Space & Environment

SpaceX’s Starship cleared to fly with larger ‘hazard zones.’

Image Credit: PixabayThe Federal Aviation Administration has approved SpaceX to conduct the ninth test flight of its Starship rocket, following two explosions earlier this year.On Thursday, the FAA announced it would expand hazard zones—temporary no-fly areas—both in the U.S. and abroad, based on updated safety data from SpaceX. Failures in Flights 7 and 8...

New Type Of Bacteria Identified On China’s Space Station

Credit: PixabaySwabs collected from China's Tiangong space station have uncovered traces of a previously unknown bacterium, exhibiting traits that could enable it to survive in harsh conditions hundreds of kilometers above Earth's surface.New Bacterium on Tiangong Space Station May Help Protect Astronauts and SpacecraftResearchers from the Shenzhou Space Biotechnology Group and the Beijing...

New Clues Suggest A Hidden Ocean Of Water Buried Beneath Mars

Credit: PixabayGrowing evidence suggests that a hidden secret beneath Mars' dusty red plains could change our understanding of the planet: a massive reservoir of liquid water, buried deep within its crust.Mars, dotted with remnants of ancient water, has fascinated scientists as they unravel the mystery of what happened when the planet became cold and...

Watch the Hydroflyer Sport cut Through Chop with Precision Control

Credit: New AtlasAiming to add a dirt-bike vibe to eFoiling, Unifoil has launched an updated version of its handlebar-controlled electric watercraft. The video suggests it's almost too much fun to be legal on the water.Revolutionizing Electric Hydrofoiling for BeginnersIn 2021, South African company Unifoil introduced the Hydroflyer, a groundbreaking consumer electric hydrofoiling board. Rather...

Plasma-ramming Device Works as A True Speedometer For Spacecraft

The device (circled, at left) has already been tested on the International Space StationNASAGiven that satellites orbit at speeds of thousands of miles per hour, it's crucial to know exactly how fast they're moving in order to prevent potential collisions. A new instrument, called the Spacecraft Speedometer, promises to significantly improve this kind of...

A Star has Been Obliterated by a Roaming Supermassive Black hole

Credit: PixabayIn 2024, a system designed to detect sudden brightening events discovered something strange. However, the automated system meant to identify the object couldn't determine what it was observing. Nearly a year later, we know it was the first tidal disruption event—where a star is torn apart by a supermassive black hole—seen in visible...

Asteroid Vesta may be a Leftover From an Early Planet

Credit: PixabayVesta, a large asteroid in our solar system, might be a fragment of an ancient planet shattered by a massive collision 4.5 billion years ago, according to research led by Seth Jacobson of Michigan State University and published in Nature Astronomy.Scientists are still fascinated by the origins of asteroid Vesta's formations.An asteroid that...

This Disintegrating Planet Leaves a Destructive Trail Spanning Over 5 Million Miles

An artist's interpretation of BD+05 4868 Ab, a dissolving exoplanet with a long tail. (Jose-Luis Olivares/MIT)Astronomers have identified one of the most inhospitable exoplanets ever seen—a tiny world being scorched by its parent star and trailing a massive, comet-like plume of vaporized rock behind it.A Molten Planet with a Vapor TailWhile much of exoplanet research...

Starbase Residents Vote to Become a City

Credit: PixabayElon Musk’s SpaceX is creating its own official company town. On Saturday, residents near the Starbase launch site in South Texas voted decisively to incorporate the area as a city, also called Starbase. Cameron County election results show 212 votes for incorporation and just six against.Musk Declares Starbase, Texas Officially a City on...

NASA Takes Control of Orion for Artemis II

Credit: PixabayFor the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972, NASA has officially received a spacecraft designed to carry humans to the Moon. On Thursday, Lockheed Martin, the primary contractor for the Orion capsule, handed over the Artemis II spacecraft to NASA's Exploration Ground Systems team at Kennedy Space Center.NASA is scheduling Artemis II...