As space agencies plan for future crewed missions to Mars, with NASA hoping to have humans step foot on the Red Planet as soon as the 2030s, scientists warn that astronauts themselves could be carrying a threat to these missions. This threat may very well live within their bodies. New research using simulated Mars conditions — such as the planet’s lack of water, harsh ultraviolet radiation and exposure to toxic salts — suggests four strains of bacteria that can be carried in the human gut may not only survive in…
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Our solar system
SpaceX to launch Starship again ‘in about 3 weeks,’ Elon Musk says
The third test flight of SpaceX’s giant Starship rocket could be just around the corner, according to Elon Musk. “Starship were meant to fly and our next one launches in about 3 weeks, but I recommend waiting for a few more test flights before hopping on board,” Musk said Monday (Feb. 12) in a post on X . The billionaire entrepreneur was replying to a post from the rapper Ye (formerly known as Kanye West), who had asked Musk, “Where my rocket ship?” The two moguls have known each other…
Read MoreCanadian astronaut reveals Indigenous art patch for Artemis 2 moon mission
The first Canadian who will fly to the moon now has a patch to represent his own mission, as well as the knowledge passed on by his country’s original explorers. Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, who in 2025 will fly as a member of NASA’s Artemis 2 crew on a flight around the moon, revealed the new emblem while meeting with students from First Nations University of Canada on Thursday (Feb. 8). The insignia reflects Hansen’s appreciation for Indigenous “ways of knowing.” “For the past decade, Jeremy has…
Read MoreOrbital resonance — the striking gravitational dance done by planets with aligning orbits
Planets orbit their parent stars while separated by enormous distances – in our solar system, planets are like grains of sand in a region the size of a football field. The time that planets take to orbit their suns have no specific relationship to each other. But sometimes, their orbits display striking patterns. For example, astronomers studying six planets orbiting a star 100 light years away have just found that they orbit their star with an almost rhythmic beat, in perfect synchrony. Each pair of planets completes their orbits in…
Read MoreEverything we know about Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2
Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40K is the most popular miniature wargame in the world, and its gothic science fiction setting is greatly responsible for that. Unsurprisingly, it’s also nurtured tons of video games over the decades, including the recent Doom-inspired shooter Boltgun. One of the most famous ones is 2011’s Space Marine, and more than a decade later, we’re finally getting a big blockbuster sequel. Here’s everything we know about Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2. In the distant future of Warhammer 40K, a dogmatic human civilization is under siege from all…
Read MoreHow to watch SpaceX launch the private Intuitive Machines moon lander IM-1 on Feb. 14 live online
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a new private lunar lander to the moon for the company Intuitive Machines and NASA this week, and you can watch it live online in a series of free webcasts. Intuitive Machines‘ first Nova-C lander mission, called IM-1, will to launch to the moon on a Falcon 9 rocket Feb. 14 with payloads for NASA and other customers. Liftoff is scheduled for 12:57 a.m. EST (0557 GMT) from NASA’s Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. If all goes well, IM-1…
Read MoreIt’s good! Space station astronauts toss football in zero-g for Super Bowl 2024 (video)
It’s official, Super Bowl LVIII has reached outer space. Two NASA astronauts apparently geared up for the big showdown between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas today (Feb. 11) by tossing the old pigskin around the International Space Station. Getting some reps in before #SuperBowl Sunday 🏈 pic.twitter.com/ATM6hJXW8aFebruary 10, 2024 See more “Getting some reps in before Super Bowl Sunday,” NASA wrote on X (formerly Twitter) while sharing a short video of the Expedition 70 astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O’Hara tossing the football on…
Read MoreWorld’s 1st fault-tolerant quantum computer launching this year ahead of a 10,000-qubit machine in 2026
The world’s first commercial fault-tolerant quantum computer with “logical qubits” may be running before the year’s end. Logical qubits — physical quantum bits, or qubits, connected through quantum entanglement — reduce errors in quantum computers by storing the same data in different places. This diversifies the points of failure when running calculations. The new machine, which has 256 physical and 10 logical qubits, will launch in late 2024, representatives from QuEra, the startup that is building it, said in a statement. The announcement follows a new study, published Dec. 6,…
Read MoreNew ‘Judas’ game trailer teases a dystopian sci-fi romp in outer space
It’s a great time to be into science fiction video games That’s especially true if you’re into games set in outer space such as the upcoming “Judas,” Ken Levine’s long-anticipated return after wowing most players and causing lots of discourse with BioShock Infinite in 2013 is looking stunning. This new look at the first-person shooter was presented during the State of Play stream that aired on Jan. 31, 2024, and while most of the marketing campaign appears to be backed by Sony, the game actually is a third-party release coming…
Read MoreNASA is ‘learning to listen to the X-59’ by simulating sonic thumps with fighter jets (photos)
Before NASA’s new X-59 supersonic jet can break the sound barrier, scientists had to record equivalent sonic booms to use for reference. Test pilots with NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center took to the skies high above the Southern California desert near the U.S. Air Force’s Edwards Air Force Base in order to generate “thumps” the X-59 “Quesst” supersonic jet is expected to produce. Unlike a typical thunderous sonic boom, the sound of the X-59 breaking the sound barrier is projected to be similar to a car door slamming as heard…
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