Category: Space Stations

Space stations in orbit or planned

Vast swarms of hidden galaxies may be secretly bathing the universe in a soft glow

NeRD

A secret population of hidden galaxies suffusing the universe in a soft glow of far-infrared light have been strongly suggested to exist, based on careful detective work into some of the most unique data to come from Europe’s Herschel Space Observatory. The galaxies, if they are real, are not necessarily a surprise. The cosmos is filled with light across all wavelengths — it’s just that the far-infrared component seems to be stronger than can be accounted for by all the galaxies we can see in visible light. In other words,…

Read More

US and UK militaries pick Rocket Lab’s HASTE launcher to help test hypersonic tech

NeRD

Rocket Lab is becoming an even bigger player in the world of hypersonic technology. The militaries of the United States and the United Kingdom have both picked the California-based company as a potential partner for their multibillion-dollar programs dedicated to building hypersonic technology. Rocket Lab can now compete for contracts via the two programs, offering the services of its HASTE suborbital rocket as a hypersonic testbed. You may like “The ability to contribute toward the collective security of the United States and the United Kingdom across both of these important…

Read More

Rocket repurposed from intercontinental ballistic missile launches secret US spy satellites to orbit from California

NeRD

For the first time in nearly a decade and a half, a Minotaur has streaked through Californian skies. A Minotaur IV rocket lifted off from the Golden State’s Vandenberg Space Force Base today (April 16) at 3:33 p.m. EDT (1633 GMT; 12:33 p.m. local California time), kicking off the NROL-174 mission for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). It was the first launch of a Minotaur from the site since 2011, the NRO said via X. The NROL-174 mission patch. (Image credit: NRO) The Minotaur rocket family, built by aerospace…

Read More

NASA Invites Virtual Guests to Launch of SpaceX 32nd Resupply Mission

NeRD

2 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Dragon spacecraft lifts off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023, on the company’s 29th commercial resupply services mission for the agency to the International Space Station. SpaceX NASA invites the public to participate in virtual activities ahead of the launch of SpaceX’s 32nd commercial resupply services mission for the agency. NASA and SpaceX are targeting launch at 4:15 a.m. EDT Monday, April…

Read More

How artificial intelligence is helping scientists hunt for alien Earths

NeRD

A machine-learning algorithm trained on synthetic planetary systems has been let loose — and in the process has identified nearly four dozen real stars that have a high probability of hosting a rocky planet in their habitable zone. “The model identified 44 systems that are highly likely to harbor undetected Earth-like planets,” said Jeanne Davoult, an astronomer at the German Aerospace Agency DLR, in a statement. “A further study confirmed the theoretical possibility for these systems to host an Earth-like planet.” Often, “Earth-like” worlds — Earth-like in the sense that…

Read More

Matter-spewing ‘singularities’ could eliminate the need for dark energy and dark matter

NeRD

A new model of the cosmos does away with the universe’s two most troubling and mysterious elements, dark energy and dark matter, collectively referred to as the dark universe. Here’s the idea. The new concept replaces the dark universe with a multitude of step-like bursts called “transient temporal singularities” that erupt throughout the entire cosmos. It’s possible, scientists say, that these transient temporal singularities could open to flood the universe with matter and energy, causing the very fabric of space to expand. Those rifts would close so quickly they would…

Read More

New photos from European Mars orbiter show dynamic, volcanic Red Planet terrain

NeRD

The European Space Agency (ESA) just released some new snapshots from its Mars Express orbiter that detail the dynamic terrain of the Red Planet’s Acheron Fossae region. One of the photos shows trough-like features called “grabens,” which run about 500 miles (800 kilometers), or roughly the length of Germany. They were shaped from ancient volcanic activity that twisted the surface of Mars almost four billion years ago. Flowing lava from the nearby Alba Mons volcano (not pictured) is likely responsible for the smooth region in the bottom center of the…

Read More

Atomic Clock and Plant DNA Research Launching Aboard NASA’s SpaceX CRS-32 Mission 

NeRD

NASA’s SpaceX 32nd commercial resupply services mission, scheduled to lift off from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in April, is heading to the International Space Station with experiments that include research on whether plant DNA responses in space correlate to human aging and disease, and measuring the precise effects of gravity on time.   Discover more details about the two experiments’ potential impacts on space exploration and how they can enhance life on Earth:  “Second Guessing” Time in Space  As outlined in Einstein’s general theory of relativity, how we experience the…

Read More

Why Do We Grow Plants in Space?

NeRD

1 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Why do we grow plants in space? Plants are such versatile organisms that they can fulfill many roles in our exploration of space. Plants provide us with food, with oxygen, they can recycle water and waste, and they can even provide us with psychological benefits. So all these functions will help NASA in fulfilling our goal of trying to create a sustainable environment for human presence in space. But there are also other benefits. We can investigate how plants…

Read More

James Webb Space Telescope sees a celestial Venn diagram around a dying star

NeRD

A stunning new image from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is allowing astronomers to examine the complex and turbulent final stages of a dying star’s life. The snapshot above showcases NGC 1514, a planetary nebula that resides roughly 1,500 light-years from Earth in the constellation Taurus. Despite the term, however, NGC 1514 has nothing to do with planets. Instead, at its heart, there are two stars. These stars appear as a single point of light in the James Webb Space Telescope‘s view, and this point of light is encircled…

Read More