Science

A wildfire burning through Malibu that has sent thousands of people fleeing for safety, including Hollywood celebrities, forged west on Wednesday, as firefighters battled to save homes from the blaze. At least seven properties are known to have been destroyed in one of California’s most exclusive communities, as powerful winds pushed flames through steep canyons.
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As the next administration takes shape, countless voices are vying for influence over the future of America’s space program. I’d wager one in particular — someone apparently very close to the President-elect — might be suggesting a bold new direction: “Sir. Forget racing China to the moon,” Elon Musk may be saying. “We’re almost ready
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In spite of the advances made towards making quantum computers practical, qubit-based systems remain unstable and highly vulnerable to errors, something Google may have taken a major step towards fixing. Through a newly unveiled quantum chip called Willow, Google engineers have passed a significant milestone in error handling. Specifically, they’ve been able to keep a
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ORLANDO, Fla. — Entrepreneur and commercial astronaut Jared Isaacman in remarks Dec. 11 outlined an ambitious vision for U.S. space leadership, emphasizing the critical need to maintain technological superiority in the global space race while highlighting the growing role of private sector innovation. Speaking at the Spacepower Conference hosted by the Space Force Association, Isaacman
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Around 900,000 years ago stone tech 2.0 was released into Spain. University of Santiago de Compostela anthropologist Diego Lombao and colleagues found the earliest known European example of advanced stone tool techniques. Discovered at El Barranc de la Boella in northeastern Spain, the technological leap predates the evolutionary split between modern humans and Neanderthals, so
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So often when we think we understand something, another thing comes along that forces us to pause, reconsider, and broaden our minds to encompass these new and fascinating pieces of information. Take, for example, space rocks. We thought we had them all neatly categorized. Comets are chunks of rock filled with ices that sublimate when
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ORLANDO, Fla. — Lockheed Martin announced plans to launch its Tactical Satellite (TacSat) aboard Firefly Aerospace’s Alpha rocket in 2025, marking the second mission in a multi-launch agreement between the aerospace giant and the upstart rocket company.  The mission, funded internally by Lockheed Martin, aims to showcase cutting-edge technologies targeting the defense market. TacSat, a
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WASHINGTON — The vice chief of space operations for the U.S. Space Force, Gen. Michael Guetlein, issued a stark warning this weekend about China’s accelerating advances in space technology and its growing capacity to challenge the United States’ dominance in orbit.  Speaking Dec. 7 at the Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, California, Guetlein
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WASHINGTON — A defense authorization bill includes language to extend a “learning period” limiting commercial human spaceflight regulations as well as indemnification for commercial launches. House and Senate conferees released Dec. 7 the text of the final version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2025 after negotiations to reconcile differences between
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When the latest cargo ‘shipment’ docked at the International Space Station (ISS) this weekend, it delivered more than astronauts had bargained for. Along with food, water, clothing, medical and hygiene supplies, and scientific equipment, the uncrewed Russian spacecraft burped up quite an unusual stench. Wafting through the open hatch, astronauts caught an unexpected and strange
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WASHINGTON — Muon Space, a startup specializing in small satellites for Earth climate monitoring, has been awarded a $2.9 million contract by the U.S. Space Force to evaluate its satellite technology for military applications.  The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase 2 agreement, announced Dec. 5, aims to assess whether Muon’s instruments can provide high-resolution
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