NASA smacked a spacecraft into an asteroid—and learned details about its 12-million-year history

NASA's DART mission—Double Asteroid Redirection Test—was humanity's first real-world planetary defense mission.

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Astronomers find anomalies in star V889 Herculis's rotation

The sun rotates the fastest at the equator, whereas the rotation rate slows down at higher latitudes and is the slowest at the polar regions. But a nearby sun-like star—V889 Herculis, some 115 light years away in the constellation of Hercules—rotates the fastest at a latitude of about 40 degrees, while both the equator and polar regions rotate more slowly. This finding has been published in Astronomy & Astrophysics.

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One year on 'Mars': Inside NASA's ultra-realistic isolation study

Sealed inside a habitat in Texas and cut off from the outside world for over a year, Kelly Haston was the commander of a first-of-its-kind simulation for NASA to prepare for a future mission to Mars.

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Repair kit for NASA's NICER mission heading to space station

NASA will deliver a patch kit for NICER (Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer), an X-ray telescope on the International Space Station, on the agency's Northrop Grumman 21st commercial resupply mission. Astronauts will conduct a spacewalk to complete the repair.

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DART mission sheds new light on target binary asteroid system

In studying data collected from NASA's DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) mission, which in 2022 sent a spacecraft to intentionally collide with the asteroid moonlet Dimorphos, the mission's science team has discovered new information on the origins of the target binary asteroid system and why the DART spacecraft was so effective in shifting Dimorphos' orbit.

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Study suggests cloud-to-ground lightning strikes may have generated building blocks for life on Earth

A large team of chemists at Harvard University has found evidence suggesting that cloud-to-ground lightning strikes may have helped generate some of the building blocks needed for life on Earth to arise.

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Boeing says Starliner hot fire test on ISS went well with return date decision coming up

As Boeing's Starliner nears two months in space, teams performed a hot fire test of thruster performance and helium leaks on the spacecraft over the weekend to help inform the decision of when the spacecraft will come home and if its two NASA astronaut passengers will be coming with it.

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Ever see a star explode? You're about to get a chance very soon

Every clear night for the last three weeks, Bob Stephens has pointed his home telescope at the same two stars in hopes of witnessing one of the most violent events in the universe—a nova explosion a hundred thousand times brighter than the sun.

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Has NASA found evidence of ancient life of Mars? An expert examines the latest discovery

NASA has announced the first detection of possible biosignatures in a rock on the surface of Mars. The rock contains the first martian organic matter to be detected by the Perseverance rover, as well as curious discolored spots that could indicate the past activity of microorganisms.

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New study simulates gravitational waves from failing warp drive

Imagine a spaceship driven not by engines, but by compressing the spacetime in front of it. That's the realm of science fiction, right? Well, not entirely. Physicists have been exploring the theoretical possibility of "warp drives" for decades, and a new study published in the Open Journal of Astrophysics takes things a step further—simulating the gravitational waves such a drive might emit if it broke down.

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Globular cluster NGC 6558 explored with Gemini Observatory and Hubble Space Telescope

Using the Gemini Observatory and the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), an international team of astronomers has investigated a Galactic globular cluster known as NGC 6558. Results of the new study, published July 22 on the pre-print server arXiv, deliver important insights into the properties of this cluster.

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Two meteor showers will flash across the sky around the same time in late July

Get ready for a meteor shower doubleheader.

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Hubble images NGC 3430, a classic spiral galaxy

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image treats viewers to a wonderfully detailed snapshot of the spiral galaxy NGC 3430 that lies 100 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Leo Minor.

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A cave discovered on the moon opens up new opportunities for settlement by humans

Almost 55 years after the launch of Apollo 11—the first mission to land humans on the moon—scientists have found evidence of a large cave system near the landing site of those astronauts.

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Not one, but two meteor showers are about to peak—here's how to catch the stellar show

On any clear night, if you gaze skywards long enough, chances are you'll see a meteor streaking through the sky. Some nights, however, are better than others.

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How solar storms play havoc with our lives

Despite the 150 million kilometers that separate it from the Earth, the sun does more than just light our way: it also impacts our electricity networks, and even our transport.

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Kepler's 1607 pioneering sunspot sketches solve solar mysteries 400 years later

Using modern techniques, researchers have re-examined Johannes Kepler's half-forgotten sunspot drawings and revealed previously-hidden information about the solar cycles before the grand solar minimum.

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Study sheds more light on the nature of pulsar PSR J1227−6208

Astronomers from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (MPIfRA) in Bonn, Germany and elsewhere have inspected a recycled pulsar known as PSR J1227−6208. The new study, published July 18 on the preprint server arXiv, provides important insights into the nature of this pulsar.

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SpaceX cleared to launch Falcon 9 rocket again

SpaceX's stalwart Falcon 9 rocket has been cleared for launch after experiencing a rare failure earlier this month, officials said Thursday.

