New maps have revealed a hidden hydrothermal system beneath a legendary lake in New Zealand, which serves as the setting for a famous Māori love story. Lake Rotorua sits at the heart of a massive ancient crater of a dormant volcano on New Zealand’s North Island. The lake has a storied history: it is where the daughter of an influential chief is said to have overcome forbidden love by swimming across the lake to be with a young warrior. The Rotorua area is also well known for hydrothermal activity, with…
Read MoreSLIM lander’s precise ‘moon sniper’ tech will lend itself to future lunar missions
This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Space.com’s Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Mariel Borowitz is an Associate Professor in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at the Georgia Institute of Technology and director of the Nunn School Program on International Affairs, Science, and Technology. Japan landed its Smart Lander for Investigating the Moon, or SLIM, craft on the surface of the moon on Jan. 20, 2024. Despite a power issue with the lander, the event holds both political and technical importance. It’s Japan’s first lunar…
Read MoreSpaceX to launch NASA’s PACE ocean-monitoring satellite this week
A NASA satellite is about to take flight to map out the ocean’s many hues. NASA’s PACE spacecraft, which will help scientists gauge the health of oceans around the world, is set to launch atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Tuesday (Feb. 6) at 1:33 a.m. EST (0633 GMT). You can watch the liftoff live here at Space.com, courtesy of NASA, or directly via the space agency. Coverage will begin at 12:45 a.m. EST (0545 GMT). Related: Earth is getting hotter at…
Read MoreThis Week In Space podcast: Episode 96 — It’s Space TV!
On Episode 96 of This Week In Space, Tariq and Rod discuss science on television with History Channel producer Jeff Stepp. Space and science TV has come a long way since the old-time staples like Mr. Wizard and the original Bille Nye, The Science Guy. Stepp joins us to talk about his work on “The UnXplained: With William Shatner” and other science shows — how are they conceived, what is production like, and what is the future of space and science-oriented media? We know Jeff to be a fine writer…
Read MoreGhostly plasma loops linger on the sun after massive solar explosion (photos)
A series of gigantic yet eerily faint plasma loops temporarily rose above our home star’s surface after a powerful solar flare exploded from the sun on Monday, stunning new photos show. These loops linger like ghostly echoes of the departed solar storm, but scientists still don’t know exactly how the ethereal remnants take shape. On Monday (Jan. 29), a powerful 6.8 magnitude M-class solar flare — the second highest class of solar flares behind X-class flares — erupted from sunspot AR3559 as it began to disappear behind the sun‘s western…
Read MoreWatch Amazon’s new trailer for cosmic comedy ‘The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy’ (video)
Welcome to the Ergulon Galaxy in the year 14,002! Checking in with Prime Video’s outstanding lineup of animated fare is a new full trailer for the streaming platform’s wacky adult sci-fi series, “The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy,” and it’s gonna be pure cosmic chaos when this weird space doctor project premieres on Feb. 23. Created and written by Emmy Award-winning Cirocco Dunlap (“Baymax!,” “Russian Doll”), “The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy” launches animation fans into the manic workplace environment of a bustling outer space medical facility with…
Read MoreThe Iconic Photos from STS-41B: Documenting the First Untethered Spacewalk
4 Min Read The Iconic Photos from STS-41B: Documenting the First Untethered Spacewalk Astronaut Bruce McCandless II, STS-41B mission specialist, reaches his maximum distance from space shuttle Challenger before returning to the spacecraft using the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU). Credits: NASA As astronaut Bruce McCandless II flew the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) out of the space shuttle Challenger’s payload bay for the first time on February 7, 1984, many in the agency were fearful about the use of a self-propelled and untethered backpack in space. (Previous spacewalkers remained connected to…
Read MoreMeet the Creators, Part 3: NASA’s 2024 Total Solar Eclipse Posters
3 min read Meet the Creators, Part 3: NASA’s 2024 Total Solar Eclipse Posters A total solar eclipse is a captivating experience – evoking feelings of awe and wonder that are sometimes best expressed through art. Inspired by the upcoming total solar eclipse of April 8, 2024, artists Tyler Nordgren and Kristen Perrin have designed two posters for NASA that present the magic of the eclipse in unique ways. Tyler Nordgren Download the poster here. NASA/Tyler Nordgren In “The Sun and Moon Align with You” poster for NASA, Nordgren –…
Read MoreCalifornia, Massachusetts Students to Hear from NASA, ESA Astronauts
NASA astronauts and Expedition 70 Flight Engineers Jasmin Moghbeli, left, and Loral O’Hara in the Destiny laboratory celebrate the successful docking of a SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station. NASA Students from California and Massachusetts will have separate opportunities next week to hear from NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station. The two Earth-to-space calls will air live Monday, Feb. 5, and Friday, Feb. 9, on NASA+ and agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms including social media. At 12:15 p.m. EST Feb. 5,…
Read MoreNASA Sets Coverage for Axiom Mission 3 Departure from Space Station
The SpaceX Dragon Freedom spacecraft carrying the four-member Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) crew is pictured approaching the International Space Station 260 miles above China north of the Himalayas. NASA will provide live coverage of the undocking and departure of the Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) private astronaut flight from the International Space Station before the crew returns to Earth. The four-member astronaut crew is scheduled to undock no earlier than 6:05 a.m. EST Saturday, Feb. 3, from the space-facing port of the station’s Harmony module in a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft to…
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