Astronomy

In what might be a first in spaceflight history, the next crew to launch to the International Space Station has adopted a mission patch that began with ideas put forth by an AI.

The U.S. Space Force's X-37B spaceplane (which looks remarkably like a Space Shuttle that someone forgot to put the windows in!) completed its seventh mission this week, touching down at Vandenberg Space Force Base after 434 days in orbit. Although the mission is classified, Space Force officials, said that it followed a highly elliptical orbital path while conducting various tests and experiments. They also described the mission as operating "across orbital regimes,” whatever that means…is classified!

Animal emotions—including joy—may be key markers of conscious beings

Despite headlines, there were fewer food recalls in 2024 than in 2023, but more people died from food poisoning linked to outbreaks

Men who had given blood more than 100 times in their life were more likely to have blood cells carrying certain beneficial mutations, suggesting that donating blood promotes the growth of these cells

Men who had given blood more than 100 times in their life were more likely to have blood cells carrying certain beneficial mutations, suggesting that donating blood promotes the growth of these cells

A paper published in 2023 spurred discussion about whether life exists on an exoplanet named K2-18b. Two years later, the puzzle continues — and some scientists are expressing doubt.

Astronomers know the Flame Nebula well—a stellar nursery around 1,400 light years away. It’s less than a million years old and is teeming with brown dwarfs, objects that never quite accumulated enough mass to begin fusing elements in their core. When comparing the James Webb Space Telescope’s (JWST) infrared observations with Hubble's visible light images of the Flame Nebula, the difference is, ahem - astronomical! The infrared wavelengths penetrate the obscuring gas and dust, revealing clusters where young stars and brown dwarfs are taking shape.

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On 12 March 2025 ESA’s Hera spacecraft for planetary defence performs a flyby of Mars. The gravity of the red planet shifts the spacecraft’s trajectory towards the Didymos binary asteroid system, shortening its trip by months and saving substantial fuel.

This is a simulation of that flyby, with closest approach to Martian moon Deimos taking place at 12:07 GMT and Mars occurring at 12:51 GMT. It was made using SPICE (Spacecraft, Planet, Instrument, C-matrix, Events) software. Produced by a team at ESA’s ESAC European Space Astronomy Centre, this SPICE visualisation is used to plan instrument acquisitions during Hera’s flyby.

Hera comes to around 5000 km from the surface of Mars during its flyby. It will also image Deimos, the smaller of Mars’s two moons, from a minimum 1000 km away (while venturing as close as 300 km). Hera will also image Mars’s larger moon Phobos as it begins to move away from Mars. In this sped-up simulation, Deimos is seen 30 seconds in, at 12:07 GMT, while the more distant star-like Phobos becomes visible at two minutes in, at 12:49 GMT.

The spacecraft employs three of its instruments over the course of these close encounters, all located together on the ‘Asteroid Deck’ on top of Hera:

Hera’s Asteroid Framing Camera is formed of two redundant 1020x1020 pixel monochromatic visible light cameras, used for both navigation and science.

The Thermal Infrared Imager, supplied by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, JAXA, images at mid-infrared wavelengths to determine surface temperatures.

Hera’s Hyperscout H is a hyperspectral imager, observing in 25 visible and near-infrared spectral bands to prospect surface minerals.

Did you know this mission has its own AI? You can pose questions to our Hera Space Companion!

A dramatic total lunar eclipse will turn the moon blood red for millions across North America overnight on March 13-14. Here are the best times to watch the show unfold.

Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost Mission has successfully touched down on the lunar surface and is now undertaking various experiments. Two of these experiments have been captured on video; the first is the LISTER drill, capable of penetrating the lunar regolith to depths of up to 3 meters. It will provide scientists with data to measure the Moon's cooling rate. Additionally, footage has been obtained of the PlanetVac experiment, which is evaluating regolith sample collection methods under the Moon's vacuum conditions.

Why does this Moon look so unusual?

Scientists are warning of potentially severe environmental impacts after a cargo ship collided with a tanker transporting jet fuel

Scientists are warning of potentially severe environmental impacts after a cargo ship collided with a tanker transporting jet fuel

A 12-passenger “seaglider” that is part boat and part aircraft harnesses cold war-era technology to fly just above the waves using only electric power

A 12-passenger “seaglider” that is part boat and part aircraft harnesses cold war-era technology to fly just above the waves using only electric power

NASA and Boom Supersonic released an incredible photo capturing the shock waves of the supersonic XB-1 aircraft while it traveled in front of the sun during a Feb. 10 test flight.

Microplastics can cut a plant’s ability to photosynthesize by up to 12 percent, new research shows

In a recent paper, Adam Hibberd and Marshall Eubanks explore the feasibility of sending a mission to rendezvous with YR4, the asteroid that may pose a hazard to Earth someday.

The total lunar eclipse on March 13-14 will plunge moon missions into darkness. What will happen to the lunar spacecraft?