Science

HELSINKI — China continued construction of a commercial constellation of remote sensing satellites early Monday with the launch of the SuperView-3 (01) satellite. A Long March 2D rocket lifted off from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 12:12 a.m. Eastern, April 15 (0412 UTC). The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) confirmed launch success shortly

Giving pupils math homework can sometimes do more harm than good, according to a new study – particularly when the tasks involved in the work are too complex for kids to complete even with the help of their parents. The researchers, from the University of South Australia and St Francis Xavier University in Canada, interviewed

Legend has it that 16th-century Hungarian countess Elizabeth Báthory had a gruesome method for retaining her youthful beauty. Historical records say the noblewoman was accused of and imprisoned for murdering hundreds of girls to bathe in their supposedly restorative blood. The veracity of those accusations is questionable, at best, but the notion of resorting to

The Southern Ocean is renowned for having the cleanest air on Earth. But the precise reasons why have remained a mystery, until now. There’s more to it than just a lack of human activity. Yes, there are fewer people down there using industrial chemicals and burning fossil fuels. But there are natural sources of fine

TAMPA, Fla. — Intelsat is in talks with the U.S. government to help fund 17 medium Earth orbit (MEO) satellites to expand the operator’s multi-orbit broadband network. CEO David Wajsgras said the company, which operates geostationary satellites but also provides low Earth orbit (LEO) services via leased capacity from OneWeb, is due to pick companies

The modern dating world is brutal. By creating superficial popularity contests, dating apps are criticized for emphasizing the worst aspects of what is, even in the best of circumstances, a challenging journey. It’s hard to avoid becoming jaded as a result. But we can all take some heart from a new study of almost 800

Well, now we’ve torn it. A mission to divert the course of an asteroid in September 2022 may have been a wild success, but it hasn’t been without collateral damage. A new analysis of the debris ejected from the asteroid Dimorphos when NASA slammed the DART spacecraft into it has revealed that some of the

COLORADO SPRINGS — Astroscale is moving into the next phase of an inspection mission as its spacecraft approaches a derelict upper stage in low Earth orbit. Astroscale announced April 11 that its Active Debris Removal by Astroscale-Japan (ADRAS-J) spacecraft, launched Feb. 18, had moved to within several hundred kilometers of an upper stage from an

Archaeologists have found an unusual treasure that has been buried for nearly 2,000 years under the ash and debris that rained down from the catastrophic eruption of Vesuvius, in 79 CE. In the rooms of an ancient home, or domus, excavations have revealed a construction site, in perfect condition. That includes tools, unused tiles, bricks

Everyone knows that solar energy is free and almost limitless here on Earth. The same is true for spacecraft operating in the inner Solar System. But in space, the Sun can do more than provide electrical energy; it also emits an unending stream of solar wind. Solar sails can harness that wind and provide propulsion

COLORADO SPRINGS – LeoLabs, the Silicon Valley startup mapping activity in low-Earth orbit, is relying on artificial intelligence to spot anomalous satellite operations. A LeoLabs visualization tool shown at the 39th Space Symposium tracks maneuvers performed by satellites that change their orbits frequently. And it highlights maneuvers conducted by satellites that did not typically perform

Dozens of broken pieces of pottery dating between 2,000 and 3,000 years old have been unearthed on a windswept island on the Great Barrier Reef – the oldest pottery ever discovered in Australia. The remnants, found less than a meter below the surface by Traditional Owners and archeologists, mark a millennia-long practice of First Nations

In 2009, NASA launched the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO.) Its ongoing mission is to map the lunar surface in detail, locating potential landing sites, resources, and interesting features like lava tubes. The mission is an ongoing success, another showcase of NASA’s skill. It’s mapped about 98.2% of the lunar surface, excluding the deeply shadowed regions

Europe’s climate monitor said Tuesday that March was the hottest on record and the tenth straight month of historic heat, with sea surface temperatures also hitting a “shocking” new high. It is the latest red flag in a year already marked by climate extremes and rising greenhouse gas emissions, spurring fresh calls for more rapid

