Science

You might have read somewhere that in ancient Egypt, royalty were often buried with people sacrificed to serve them in the afterlife, but archaeologists aren’t actually so sure about that. When British Egyptologist Flinders Petrie excavated graves surrounding the tombs of ancient Egyptian First Dynasty kings in the 1920s, he found the remains of many

We can often understand more about the future by looking into the past – and in the case of a new study published in Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology, almost 240,000 years into the history of the Great Salt Lake in Utah. In some areas, the lake is up to 10 times saltier than seawater (it has

Noordwijk, the Netherlands | September 22, 2026 – During the international Industry Space Days 2026 event at the European Space Agency’s ESTEC facility in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, the Latvian Mobile Telephone (LMT) Group and the globally leading space consultancy Novaspace signed a cooperation agreement on the development of a concept for telecommunications innovation platform for Latvia

There’s a specific kind of joy in opening the fridge to find leftovers waiting for you like a gift from your past self. Many people insist that they taste better than the original. Some might accept this as one of life’s little quirks, similar to how one sock disappears in the wash. But scientists like

There’s no proof of other life beyond Earth yet, but scientists are constantly looking out and listening for signs that we’re not actually alone in the Universe. Now, a team from the Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian and the University of Oregon has announced an important first: A radio signal coming directly from an

It’s not just rising sea levels that we need to worry about: In many parts of the world, the ground is subsiding beneath our feet too. Sinking land can happen just about anywhere, both naturally and due to human interference with ecosystems and landscapes. However, it has the potential to be particularly damaging around the

Plants are the original solar panels, and they’re very good at converting light into energy – red and blue light, that is. But what if a solar panel could co-exist with plants, capturing the light that they aren’t using while allowing those red and blue wavelengths through? That’s what a team led by Silvia Ma

In this episode, SpaceNews’ Mike Gruss speaks with Ken Stoler, the space business development lead for Arrow. They discuss how spacecraft designers and operators have changed their attitudes toward risk, how the move toward massive megaconstellations has started to impact purchasing behavior in the space supply chain and the challenges and constraints of adding more

For most of us, our memories are as fragile as they are precious. Even some of the most important events in our lives can quickly become a blur, missing key details and warping with time. In some very rare cases, however, memories are as vivid as the day they were written. Fewer than 100 people

Solar flares are huge eruptions of radiation that blast out of the Sun – sometimes several times a day – and at their strongest, they can release the energy equivalent of a billion hydrogen bombs. Our planet’s magnetic field and atmosphere, together with tens of millions of miles of space, protect us from these bursts

Every winter, Antarctica roughly doubles in size as sea ice locks into place over the ocean. Typically, Breid Bay in East Antarctica is entirely covered in a frozen crust from July through August. But in August 2024, satellite images revealed a massive hole in the ice, formally known as a polynya, which is a region

HOUSTON, Texas (September 30, 2026)— World Space Week events, beginning October 4 in 100 nations, will celebrate how launch innovation has stimulated the rapidly-growing space economy and enabled new uses of space to help the world. “This year’s theme is the Rocket Revolution,” said Dennis Stone, World Space Week Association President.  “It recognizes how increased

The human brain is a magnificently complex information-processing machine that is extremely off-limits to certain kinds of research. Science survived the moral void into which brain research fell for much of the 20th century; and, for exceptionally valid ethical reasons, there are now stringent rules governing what researchers are allowed to do with human brains

Detecting planets outside of our Solar System mostly relies on measuring minute changes in the light of distant stars.  If this were akin to finding a needle in a haystack, astronomers would delight. But it’s more like distinguishing the glow of a firefly flitting in front of the nuclear brilliance of a hydrogen bomb.  Impressively,

Over the past decade, a network of usually pristine blue rivers and lakes that winds through Alaska’s breathtaking Brooks Range mountains has been starting to look a little… rusty. Scientists first noticed the unusual orange plumes flowing into the water back in 2018. They began to investigate, collecting water samples from various sites so remote

ROCKVILLE, Md. and MERRITT ISLAND, Fla. — September 30, 2026 — Quantum Space, LLC (the “Company” or “Quantum Space”), a company developing the next generation of advanced maneuverable spacecraft for national security and commercial missions, today announced that it has executed a new spacecraft processing work order with All Points Logistics, LLC (“All Points”) for

