"I never think about the future. It comes soon enough."

— Albert Einstein

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Cannibal spiders have strange trick to stop their siblings eating them

New Scientist Space - Space Headlines - Fri, 04/04/2025 - 4:00pm
A spider species eat their siblings as soon as they die but tolerate each other when they are alive, suggesting a mysterious signal helps them to determine when to dine on a nest mate
Categories: Astronomy

How to see Venus light the sky as the bright 'morning star' through fall 2025

Space.com - Fri, 04/04/2025 - 4:00pm
After putting on a great show in our evening sky since the fall of 2024, dazzling Venus puts on a spectacular showing for early morning risers for the balance of 2025.
Categories: Astronomy

Brain Structure That Filters Consciousness Identified

Scientific American.com - Fri, 04/04/2025 - 3:45pm

Our conscious awareness may be governed by a structure deep in the brain

Categories: Astronomy

Artemis ESM's Could be Repurposed for Future Missions

Universe Today - Fri, 04/04/2025 - 3:29pm

In a recent paper, an international team of scientists identified how the Orion spacecraft's European Service Module (ESM) could be reused. Rather than letting them burn up in Earth's atmosphere, as planned, they recommend that the ESMs use their power and propulsion capability to conduct valuable scientific research.

Categories: Astronomy

Largest ever US honeybee die-off has destroyed 1.6 million colonies

New Scientist Space - Cosmology - Fri, 04/04/2025 - 3:00pm
Beekeepers often experience some seasonal losses, but this past winter, more than half of all US honeybee colonies died off, potentially the largest loss in US history
Categories: Astronomy

Largest ever US honeybee die-off has destroyed 1.6 million colonies

New Scientist Space - Space Headlines - Fri, 04/04/2025 - 3:00pm
Beekeepers often experience some seasonal losses, but this past winter, more than half of all US honeybee colonies died off, potentially the largest loss in US history
Categories: Astronomy

Whooping Cough Killed Two Children. Here’s How to Protect Kids

Scientific American.com - Fri, 04/04/2025 - 3:00pm

The bacterial infection pertussis has sparked an uptick in cases nationwide and has caused two deaths in Louisiana

Categories: Astronomy

HoverAir X1 PRO drone review

Space.com - Fri, 04/04/2025 - 3:00pm
The HoverAir X1 PRO is one of two new ZeroZero Robotics selfie drone models and is the more affordable option of the two with 4K video capture with a host of optional accessories available.
Categories: Astronomy

Utah’s Decision to Ban Fluoride Is a Bad Move for Kids

Scientific American.com - Fri, 04/04/2025 - 2:20pm

Becoming the first state to ban fluoride is going to cost Utah, both financially and dentally

Categories: Astronomy

NASA Leaders to Participate in 2025 Space Symposium in Colorado

NASA News - Fri, 04/04/2025 - 2:12pm
Credit: NASA

NASA acting Administrator Janet Petro and acting Associate Administrator Vanessa Wyche will lead the agency’s delegation at the 40th Space Symposium, Monday, April 7 through Thursday, April 10, in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Petro will join Space Foundation Chief Executive Officer Heather Pringle for a fireside chat to discuss NASA’s current priorities and partnerships at 12:15 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, April 8.

Additional NASA participation in the conference includes a one-on-one discussion with Nicola Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, and a lunar science and exploration panel featuring Lori Glaze, acting associate administrator, Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate.

A full agenda for this year’s Space Symposium is available online.

Conference attendees will have the opportunity to learn more about NASA’s missions and projects on a variety of topics during brief talks with subject matter experts in the agency’s exhibit space.

NASA will provide photos and updates about its participation in the Space Symposium from its @NASAExhibit account on X.

For more information about NASA, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov

-end-

Amber Jacobson
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
amber.c.jacobson@nasa.gov

Share Details Last Updated Apr 04, 2025 EditorJessica TaveauLocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Categories: NASA

NASA Leaders to Participate in 2025 Space Symposium in Colorado

NASA - Breaking News - Fri, 04/04/2025 - 2:12pm
Credit: NASA

NASA acting Administrator Janet Petro and acting Associate Administrator Vanessa Wyche will lead the agency’s delegation at the 40th Space Symposium, Monday, April 7 through Thursday, April 10, in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Petro will join Space Foundation Chief Executive Officer Heather Pringle for a fireside chat to discuss NASA’s current priorities and partnerships at 12:15 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, April 8.