COLORADO SPRINGS — Heidi Shyu, undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, is calling on commercial industry to develop affordable, radiation-hardened electronics. “Commercial innovation in this area can help to ensure the security and resilience of our satellite systems in orbit,” Shyu said April 9 at the 39th Space Symposium here. The comments from the

British physicist Peter Higgs, whose theory of a mass-giving particle – the so-called Higgs boson – jointly earned him the Nobel Prize for Physics, has died aged 94, the University of Edinburgh announced on Tuesday. “He passed away peacefully at home on Monday 8 April following a short illness,” the Scottish university, where he had

One of the weirdest stars in the Milky Way has just gotten even weirder. It’s a magnetar called XTE J1810-197, and it was discovered in 2003 just riotously spitting out radio waves. In 2008, it just… stopped, and pretty much vanished from our view. Then, in 2018, it roused again. Only this time, there was

The historic Paris climate agreement started a mantra from developing countries: “1.5 to stay alive.” It refers to the international aim to keep global warming under 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.8 Fahrenheit) compared with preindustrial times. But the world will likely pass that threshold within a decade, and global warming is showing little sign of slowing.

COLORADO SPRINGS — A startup has unveiled plans to develop inflatable modules that the company believes can be made larger and less expensive than alternatives, supporting commercial space stations and other applications. Max Space is developing a series of expandable modules, the first of which is scheduled to launch on a SpaceX rideshare mission in

Scientists studying learning in mice have inadvertently encountered ‘zombie neurons’ in the brain – not flesh-eating, virus-spreading monsters, but cells that stop interacting normally even though they’re functionally alive. What’s more, they shed new light on learning processes in the brain. A team from Portugal discovered the cells as part of an investigation into how

The Moon is a great whackin’ oddball in the sky, and scientists may have just figured out part of the reason why. Its surface is chemically asymmetrical, and new evidence suggests that’s because the Moon’s mantle flipped topsy-turvy upside-down when the Moon was only young. What was on top of Earth’s satellite went underneath; what

As nearly every climate indicator grows increasingly dire, calls for extreme technological fixes get louder. However, study after study finds that taking a gamble on forced geoengineering comes with its own dangerous risks. New research warns that if we inject sulfate particles into the atmosphere to attempt to reflect sunlight and mimic the cooling effects

WASHINGTON — SpaceX could attempt to land a Starship booster as soon as the vehicle’s fifth flight as Elon Musk outlined plans to increase both the flight rate and the performance of the launch vehicle. SpaceX posted on social media April 6 the video of an undated, but apparently recent, presentation the company’s founder and

City planners aren’t doctors. They don’t have to consider how cancer grows and spreads to do their job. But perhaps they should. A new study suggests that large cities, like London and Sydney, grow oddly similarly to malignant tumors. Researchers argue that the same key factors that govern the growth of cancer also seem to

Eclipse watchers might be in for a two-for-one special on Monday. On April 8, the moon will blot out the sun over a significant portion of the US, plunging cities from Texas to Maine into several minutes of darkness. But there will be another exciting astronomical event to keep an eye out for. For the

Droughts can have dramatic effects in Australia – decimating agriculture, threatening water resources and devastating the environment. Much of Australia is drought-prone, and the risk is expected to increase as global warming continues. That’s why it’s important for Australia to be prepared for droughts, particularly those lasting multiple years. To have some idea of just

TAMPA, Fla. — European space consultancy firms Euroconsult and SpaceTec Partners announced merger plans April 5 to expand their services globally. The combined group will be called Novaspace, marrying Euroconsult’s market intelligence expertise with SpaceTec Partners’ management consulting strengths and closer ties with European Union agencies. Pacôme Revillon, CEO of Euroconsult, said the deal is

Despite careful preservation efforts, researchers have discovered at least 16 different types of microplastics infiltrating a 2nd-century archeological site in York, UK, up to 7 meters (23 feet) deep. This region is known for its Viking and Roman history. “The presence of microplastics can and will change the chemistry of the soil, potentially introducing elements

A world infamous for its hellacious conditions may have just been seen spotting one of the prettiest phenomena ever to grace Earth’s own atmosphere. High up in the metal-filled skies of a world named WASP-76b, astronomers have found evidence of a shimmering, multi-hued halo of light known as a glory. This spectacle has never before