Space News
SpaceX in 2021: Elon Musk's space company set records for reusability and more
SPACE.com - 28 Dec 2021 16:29
From Starship to Starlink to civilian flights, the California company is growing a 'monopoly' in space.
Marshall, Mirrors, and Mission History with NASA's James Webb Space Telescope
SpaceRef - 28 Dec 2021 06:07
The Webb team at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, is especially proud reflecting on their work for the mission, which spans more than two decades and primarily focused on development and testin...
Here's DART's First Picture From Space. We Are Already Looking Forward to its Last Image
Universe Today - 28 Dec 2021 21:27
It might not look like much, but here is the first monumental image from the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART). Earlier this month, a circular door covering the aperture of its DRACO telescopic camera was opened, a...
Celebrating the animal astronauts who paved the way for human spaceflight
SPACE.com - 28 Dec 2021 14:02
From insects to primates, from dogs and cats to cold-blooded reptiles, animals have played a significant role in space exploration since the first fruit flies launched to Earth's upper atmosphere in 1947.
Largest Collection of Free-Floating Planets Found in the Milky Way
SpaceRef - 28 Dec 2021 06:02
Using observations and archival data from several of NSF's NOIRLab's observatories, together with observations from telescopes around the world and in orbit, astronomers have discovered at least 70 new free-floating plan...
Virgin Orbit investing in startups as SPAC merger wraps up
Space News - 28 Dec 2021 00:40
As Virgin Orbit prepares to complete its merger with a SPAC, the launch provider has announced a series of partnerships and investments to diversify its business. SpaceNews
Build Boba Fett's helmet for 8% off with this Lego Star Wars deal
SPACE.com - 28 Dec 2021 23:38
The Star Wars Boba Fett Helmet Building Kit is now on sale at Target for $47.99.
China launches mineral survey and science outreach satellites
SPACE.com - 28 Dec 2021 22:00
China launched the Ziyuan 1 (02E) Earth resources observation satellite and a small amateur radio satellite on Saturday, Dec. 25.
Spacewalking Chinese astronauts add camera to Tiangong space station module
SPACE.com - 28 Dec 2021 22:00
China's Shenzhou 13 astronauts ventured outside the orbiting Tianhe module on Sunday and installed a new panoramic camera for monitoring the space station.
James Webb Space Telescope begins unfolding delicate, massive sunshield
SPACE.com - 28 Dec 2021 20:59
NASA's massive new space observatory has entered its most perilous phase yet as it begins the careful process of unfurling its delicate sunshield.
Whisky bottled for 2022 moon milestones: NASA's Artemis 1 and Apollo 17
SPACE.com - 28 Dec 2021 20:47
The Whisky Barrel, an online spirits merchant, is celebrating the past and future of NASA missions to the moon with limited scotch whisky offerings for 2022.
The Real Science Behind the Movie "Don't Look Up"
Universe Today - 28 Dec 2021 20:08
The new movie "Don't Look Up" — now available on Netflix — is not your usual sci-fi disaster film. Instead, it is a biting parody on the general public's dismissal and indifference to science. While the movie is abou...
NASA clears Axiom crew for 1st private mission to International Space Station
SPACE.com - 28 Dec 2021 20:00
The astronauts launching with the first private crewed mission to the International Space Station (ISS) next year have cleared all their medical evaluations.
Discover ghosts of Jayne's past, present and future in 'Firefly Holiday Special #1'
SPACE.com - 28 Dec 2021 19:00
Boom! Studios is offering up an sci-fi Christmas gift with "Firefly Holiday Special #1."
Image: Red velvet Mars
Phys.org - 28 Dec 2021 18:34
Like a sprinkle of powdered sugar on a rich red velvet cake, this scene from the ESA/Roscosmos ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter captures the contrasting colors of bright white water-ice against the rusty red martian soil.
99 objects telling tales from ESA's technical heart
Phys.org - 28 Dec 2021 18:32
From simulated moondust to an ultraflat floor, a 3D-printed human bone to a wall decoration that once flew on the Hubble Space Telescope, the new 99 Objects of ESA ESTEC website gives visitors a close-up view of intrigui...
Watch the first 5 minutes of 'Moonfall,' Roland Emmerich's new sci-fi disaster film
SPACE.com - 28 Dec 2021 18:00
Standby for destruction on a truly planetary scale as mankind once again struggles to survive in "Moonfall."
Drunken solution to the chaotic three-body problem
Phys.org - 28 Dec 2021 17:38
The three-body problem is one of the oldest problems in physics: It concerns the motions of systems of three bodies--like the sun, Earth, and the moon--and how their orbits change and evolve due to their mutual gravity. ...
Researchers capture high-frequency oscillations in the gigantic eruption of a neutron star
Phys.org - 28 Dec 2021 17:15
An international scientific group with outstanding Valencian participation has managed to measure for the first time oscillations in the brightness of a magnetar during its most violent moments. In just a 10th of a secon...
James Webb Space Telescope sails beyond the orbit of the moon after 2nd course correction
SPACE.com - 28 Dec 2021 16:29
About 60 hours after launch, NASA's next-generation space observatory nailed the second of three required course-correction burns.
Hunting galaxies far far away - here's how anyone can explore the universe
Phys.org - 28 Dec 2021 14:25
By far my favourite thing about my job as an astronomer is those rare moments when I get to see beautiful distant galaxies, whose light left them millions to billions of years ago. It's a combination of pure awe and scie...
Rocket scientists aren't any smarter than the rest of us, science says
SPACE.com - 28 Dec 2021 14:02
The phrase "It's not rocket science" is commonly used to describe tasks that aren't difficult or complicated. But are rocket scientists really smarter than everyone else?