has discovered three massive “red monster” galaxies, each 100 billion times the mass of the Sun, that formed just 12.8 billion years ago, challenging current models of galaxy formation. These galaxies, which are almost as massive as the Milky Way, formed stars at an unexpectedly fast rate, converting up to 80% of their gas into stars, far more efficient … Continue reading James Webb Space Telescope discovers mysterious ‘red monster’ galaxies

On November 13, a bright fireball streaked across the U.S. Midwest and parts of Canada, visible from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Wyoming, and North Dakota. The meteor, which burned up in Earth’s atmosphere around 6:31 a.m. MST, was captured by various cameras, including doorbell and dash cams. Witnesses described a green streak followed by a flash, and some noted the brightness of the event. … Continue reading Fireball explodes over North America as satellites capture flash from space

SpaceX launched 20 Starlink satellites, including 13 with direct-to-cell capability, from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on November 14. The Falcon 9 rocket successfully returned its first stage to Earth, landing on the droneship “Of Course I Still Love You” after eight minutes. This marked the eighth launch for the booster, which has previously supported multiple Starlink missions, Space.com has reported. The launch adds … Continue reading SpaceX launches 20 Starlink satellites from California

China has revealed the Haolong, a new reusable space shuttle designed to transport cargo to and from its Tiangong space station. Developed by the Chengdu Aircraft Design and Research Institute, the Haolong shuttle is part of a push for low-cost, reusable spacecraft that can return cargo to Earth, unlike the current Tianzhou spacecraft. The 32.8-foot shuttle will be launched by a rocket, land on a … Continue reading China reveals reusable cargo shuttle design for Tiangong space station

A new study suggests that the sun may have polar vortices similar to Earth’s tornadoes, but powered by magnetic fields instead of temperature differences. Using computer models, researchers from the U.S. National Science Foundation simulated these solar vortices, which form at 55 degrees latitude and move toward the poles. During solar maximum, when the vortices reach the poles, the sun’s magnetic field flips polarity. These … Continue reading The sun’s poles may have powerful magnetic tornadoes

A new study suggests that a rare solar wind event during NASA’s 1986 Voyager 2 flyby of Uranus may have skewed our understanding of the planet. Researchers found that the intense solar wind compressed Uranus’ magnetosphere, temporarily altering its shape and plasma levels. This anomaly, which occurs less than 5% of the time, could mean that Voyager 2’s data doesn’t represent typical conditions on the … Continue reading Wind Blowing Out of Uranus Makes It Hard to Probe, NASA Complains

SpaceX is proposing a Marslink satellite constellation to NASA, aiming to provide communication for future missions to Mars. The plan is based on SpaceX’s successful Starlink design, with multiple satellites in Mars’ orbit to support both ground and orbital assets. This follows SpaceX’s recent launch of its 7,000th Starlink satellite, part of a larger plan for a 42,000-satellite network. Other companies, including Blue Origin and … Continue reading SpaceX Wants to Develop a Version of Starlink Around the Red Planet

Firefly Aerospace raised $175 million in an oversubscribed Series D round led by RPM Ventures, bringing its valuation to over $2 billion. The funds will support increased production of its Alpha launch vehicle and Elytra spacecraft, and accelerate the development of new vehicles. Firefly, a leader in responsive space capabilities, gained attention with its rapid-launch demonstration of the Space Force’s Victus Nox mission in 2023. … Continue reading Firefly Aerospace raises $175 million

The lunar calendar year ends with November’s “Beaver Moon,” marking the last supermoon of 2024, following a series that began in August. Supermoons appear larger and brighter due to the moon being closer to Earth. November’s full moon, named for beavers preparing for winter, follows other monthly names linked to nature, like the “Wolf Moon” in January and the “Snow Moon” in February. This month … Continue reading November’s ‘beaver moon’ marks the year’s final supermoon

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has successfully integrated the Roman Coronagraph Instrument into the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, a key milestone for the upcoming observatory set to launch in 2027. The coronagraph is designed to block starlight, enabling the detection of faint exoplanet light. This technology demonstration will pave the way for future missions like the Habitable Worlds Observatory, aimed at searching for signs of … Continue reading NASA’s Roman space telescope gets ready to stare at distant suns to find alien planets