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New research reveals how galaxies avoid early death

Galaxies avoid an early death because they have a "heart and lungs" which effectively regulate their "breathing" and prevent them from growing out of control, a new study suggests.

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Q&A: Researcher discusses how gravitational waves hint at dark matter and Big Bang mysteries

Gravitational waves, ripples in space-time predicted by Einstein almost a century ago, were detected for the first time in 2015. A new study led by Yanou Cui, an associate professor of physics and astronomy at the University of California, Riverside, reports that very simple forms of matter could create detectable gravitational wave backgrounds soon after the Big Bang.

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Take a summer cosmic road trip through images from NASA's Chandra, Webb

It's time to take a cosmic road trip using light as the highway and visit four stunning destinations across space. The vehicles for this space get-away are NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and James Webb Space Telescope.

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Astronomers apply machine learning techniques to find early-universe quasars in an ocean of data

Quasars are extremely luminous galactic cores where gas and dust falling into a central supermassive black hole emit enormous amounts of light. Due to their exceptional brightness, these objects can be seen at high redshifts, i.e., large distances.

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NASA researchers battle biofilm in space

A small group of scientists on the biofilm mitigation team at NASA's Marshall Space Center in Huntsville, Alabama, study solutions to combat fast-growing colonies of bacteria or fungi, known as biofilm, for future space missions.

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A midsummer red sprite seen from space

NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick photographed red sprites in Earth's upper atmosphere from the International Space Station on June 3, 2024. The bright red flashes are a less understood phenomena associated with powerful lightning events and appear high above the clouds in the mesosphere.

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GOES-U satellite reaches geostationary orbit, now designated GOES-19

On July 7, 2024, NOAA's GOES-U executed its final engine burn, placing the satellite in geostationary orbit 22,236 miles above Earth's equator. Upon reaching this milestone, GOES-U was renamed GOES-19. GOES satellites are designated with a letter prior to launch and a number once they achieve geostationary orbit.

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Researchers more precisely calculate how much faster time passes on the moon

A team of physicists with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology has calculated more precisely how much faster time passes on the moon than on the Earth. The paper describing the math they used to make the calculations and their results has been posted to the arXiv preprint server.

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Study investigates the nature of very-high energy gamma-ray source TeV J2032+4130

Using the High-Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) observatory, an international team of astronomers has observed a very-high energy gamma-ray source designated TeV J2032+4130. Results of the observational campaign, presented July 3 on the preprint server arXiv, provide crucial information regarding the nature of this source.

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Auroras caused by head-on blows to Earth's magnetic field could damage critical infrastructure, scientists say

Auroras have inspired myths and portents for millennia—but only now, with modern technology dependent on electricity, are we appreciating their true power. The same forces which cause auroras also cause currents that can damage infrastructure which conducts electricity, like pipelines.

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NASA imagines a catastrophic asteroid impact to study how to prevent it

The Netflix movie "Don't Look Up" received plenty of accolades for its scarily realistic portrayal of a professor from Michigan State University attempting to warn the world about a civilization-ending asteroid impact.

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Building a prototype of the cosmos

How would it feel to peer into the night sky and behold millions of galaxies across a vast swath of space? What would it be like to hunt for worlds beyond our solar system, or spot the fiery deaths of stars?

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Increasing the understanding of early life on Earth could shape the search for life on other planets

Despite decades of research, there's still much scholars don't understand about life's beginnings and early evolution. A UC Riverside paper has opened the door to understanding more and to framing future studies that could help predict climate change and the search for life beyond Earth.

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NASA mission to study mysteries in the origin of solar radio waves

NASA's CubeSat Radio Interferometry Experiment, or CURIE, is scheduled to launch July 9, 2024, to investigate the unresolved origins of radio waves coming from the sun.

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Astronomers find surprising ice world in the habitable zone with JWST data

A team of astronomers has identified a temperate exoplanet as a promising super-Earth ice or water world.

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Researchers predict new phase in neutron stars that favors 'nuclear pasta'

Neutron stars are extreme and mysterious objects that astrophysicists cannot see inside. With a radius of around 12 kilometers, they can have more than twice the mass of the sun. The matter in them is packed up to five times as densely as in an atomic nucleus; with black holes, they are the densest objects in the universe.

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Nearby exoplanet has trace amounts of hydrogen sulfide, Webb data suggest

An exoplanet infamous for its deadly weather has been hiding another bizarre feature—it reeks of rotten eggs, according to a new Johns Hopkins University study of data from the James Webb Space Telescope.

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NASA astronauts spend unexpected July 4 on the International Space Station

Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore spent an unexpected Fourth of July aboard the International Space Station—but it was hardly a patriotic display of engineering prowess.

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Two new variable stars detected in globular cluster NGC 6558

An international team of astronomers has conducted a survey of variable stars in the field of a globular cluster known as NGC 6558. As a result, they identified dozens of variables, out of which two turned out to be new cluster members. The finding was reported in a research paper published June 29 on the pre-print server arXiv.

