Where does James Cameron’s “Aliens” rank among the other Alien movies? That depends on who you ask. Some might say it’s the best, while others put it just behind the original (spoiler alert: it’s the best). Regardless, there’s no denying that this 1986 film shifted gears, moving the franchise from horror to horror-tinged sci-fi action and paving an alternate path for the future. As Cameron stated in an interview with Lofficier, the plan always was “to do a film that was not as scary… it’s scary, but it’s not as…
Read MoreShould we trust AI in the search for alien life? Scientists aren’t so sure
Artificial intelligence could easily fall into the trap of identifying non-life as life on other worlds, claim two researchers from Michigan State University who have tested AI on simulated life in a computer program. “We had previously seen that AI has a big Achilles heel when it is trying to classify things that are unlike the things in its training examples,” Michigan’s Christoph Adami told Space.com. “We call these ‘out-of-distribution’ samples and it is just incredibly easy to get AI to misclassify.” Adami is a computational biologist who uses computers…
Read MoreHow Christopher Nolan’s ‘Interstellar’ turned general relativity into the bad guy
The biggest blockbusters of 2014 threw up a varied rogues’ gallery of bad guys. In “Transformers: Age of Extinction”, it was a reincarnated version of Optimus Prime’s perma-nemesis, Megatron, while Captain America faced off against a reborn Hydra infiltrating the upper echelons of the US government in “The Winter Soldier”. For Spider-Man, it was Electro, while Maleficent showed up in live-action to give Sleeping Beauty nightmares. Christopher Nolan has never been one to go with the Hollywood crowd, however, and in his outer space opus “Interstellar”, the antagonist was time…
Read MoreAnother reusable rocket? Japan launches, lands RV-X prototype (video)
Japan has succeeded in the first-ever flight test of its RV-X experimental reusable rocket prototype. The launch — or hop, considering its duration and distance — took place at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) Noshiro test facility on July 11 and lasted about 40 seconds. The 24-foot-tall (7.3 meters) test vehicle, powered by a single engine, rose just over 33 feet (10 m) in the air and traveled a horizontal distance of approximately 50 feet (15 m) across the site’s concrete pad before touching down softly on the side…
Read MoreThis Week In Space podcast: Episode 219 — SpaceX Goes to War!
SpaceX Goes to War! – And Other Space Headlines – YouTube Watch On On Episode 219 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik discuss the space headlines for the past few weeks. It’s been busy, and some exciting things are happening! A couple of companies are moving into the space solar power arena — something we’ve long advocated — and that’s welcome progress. Starship is set to fly Starship test number 13, and a lot is riding on this — the system is overdue for some proof…
Read More‘We knew we had a lot to live up to’: As ‘Aliens’ turns 40, we chat to the legendary VFX masters who created the Alien Queen (interview)
It’s almost inconceivable that 40 years have passed since what’s been called the greatest sci-fi action film of all time (and not just by us) assaulted theaters with the juiced-up sequel to Ridley Scott’s 1979 classic, “Alien.” Director James Cameron’s propulsive vision for a gung-ho military-style movie would call upon Stan Winston Studio’s elite creature effects crew from 1984’s “The Terminator” — a team that would later work on “Predator,” “Terminator 2: Judgment Day,” “Jurassic Park,” and “Predator 2.” Cameron’s “Aliens” greatly expands upon the xenomorph life cycle with the…
Read MoreNASA Pushes New Wing Design to Find Structural Limits
3 Min Read NASA Pushes New Wing Design to Find Structural Limits The 15-foot Structural Wing Experiment Evaluating Truss-bracing test article is fully installed in the Flight Loads Laboratory at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, on Wednesday, May 20, 2026. The model is part of NASA’s research to develop technologies for future ultra-efficient aircraft. Credits: NASA/Carla Escamilla NASA researchers recently put a new wing design, appearing long and thin with a lightweight structural design, through a series of grueling tests to find its structural limits. What they…
Read MoreThe Growing Crescent of Mars as NASA’s Psyche Mission Approaches
1 Min Read The Growing Crescent of Mars as NASA’s Psyche Mission Approaches PIA26586 Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU Photojournal Navigation Science Photojournal The Growing Crescent of Mars… Photojournal Home Photojournal Search Latest Content Galleries Feedback RSS About Downloads The Growing Crescent of Mars as NASA’s Psyche Mission Approaches PNG (3.48 MB) Description This composite of images taken by NASA’s Psyche mission shows the crescent of Mars grow as the spacecraft approached the planet for a gravity assist from May 2 to May 15, 2026. The series begins with the smallest crescent at the…
Read MoreRemembering ‘Ulysses 31’, the ’80s cartoon that transported ‘The Odyssey’ to outer space
It’s not known whether “Ulysses 31” was on Christopher Nolan’s radar in his teenage years, but it’s intriguing to think it could have influenced the director’s decision to take on Homer’s “The Odyssey”. This animated space opera, a French/Japanese co-production, delivered a crash course in Greek mythology to a generation of kids who grew up in the ’80s. And, although it looks more like “Star Wars” than Homer’s original tale, it had a decent stab at transferring the Classics to the 31st century (the clue really was in the title),…
Read MoreEstablishing a VTE Risk Score for Astronauts Algorithm
Spontaneous echo contrast (SEC) grade 3 with peripheral echogenicity. NASA/Pavela NASA/SP-20260005258/REV1 – NASA Risk of Venous Thromboembolism in Spaceflight – Outcomes of Working Group Meeting – April 2026 In April 2026, NASA’s Office of the Chief Health and Medical Officer (OCHMO) initiated a working group to review updated VTE case information, additional data gathered revealing altered blood flow status within a cohort of astronauts, and discuss progress of research and clinical activities intended to mitigate the risk of VTE during spaceflight with new evidence-based clinical practice recommendations. Recommendations The following…
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