Additional NASA participation in the conference includes a one-on-one discussion with Nicola Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, and a lunar science and exploration panel featuring Lori Glaze, acting associate administrator, Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate.

A full agenda for this year’s Space Symposium is available online.

Conference attendees will have the opportunity to learn more about NASA’s missions and projects on a variety of topics during brief talks with subject matter experts in the agency’s exhibit space.

NASA will provide photos and updates about its participation in the Space Symposium from its @NASAExhibit account on X.

For more information about NASA, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov

-end-

Amber Jacobson
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
amber.c.jacobson@nasa.gov

Share Details Last Updated Apr 04, 2025 EditorJessica TaveauLocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Categories: NASA

Scientists are using stellar 'quakes' to peer inside stars

Space.com - Fri, 04/04/2025 - 2:08pm
Scientists are probing stellar "quakes" to understand what lies beneath the surface of a star's body.
Categories: Astronomy

NASA Astronaut Jonny Kim

NASA News - Fri, 04/04/2025 - 2:04pm
NASA/Josh Valcarcel

NASA astronaut Jonny Kim poses for a portrait while wearing a spacesuit on July 17, 2024. In his first mission, Kim will serve as a flight engineer during Expedition 72/73 on the International Space Station. He will launch aboard the Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft on Tuesday, April 8.

Chosen by NASA in 2017, Kim is a decorated naval officer and medical doctor. He completed two years of training as an Astronaut Candidate; training included technical and operational instruction in International Space Station systems, Extravehicular Activities Operations, T-38 flight training, robotics, physiological training, expeditionary training, field geology, water and wilderness survival training, and Russian language proficiency training. In 2020, Kim began his support of International Space Station operations as a Capsule Communicator (CapCom) in Mission Control Center Houston and the Artemis program under the astronaut Exploration branch. He served as the International Space Station’s Increment Lead for Expedition 65 in 2021. He has continued to support mission and crew operations in various roles within the astronaut office including serving as the Operations Officer, T-38 Liaison to the Aircraft Operations Division and the interim ISS CapCom Chief Engineer.

Image credit: NASA/Josh Valcarcel

Categories: NASA

NASA Astronaut Jonny Kim

NASA - Breaking News - Fri, 04/04/2025 - 2:04pm
NASA/Josh Valcarcel

NASA astronaut Jonny Kim poses for a portrait while wearing a spacesuit on July 17, 2024. In his first mission, Kim will serve as a flight engineer during Expedition 72/73 on the International Space Station. He will launch aboard the Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft on Tuesday, April 8.

Chosen by NASA in 2017, Kim is a decorated naval officer and medical doctor. He completed two years of training as an Astronaut Candidate; training included technical and operational instruction in International Space Station systems, Extravehicular Activities Operations, T-38 flight training, robotics, physiological training, expeditionary training, field geology, water and wilderness survival training, and Russian language proficiency training. In 2020, Kim began his support of International Space Station operations as a Capsule Communicator (CapCom) in Mission Control Center Houston and the Artemis program under the astronaut Exploration branch. He served as the International Space Station’s Increment Lead for Expedition 65 in 2021. He has continued to support mission and crew operations in various roles within the astronaut office including serving as the Operations Officer, T-38 Liaison to the Aircraft Operations Division and the interim ISS CapCom Chief Engineer.