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Crew of NASA's earthbound simulated Mars habitat emerge after a year

The crew of a NASA mission to Mars emerged from their craft after a yearlong voyage that never left Earth.

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Exploring the possibility of probing fundamental spacetime symmetries via gravitational wave memory

As predicted by the theory of general relativity, the passage of gravitational waves can leave a measurable change in the relative positions of objects. This physical phenomenon, known as gravitational wave memory, could potentially be leveraged to study both gravitational waves and spacetime.

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NASA's Parker Solar Probe completes 20th close approach to the sun

NASA's Parker Solar Probe completed its 20th close approach to the sun on June 30, 2024, matching its own distance record by coming about 4.51 million miles (7.26 million kilometers) from the solar surface.

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Eight CubeSats lift off for NASA on Firefly Aerospace rocket

As part of NASA's CubeSat Launch Initiative, Firefly Aerospace launched eight small satellites on July 3 aboard the company's Alpha rocket. Named "Noise of Summer," the rocket successfully lifted off from Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 9:04 p.m. PDT.

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With its latest moon mission success, China's space program has the US in its sights

June 25 2024 marked a new "first" in the history of spaceflight. China's robotic Chang'e 6 spacecraft delivered samples of rock back to Earth from a huge feature on the moon called the south pole–Aitken basin. After touching down on the moon's "far side," on the southern rim of the Apollo crater, Chang'e 6 came back with around 1.9kg of rock and soil, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA).

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Elusive temporary star described in historical documents recreated using new computer model

A mysterious remnant from a rare type of supernova recorded in 1181 has been explained for the first time. Two white dwarf stars collided, creating a temporary "guest star," now labeled supernova (SN) 1181, which was recorded in historical documents in Japan and elsewhere in Asia. However, after the star dimmed, its location and structure remained a mystery until a team pinpointed its location in 2021.

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Blue Origin logs SpaceX Starship concerns as it preps for 1st New Glenn launch

As Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin prepares for the first launch of its New Glenn rocket from Cape Canaveral this year, the company has taken time to voice concerns over future launches of competitor SpaceX's massive Starship and Super Heavy, also planning to launch from the Space Coast.

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Nova eruption of V1716 Sco inspected in X-rays and gamma rays

Astronomers from China and Taiwan have observed the nova eruption of V1716 Sco that took place last year, using various X-ray and gamma-ray space observatories. Results of the observational campaign, presented June 27 on the preprint server arXiv, provide essential information regarding the evolution of this nova.

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To guard against cyberattacks in space, researchers ask 'what if?'

If space systems such as GPS were hacked and knocked offline, much of the world would instantly be returned to the communications and navigation technologies of the 1950s. Yet space cybersecurity is largely invisible to the public at a time of heightened geopolitical tensions.

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Image: Orion spacecraft prepares for upcoming launch

Technicians lift NASA's Orion spacecraft out of the Final Assembly and System Testing cell on June 28, 2024. The integrated spacecraft, which will be used for the Artemis II mission to orbit the moon, has been undergoing final rounds of testing and assembly, including end-to-end performance verification of its subsystems and checking for leaks in its propulsion systems.

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NASA's planetary radar tracks two large asteroid close approaches

The Deep Space Network's Goldstone planetary radar had a busy few days observing asteroids 2024 MK and 2011 UL21 as they safely passed Earth.

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SpaceX retools problem booster for overnight launch from Space Coast

SpaceX is rolling a booster that was part of a scrubbed launch attempt last month back to the launch pad for an early morning mission on the Space Coast.

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Robotic rover could support astronauts on moonwalks

Robotic companions are a mainstay of sci-fi series everywhere. From R2D2 to Johnny 5, these characters typically have a supporting role in the story and are helpful to their human companions. But what if they were integral to the humans in the story? So much so that they couldn't live without their robotic compatriots?

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NASA asteroid experts create hypothetical impact scenario for exercise

A large asteroid impacting Earth is highly unlikely for the foreseeable future. But because the damage from such an event could be great, NASA leads hypothetical asteroid impact "tabletop" exercises every two years with experts and decision-makers from federal and international agencies to address the many uncertainties of an impact scenario. The most recent exercise took place this past April, with a preliminary report being issued on June 20.

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Mission success: HERA crew successfully completes 45-day simulated journey to Mars

Four dedicated explorers—Jason Lee, Stephanie Navarro, Shareef Al Romaithi, and Piyumi Wijesekara—just returned from a 45-day simulated journey to Mars, testing the boundaries of human endurance and teamwork within NASA's HERA (Human Exploration Research Analog) habitat at Johnson Space Center in Houston. Their groundbreaking work on HERA's Campaign 7 Mission 2 contributes to NASA's efforts to study how future astronauts may react to isolation and confinement during deep-space journeys.

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