A Hall thruster is a high-efficiency propulsion device using plasma that is used for various difficult space missions, such as SpaceX’s constellation satellites, Starlink and NASA’s asteroid probe, Psyche, and is one of the core space technologies.
Meteoroid impacts create seismic waves that cause Mars to shake more strongly and deeply than previously thought. This is shown by an investigation using artificial intelligence carried out by an international research team led by the University of Bern. Similarities were found between numerous meteoroid impacts on the surface of Mars and marsquakes recorded by NASA’s Mars lander InSight. These findings open up a new perspective on the impact rate and seismic dynamics of the red planet.
In October 2020, a van-sized robotic spacecraft briefly touched down on the surface of Bennu, a 525-meter-wide asteroid 320 million kilometers from Earth.
Curtin University researchers have gained an unprecedented glimpse into the early history of our solar system through some of the most well-preserved asteroid samples ever collected, potentially transforming our understanding of planetary formation and the origins of life.
On 27 December last year, astronomers using the ATLAS survey telescope in Chile discovered a small asteroid moving away from Earth. Follow-up observations have revealed that the asteroid, 2024 YR4, is on a path that might lead to a collision with our planet on 22 December 2032.
Asteroid samples fetched by NASA hold not only the pristine building blocks for life but also the salty remains of an ancient water world, scientists reported Wednesday.
A colossal explosion in the sky, unleashing energy hundreds of times greater than the Hiroshima bomb. A blinding flash nearly as bright as the sun. Shockwaves powerful enough to flatten everything for miles.
Nearly one third of known exoplanets are enormous gas giants, similar to Jupiter or Saturn. But whereas our solar system developed with gas giants far from our sun, some planetary systems consist of so-called ‘hot—or even ultra-hot—Jupiters’ orbiting very close to their star, some as close as Mercury is to the sun. These hot, puffy giants endure extreme temperatures and are sometimes nicknamed “roasting marshmallows.”
Scientists are working on an ambitious dark matter experiment in space in the hope it can unravel one of the universe’s greatest mysteries.
In February 1995, a small research organization known as the SETI Institute launched what was then the most comprehensive search for an answer to a centuries-old question: are we alone in the universe?
NASA’s commercial partners have mounted a vigorous defense of the Artemis moon mission plans amid the specter of changes from the new Trump administration.
The idea of traveling through interstellar space using spacecraft propelled by ultrathin sails may sound like the stuff of sci-fi novels. But in fact, a program started in 2016 by Stephen Hawking and Yuri Milner, known as the Breakthrough Starshot Initiative, has been exploring the idea. The concept is to use lasers to propel miniature space probes attached to “lightsails” to reach ultrafast speeds and eventually our nearest star system, Alpha Centauri.
The U.S. government gives other nations US$68 billion of foreign assistance annually—more than any other country. Over half of this sum is managed by the U.S. Agency for International Development, including funds for programs aimed at fighting hunger and disease outbreaks, providing humanitarian relief in war zones, and supporting other lifesaving programs such as the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.
Sometimes, the best innovative ideas come from synthesizing two previous ones. We’ve reported before on the idea of having a balloon explore the atmosphere of Venus, and we closely watched the progress of the Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment (MOXIE) as part of the Perseverance rover on Mars.
While a single plant is capable of fixing inorganic carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air, the entire ecosystem surrounding the plant, including water, other organisms and soil conditions, influences how efficiently the ecosystem exchanges CO2.
When astronomers detected the first long-predicted gravitational waves in 2015, it opened a whole new window into the universe. Before that, astronomy depended on observations of light in all its wavelengths.
Though it’s a cold, dead planet, Mars still has its own natural beauty about it. This image shows us something we’ll never see on Earth.
NASA’s two stuck astronauts took their first spacewalk together Thursday, exiting the International Space Station almost eight months after moving in.
A remarkable sight will appear in the southwestern sky an hour after sunset Saturday evening when Venus appears very close to a thin crescent moon.
Detecting dark matter, the elusive type of matter predicted to account for most of the universe’s mass, has so far proved to be very challenging. While physicists have not yet been able to determine what exactly this matter consists of, various large-scale experiments worldwide have been trying to detect different theoretical dark matter particles.