Image credit: NASA/Josh Valcarcel

Categories: NASA

NASA Astronaut Jonny Kim

NASA Image of the Day - Fri, 04/04/2025 - 2:04pm
NASA astronaut Jonny Kim poses for a portrait while wearing a spacesuit on July 17, 2024. In his first mission, Kim will serve as a flight engineer during Expedition 72/73 on the International Space Station.
Categories: Astronomy, NASA

Wind farm developers are worried about neighbours stealing their wind

New Scientist Space - Cosmology - Fri, 04/04/2025 - 2:00pm
Wakes from offshore wind farms can reduce the power generated by neighbouring farms – an issue that is growing more prevalent as turbines get bigger and more numerous
Categories: Astronomy

Wind farm developers are worried about neighbours stealing their wind

New Scientist Space - Space Headlines - Fri, 04/04/2025 - 2:00pm
Wakes from offshore wind farms can reduce the power generated by neighbouring farms – an issue that is growing more prevalent as turbines get bigger and more numerous
Categories: Astronomy

NASA Selects Finalist Teams for Student Human Lander Challenge

NASA News - Fri, 04/04/2025 - 1:00pm

NASA has selected 12 student teams to develop solutions for storing and transferring the super-cold liquid propellants needed for future long-term exploration beyond Earth orbit.

The agency’s 2025 Human Lander Challenge is designed to inspire and engage the next generation of engineers and scientists as NASA and its partners prepare to send astronauts to the Moon through the Artemis campaign in preparation for future missions to Mars. The commercial human landing systems will serve as the primary mode of transportation that will safely take astronauts and, later, large cargo from lunar orbit to the surface of the Moon and back.

For its second year, the competition invites university students and their faculty advisors to develop innovative, “cooler” solutions for in-space cryogenic, or super cold, liquid propellant storage and transfer systems. These cryogenic fluids, like liquid hydrogen or liquid oxygen, must stay extremely cold to remain in a liquid state, and the ability to effectively store and transfer them in space will be increasingly vital for future long-duration missions. Current technology allows cryogenic liquids to be stored for a relatively short amount of time, but future missions will require these systems to function effectively over several hours, weeks, and even months.

The 12 selected finalists have been awarded a $9,250 development stipend to further develop their concepts in preparation for the next stage of the competition.

The 2025 Human Lander Challenge finalist teams are:

  • California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, “THERMOSPRING: Thermal Exchange Reduction Mechanism using Optimized SPRING”
  • Colorado School of Mines, “MAST: Modular Adaptive Support Technology”
  • Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, “Electrical Capacitance to High-resolution Observation (ECHO)”
  • Jacksonville University, “Cryogenic Complex: Cryogenic Tanks and Storage Systems – on the Moon and Cislunar Orbit”
  • Jacksonville University, “Cryogenic Fuel Storage and Transfer: The Human Interface – Monitoring and Mitigating Risks”
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology, “THERMOS: Translunar Heat Rejection and Mixing for Orbital Sustainability”
  • Old Dominion University, “Structural Tensegrity for Optimized Retention in Microgravity (STORM)”
  • Texas A&M University, “Next-generation Cryogenic Transfer and Autonomous Refueling (NeCTAR)”
  • The College of New Jersey, “Cryogenic Orbital Siphoning System (CROSS)”
  • The Ohio State University, “Autonomous Magnetized Cryo-Couplers with Active Alignment Control for Propellant Transfer (AMCC-AAC)
  • University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, “Efficient Cryogenic Low Invasive Propellant Supply Exchange (ECLIPSE)”
  • Washington State University, “CRYPRESS Coupler for Liquid Hydrogen Transfer”

Finalist teams will now work to submit a technical paper further detailing their concepts. They will present their work to a panel of NASA and industry judges at the 2025 Human Lander Competition Forum in Huntsville, Alabama, near NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, in June 2025. The top three placing teams will share a total prize purse of $18,000.

“By engaging college students in solving critical challenges in cryogenic fluid technologies and systems-level solutions, NASA fosters a collaborative environment where academic research meets practical application,” said Tiffany Russell Lockett, office manager for the Human Landing System Mission Systems Management Office at NASA Marshall. “This partnership not only accelerates cryogenics technology development but also prepares the Artemis Generation – the next generation of engineers and scientists – to drive future breakthroughs in spaceflight.”

NASA’s Human Lander Challenge is sponsored by the agency’s Human Landing System Program within the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate and managed by the National Institute of Aerospace.

For more information on NASA’s 2025 Human Lander Challenge, including team progress, visit the challenge website.