When Vesuvius erupted nearly 2,000 years ago, it devastated the nearby Roman city of Herculaneum with scorching gas, ash, and earthquakes that suffocated its streets, toppled masonry, and even turned one man’s brain to glass.  Much of the city was destroyed, and its people were vaporized, yet its library full of arcane knowledge has been

The vast cosmos seems like a cold and lonely place. For all our scouring of the sky, we’re yet to find concrete signs of alien life outside of Earth – never mind outside the Solar System. And that’s before we even get to technology – telltale signs that an intelligent civilization has developed ways to

You might not notice it gazing out from the shore, but water ages. As it gets older, it loses the oxygen dissolved in it, used up by marine life, bacteria, and chemical reactions – and without a trip to the surface and the open air, it can’t get that oxygen back. We know that warmer

Robot designers often look to the movements of animals for ideas. This machine moves in a way that resembles a frog. On land, it uses two flexible rear limbs to hop across grass, sand, and small steps. Attach paddles to those same limbs, and it can enter the water and swim. Researchers at the University of

ORLANDO, FL — September 28th, 2026 — Space is rapidly becoming a practical business tool for industries far beyond aerospace, as satellite intelligence, resilient connectivity and other space-enabled technologies create new opportunities for growth, resilience and security on Earth. Economist Enterprise’s 4th annual Space Economy Summit, taking place October 28–29, 2026, at the University of

East Aurora, NY — Moog Inc. (NYSE: MOG.A and MOG.B) announced the completion and commissioning of a new ISO Class 8 certified clean room at its Niagara Falls facility. This advanced manufacturing environment is now fully operational and will accelerate Moog’s assembly, integration, and testing of thrusters to support a growing portfolio of defense and

In this episode, SpaceNews’ Mike Gruss and Novaspace CEO Pacôme Révillon look at what to expect from the space industry in the next year by playing a game of true or false. About Space Minds Space Minds is a new audio and video podcast from SpaceNews that focuses on the inspiring leaders, technologies and exciting

DENVER, Colorado – September 2026 – Ethereal Space, Inc. today announced that it has been awarded Task Order 1 under NOAA’s ProTech 2.0 Space-Based Environmental Monitoring (SBEM) program, following NOAA’s […] The post Ethereal Space Awarded NOAA SBEM Task Order 1 appeared first on SpaceNews. View original source here.

SpaceX may have left the unicorn club with its IPO this summer, but the ranks of private space firms valued at $1 billion or more continue to swell as the maturing industry attracts a broader mix of deep-pocketed investors. SpaceNews has mapped this billion-dollar club as it expands from launch and satellite broadband into Earth

Catalyst Campus for Technology and Innovation, in partnership with the BMC3I TAP Lab, has selected the Focus Area Cohort Teams (FACTs) participating in Cohort 26.A. The selected teams represent innovative companies collaborating to address mission-focused challenges aligned with identified government priorities. Following a competitive application and evaluation process, 6 FACTs have been selected to participate

September 21, 2026— Washington, D.C.—The Commercial Space Federation (CSF) is pleased to welcome ORBITInsure and Renaissance Strategic Advisors (RSA) as its newest members. ORBITInsure joins CSF as a Space Supply Chain member, while RSA joins CSF as an Associate Member and as a member of both the Space Supply Chain Council and State and Local

In space exploration, efficiency is key. And NASA has become so efficient that even its discarded hardware is performing valuable science.  As the NASA Mars 2020 mission delivered the Perseverance rover to our planetary next-door neighbor, it also punched a number of holes into its dusty red skin.  When Percy’s spacecraft was projected to be

The Fermi paradox asks: If there are other civilizations in the Universe besides ours, why haven’t we yet made contact?  Researchers who study this paradox – also called the Great Silence – generally point to two explanations. First, maybe it’s that intelligence is “intrinsically rare”, writes Celia Blanco, who authored new research into this question.

PARIS — Icarus Robotics, the New York startup developing dexterous mobile robots for space missions, conducted tests of its free-flying platform ahead of a 2027 demonstration on the International Space Station. “We had to work with [Canadian astronaut] Chris Hadfield to get a capability to do testing,” Ethan Barajas, Icarus CEO and co-founder, told SpaceNews