When is it OK to kill an alien life-form? In the movies, the answer is usually pretty simple: It’s OK in self-defense, especially if it inspires a rousing speech about human exceptionalism. But in the real world, the choice is neither straightforward nor abstract. Many missions to neighboring worlds could, accidentally or intentionally, disrupt extraterrestrial … Read more
This story originally appeared on WIRED Italia and has been translated from Italian. Their existence had been disputed for decades, but now we can finally we can say for sure: There are caves beneath the surface of the moon. This week, an international research team led by the University of Trento in Italy published a … Read more
Back in 2010, NASA made a video game. It was called Moonbase Alpha, and it was meant to simulate what it would actually be like to maintain a lunar colony. Just two weeks after its launch, however, Moonbase Alpha was famous for a different reason: The Microsoft Sam-sounding voice that read out your chat messages. … Read more
Space Solar is working on a satellite design called CASSIOPeiA, which Physics World describes as looking “like a spiral staircase, with the photovoltaic panels being the ‘treads’ and the microwave transmitters—rod-shaped dipoles—being the ‘risers.’” It has a helical shape with no moving parts. “Our system’s comprised of hundreds of thousands of the same dinner-plate-sized power … Read more
One of the most promising Chinese space startups, Space Pioneer, experienced a serious anomaly last weekend while testing the first stage of its Tianlong-3 rocket near the city of Gongyi. The rocket was undergoing a static fire test of the stage, in which a vehicle is clamped to a test stand while its engines are … Read more
THIS ARTICLE IS republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. The US military recently launched a groundbreaking initiative to strengthen ties with the commercial space industry. The aim is to integrate commercial equipment into military space operations, including satellites and other hardware. This would enhance cybersecurity for military satellites. As space becomes more … Read more
ADITHI RAMAKRISHNAN, Associated Press Updated: Jun 28, 2024 / 12:35 PM CDT In this artistic rendering, two asteroids fly past Earth. An asteroid will whiz harmlessly past Earth Saturday June 29, 2024. With the right equipment and timing, you just might spot it. Called 2024 MK, the space rock will make its closest approach to … Read more
Theres a famous star that I’m sure you’ve seen in the sky. Its name is Betelgeuse, and you can find it in the Orion constellation, where it marks Orion’s right shoulder. If you want to call it “Beetlejuice,” I’m fine with that so long as you don’t say it three times. But something is going … Read more
(NewsNation) — Astronauts aboard the International Space Station were forced to take shelter on Wednesday after a decommissioned Russian-owned satellite broke up in space, causing more than 100 pieces of debris to be sent into orbit. U.S. Space Command confirmed the breakup of RESURS-P1 just before noon ET on Wednesday. In a post on its X … Read more
Almost exactly two years ago, as it prepared for the next generation of human spaceflight, NASA chose a pair of private companies to design and develop new spacesuits. These were to be new spacesuits that would allow astronauts to both perform spacewalks outside the International Space Station as well as walk on the Moon as … Read more
