Astronomy

Taking aspirin was first linked to a lower risk of colorectal cancer in 1988, but the research into its anti-tumour potential has been full of twists and turns since then

Taking aspirin was first linked to a lower risk of colorectal cancer in 1988, but the research into its anti-tumour potential has been full of twists and turns since then

A newly found super-Earth could help provide answers as to why there are hardly any planets twice the diameter of Earth.

Launched just seven months ago, ESA’s Arctic Weather Satellite has been proving how the New Space approach can accelerate the development of missions capable of delivering detailed temperature and humidity profiles for short-term weather forecasts.

Moreover, the impact of this tiny prototype satellite goes even further – its measuring instrument has been recognised as able to provide data that’s on a par with traditional large missions.

What kinds of scientific instruments can be used to sample the plumes of Enceladus with the goal of identifying the ingredients for life as we know it? This is what a recent study presented at the 56th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference hopes to address as a team of international researchers investigated how the novel High Ice Flux Instrument (HIFI) could be the next-generation instrument used to sample the plumes of Enceladus while building off the groundbreaking findings from the NASA Cassini spacecraft’s Cosmic Dust Analyzer (CDA). This study has the potential to help scientists and engineers develop new and efficient methodologies for finding life on Enceladus and throughout the solar system.

Researchers put forward a comprehensive model outlining the conditions that may give rise to the vivid mental phenomena that some people experience as they near death

How can scientists and engineers build off the success of NASA’s Ingenuity Mars helicopter to better explore the Red Planet? This is what a recent study presented at the 56th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference hopes to address as an aerospace executive with more than two decades of research and engineering experience investigated how a next-generation Mars helicopter could conduct groundbreaking science while delivering peak efficiency and performance. This study has the potential to help scientists and engineers develop new methods for exploring Mars with cost-effective and efficient methods.

What can cryovolcanism on the dwarf planet Ceres teach us about potential cryovolcanism on Uranus’ five largest moons, which include Oberon, Umbriel, Ariel, Titania, and Miranda? This is what two studies recently presented at the 56th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference hopes to address, as a team of researchers investigated using Ceres as an analog for the potential ocean moons, Umbriel and Oberon, and the likelihood of an impact crater on Umbriel showing evidence of cryovolcanism. These studies have the potential to help researchers better understand the formation and evolution of ocean worlds in the outer solar system and whether they could potentially have life as we know it.

If the full Moon suddenly faded, what would you see?

When it comes to the planets produced in protoplanetary disks, size matters, but not the way you might think. That's the conclusion a group of astronomers found when they aimed the Atacama Large Millimeter Array in Chile at hundreds of these disks around young stars in the southern constellation Lupus. They used the observatory in 2023 and 2024 to focus on the disks and supplemented that with archival data.

SpaceX has rolled out the rocket and Crew Dragon capsule that will launch the Fram2 astronaut mission on Monday night (March 31).

The International Space Station National Laboratory just launched "Between a Rocket and a Hard Space," a brand-new podcast series that explores the future of space innovation.

Sea ice impacts storms and coastal erosion — and NASA says Earth's total sea ice content has hit an all-time low.

The European Space Agency has kicked off a competition to support the development of new launch vehicles and boost Europe's access to space.

The first orbital rocket launch from European soil ended in an explosion when Isar Aerospace's rocket fell to Earth seconds after launching on March 30.

The European Space Agency (ESA) has selected Airbus to design and build the landing platform for the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover. In 2028, ESA will launch this ambitious exploration mission to search for past and present signs of life on Mars.

SpaceX's upcoming Fram2 astronaut mission will attempt to grow mushrooms in microgravity for the first time, as part of an experiment called Mission MushVroom.

Efforts are underway to develop advanced propulsion systems that can reduce transit times to Mars and other locations in the Solar System. These include nuclear propulsion concepts, which NASA began researching again in 2016 for its proposed "Moon to Mars" mission architecture. In a recent paper, two aerospace innovators reviewed some key nuclear-electric propulsion concepts, their respective advantages, and challenges. In the end, they conclude that nuclear propulsion has the potential to revolutionize space exploration and make humanity "multiplanetary."