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Parabolic Flights to Test Electrolyzer for Future Moon and Mars Missions
What can parabolic flights teach scientists and engineers about electrolyzers and how the latter can help advance human missions to the Moon and Mars? This is the goal of a recent grant awarded to the Mars Atmospheric Reactor for Synthesis of Consumables (MARS-C) project, which is sponsored by the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). The $500,000 award for this research is part of NASA’s TechLeap Prize program with the goal of testing experimental electrolyzer technology that can be used for future missions.
Mystery Objects in the Distant Universe Challenge Galaxy Formation Ideas
The early Universe continues to spring surprises on astronomers. In a recent study of dim, distant objects, astronomers at the University of Missouri found at least 300 of them that look way too bright. That means they're forming stars much earlier than expected, or something else is going on. Whatever it is could affect our understanding of events in the infant cosmos.
A Blaze of Glory: SpaceX's Starship Goes the Distance in 10th Flight Test
After a string of setbacks, SpaceX executed the most successful flight test of its Starship launch system to date, featuring a first-of-its-kind payload deployment and a thrilling Indian Ocean splashdown.
JWST Improves Its Detection Techniques, But Fails To Find Planets at Epsilon Eridani
Sometimes in science a negative result is just as important as a positive one. And sometimes data artifacts get the better of even the best space observatories. Both of those ideas seem to hold true for the James Webb Space Telescope’s recent observation of Epsilon Eridani, one of our nearest stars, and one that has decades worth of debate about whether there is a planet orbiting it or not. Unfortunately, while JWST’s NIRCam did find some interesting features, they were too close to a noise source in the telescope's instruments to be definitively labeled a “planet”. Their results were recently published on arXiv, and while it may sound disappointing, this type of work is exactly how science progresses.
New 'Jump Space' trailer blasts off with intense interstellar action ahead of September launch (video)
This Week In Space podcast: Episode 175 — More AI in Space
Neptune Know-It-All: A Neptune trivia quiz
Inside the search for sustainable aviation fuels, which are on the federal chopping block
NASA employees fear worsening conditions as new Trump executive order eliminates their right to unionize
5 Books Scientific American Recommends for August
Check out this collection of nonfiction and fiction books recommended by Scientific American
Neglecton Particles Could Be Key to More Stable Quantum Computers
Scientists have revived an ignored area of math to envision a path toward stable quantum computing
See the half-lit first quarter moon shine in the grasp of a celestial scorpion tonight
SpaceX launches 24 Starlink satellites to orbit from California (video)
NASA's Perseverance Rover Studies Giant Sand Ripples on Mars
NASA's Perseverance rover has turned its attention to towering sand formations called megaripples at a site named Kerrlaguna on Mars. These windblown features, standing up to 1 metre tall, are providing new insights into how wind shapes the red planet today and could even help prepare for future human missions to Mars.
Catching Ghost Particles in Real Time
Scientists at the South Pole have developed revolutionary new algorithms that can track mysterious particles coming from space called neutrinos in just 30 seconds, helping astronomers around the world hunt for the sources of cosmic radiation. This breakthrough technology has already eliminated some promising candidates and is transforming our ability to solve one of the universe's greatest mysteries.