News Media Contact

Corinne Beckinger 
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. 
256.544.0034  
corinne.m.beckinger@nasa.gov 

Categories: NASA

Google DeepMind Taught Itself to Play Minecraft

Scientific American.com - Fri, 04/04/2025 - 1:00pm

The Dreamer AI system of Google's DeepMind reached the milestone of mastering Minecraft by ‘imagining’ the future impact of possible decisions

Categories: Astronomy

NASA Selects Finalist Teams for Student Human Lander Challenge

NASA - Breaking News - Fri, 04/04/2025 - 1:00pm

NASA has selected 12 student teams to develop solutions for storing and transferring the super-cold liquid propellants needed for future long-term exploration beyond Earth orbit.

The agency’s 2025 Human Lander Challenge is designed to inspire and engage the next generation of engineers and scientists as NASA and its partners prepare to send astronauts to the Moon through the Artemis campaign in preparation for future missions to Mars. The commercial human landing systems will serve as the primary mode of transportation that will safely take astronauts and, later, large cargo from lunar orbit to the surface of the Moon and back.

For its second year, the competition invites university students and their faculty advisors to develop innovative, “cooler” solutions for in-space cryogenic, or super cold, liquid propellant storage and transfer systems. These cryogenic fluids, like liquid hydrogen or liquid oxygen, must stay extremely cold to remain in a liquid state, and the ability to effectively store and transfer them in space will be increasingly vital for future long-duration missions. Current technology allows cryogenic liquids to be stored for a relatively short amount of time, but future missions will require these systems to function effectively over several hours, weeks, and even months.

The 12 selected finalists have been awarded a $9,250 development stipend to further develop their concepts in preparation for the next stage of the competition.

The 2025 Human Lander Challenge finalist teams are:

  • California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, “THERMOSPRING: Thermal Exchange Reduction Mechanism using Optimized SPRING”
  • Colorado School of Mines, “MAST: Modular Adaptive Support Technology”
  • Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, “Electrical Capacitance to High-resolution Observation (ECHO)”
  • Jacksonville University, “Cryogenic Complex: Cryogenic Tanks and Storage Systems – on the Moon and Cislunar Orbit”
  • Jacksonville University, “Cryogenic Fuel Storage and Transfer: The Human Interface – Monitoring and Mitigating Risks”
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology, “THERMOS: Translunar Heat Rejection and Mixing for Orbital Sustainability”
  • Old Dominion University, “Structural Tensegrity for Optimized Retention in Microgravity (STORM)”
  • Texas A&M University, “Next-generation Cryogenic Transfer and Autonomous Refueling (NeCTAR)”
  • The College of New Jersey, “Cryogenic Orbital Siphoning System (CROSS)”
  • The Ohio State University, “Autonomous Magnetized Cryo-Couplers with Active Alignment Control for Propellant Transfer (AMCC-AAC)
  • University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, “Efficient Cryogenic Low Invasive Propellant Supply Exchange (ECLIPSE)”
  • Washington State University, “CRYPRESS Coupler for Liquid Hydrogen Transfer”

Finalist teams will now work to submit a technical paper further detailing their concepts. They will present their work to a panel of NASA and industry judges at the 2025 Human Lander Competition Forum in Huntsville, Alabama, near NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, in June 2025. The top three placing teams will share a total prize purse of $18,000.

“By engaging college students in solving critical challenges in cryogenic fluid technologies and systems-level solutions, NASA fosters a collaborative environment where academic research meets practical application,” said Tiffany Russell Lockett, office manager for the Human Landing System Mission Systems Management Office at NASA Marshall. “This partnership not only accelerates cryogenics technology development but also prepares the Artemis Generation – the next generation of engineers and scientists – to drive future breakthroughs in spaceflight.”

NASA’s Human Lander Challenge is sponsored by the agency’s Human Landing System Program within the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate and managed by the National Institute of Aerospace.

For more information on NASA’s 2025 Human Lander Challenge, including team progress, visit the challenge website.

News Media Contact

Corinne Beckinger 
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. 
256.544.0034  
corinne.m.beckinger@nasa.gov 

Categories: NASA