Astronomy

Pilot programs across the U.S., including new research funded by OpenAI, offer a glimpse of how a universal basic income could improve lives

Technicalities and hesitations softened the effect of Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement during his presidency, but a second attempt at a departure could be more serious

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The first half of 2024 saw hundreds of people across Europe building, cajoling, shipping, lowering, integrating, securing and protecting the precious pieces and parts that came together to create Ariane 6 – Europe’s new heavy-lift rocket.

Huge engines, boosters and outer shells met tiny screws, electrical boards and masses of supercooled fuel. All this came together at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, for the spectacular first launch of Ariane 6 on 9 July 2024, restoring Europe’s access to space.

Get a glimpse at the teamwork, skill and care that went into this moment over many months, in this montage of Ariane 6 images, videos and timelapse photography spanning 30 January to 9 July 2024.

Access the short version of the video.

Access all the launch campaign footage in broadcast quality.  

Large amounts of space debris and satellite megaconstellations in low Earth orbit are creating "an unsustainable environment in the long-term," according to a new report from the European Space Agency.

Reptile teeth have long been considered simple and cheap because the animals replace them regularly. That isn't so, Komodo dragons show

Lionsgate releases the final trailer for its new sci-fi adventure feature, "Borderlands," which arrives in theaters on Aug. 9, 2024.

An exclusive excerpt from Titan Books' new release, "Star Trek: The Illustrated Oral History" which releases on July 30, 2024.

SpaceX's workhorse Falcon 9 is one of the most reliable and prolific rockets ever flown. But it's not invulnerable, as we saw earlier this month.

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Concordia is a research station in Antarctica that places you farther away from humankind than even the International Space Station. Every year, ESA sponsors a medical doctor to spend a year, or "winterover," at Concordia station. This year, our medical doctor is Jessica Kehala Studer, who is seen in this picture gazing at the Moon and the vast expanse of Antarctica. Around May, the Sun dips below the horizon for the last time, and the crew experiences four months of total darkness, with temperatures dropping to –80°C in winter. 

The station serves as an analogue for space, mirroring the challenges and conditions faced by astronauts such as isolation, extreme cold and darkness, along with their impact on  health. Concordia is a unique platform for research in human physiology and psychology, as well as astronomy, meteorology, glaciology and other fields. 

Last Saturday, we celebrated Moon Day: 55 years ago on 20 July 1969, humankind stepped on the Moon for the first time during the Apollo 11 mission. Today, ESA is a key part of NASA's Artemis programme which aims to return humans to the Moon. The insights gained from ESA's experience in analogue facilities such as Concordia will be invaluable for this mission. 

Find out more about Concordia on our blog. 

Researchers are still working to understand the complicated and debilitating condition dubbed long COVID

Forests and other land ecosystems emitted almost as much carbon dioxide as they absorbed in 2023 – if this persists it will be much harder to restrict global warming to agreed targets

Forests and other land ecosystems emitted almost as much carbon dioxide as they absorbed in 2023 – if this persists it will be much harder to restrict global warming to agreed targets

Star Catcher Industries just snagged $12.25 million to develop its planned constellation of power-beaming satellites, which will service other orbiting spacecraft.

Dogs can smell when people are stressed, and it seems to make them feel downhearted

The busy beaver function is unpredictable. But now, after more than 40 years, the fifth value of the function has been revealed

Despite progress, the long shadow of racial violence continues to undermine economic opportunities for African Americans today

The benefits of being polite to AI may include prompting better chatbot replies—and nurturing our humanity

NASA's Cancer Moonshot Initiative aims to harness microgravity conditions on the International Space Station to study the disease like never before.

Cocaine has been detected in sharks for the first time, but scientists aren’t sure of the impact