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A new plasma thruster design breathes thin air for propellant

Choosing an orbit for a satellite always comes with trade-offs. Very low Earth orbit (VLEO), between 100–450 km (62–280 miles), has distinct advantages. Remote-sensing cameras can take better pictures, communications and ...

Cataract surgery will be needed in space, surgeon predicts

An eye surgeon with a passion for space since childhood predicts that as astronauts start to make journeys to the moon and Mars in the near future, eye surgery in space will eventually become a necessity.

NASA's next great observatory could spot oceans on distant worlds

We've found more than 5,500 exoplanets so far. Dozens of them are in the habitable zones of their parent stars, where, at least in theory, they could host an ocean. But we've never definitively found a liquid ocean on another ...

Scientists want to 3D print houses on Mars with the help of yeast

Mars is a terrible place to build a house. It's bitterly cold, blasted by radiation and a near vacuum. Not to mention that the building materials, even for a modest shelter, could spend months hurtling through space before ...

What to know about Europe's push to compete in space

Key figures from Europe's space industry and other international players have converged on Paris to discuss how to advance the continent's ambitions in a global market dominated by the United States.

A new mission could rendezvous with Halley's Comet in 2061

Halley's Comet captures the imagination in a way that few other astronomical objects do. When it last made its approach toward the sun (admittedly when this author, who is now middle-aged, was 1 year old in 1986), humanity ...

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Space Exploration
Germany's Isar Aerospace launches rocket into orbit from Norway
Space Exploration
Rescue satellite gets close to NASA's doomed telescope, even if it can't save it
Space Exploration
Blue Origin's New Glenn explosion shows infrasound can detect rocket accidents from up to 1,700 kilometers away
Space Exploration
Cluster's final reentry strengthens data for safer, more sustainable satellite design
Space Exploration
A 13-meter rocket hit the Moon: Tasmanian researchers helped track it there
Astronomy
AI tool detects unusual satellite behavior to improve space safety
Space Exploration
ESA JUICE probe targets dark Jovian moon Kallichore in 2031
Space Exploration
SpaceX recovers Starship from the Indian Ocean a month after launch and is shipping it back to Texas
Space Exploration
New clues about how space travel may affect women's health
Space Exploration
NASA Johnson pilots chase moon's shadow for eclipse science
Space Exploration
'Now boarding' … 240,000 miles from Earth, at the moon's first airport
Space Exploration
SpaceX announces plans for $100 billion 'spaceport' in Louisiana
Space Exploration
AI finds six ways to print rocket-grade alloy on commercial 3D printers
Space Exploration
NASA starshade would enable astronomers to directly image rocky exoworlds
Space Exploration
China says unmanned moon mission delayed over 'launch conditions'
Space Exploration
China abruptly postpones ambitious Chang'e-7 lunar mission launch
Space Exploration
Near-total lunar eclipse is coming up with the Americas in prime position
Space Exploration
Interplanetary spacecraft capture a coronal mass ejection component hidden from Earth
Space Exploration
China is launching a moon mission to find water ice
Space Exploration
Rescue mission is called off for NASA's aging Swift space telescope

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Bio & Medicine
New nanoparticle drug-delivery method may improve treatment for endometriosis
Cell & Microbiology
How migrating cells build their leading edge: Master regulator may resolve long-standing debate
Environment
Truckee River microplastics rise nearly tenfold during high spring flows
Analytical Chemistry
New ligand design balances radical generation and catalyst regeneration for challenging chemical reactions
Earth Sciences
Antarctica's lost mountains may have helped early life flourish
Biotechnology
Low-cost sensor tracks soil pH continuously for months across varied soils
Cell & Microbiology
A newly discovered mechanism helps cells prevent errors during DNA replication
Paleontology & Fossils
Elusive builders of nearly perfect hexagonal tunnel fossils were probably small crustaceans—not worms
Plants & Animals
Lemur uses opera singer's trick to belt out forest songs
Quantum Physics
Nuclear-spin swap extends room-temperature entanglement lifetime up to 240-fold
Earth Sciences
Satellite record reveals Arctic melt season has plateaued after decades of lengthening
Archaeology
Does Tutankhamen's tomb hold his stepmother Queen Nefertiti's remains? New study offers tantalizing clues
Optics & Photonics
Scientists teleport quantum states across 100 parallel optical channels
Cell & Microbiology
Under stress, bacterial RNA and proteins tell different stories
Astronomy
Superdense neutron star caught feeding on a blue hypergiant's stellar wind
Earth Sciences
African smoke brightens clouds, but weather patterns offset its cooling effect
Quantum Physics
Quantum communication protocol enables three users to establish a shared secure key
Cell & Microbiology
AI-powered barcode unmasks 'zombie cells' in aging tissue
Optics & Photonics
Photonic Legos of functional 3D thin-films unlock high-performance heterogeneous photonic integration
Environment
Children born today in Europe will live through almost twice as much extreme fire weather as their grandparents

Could we send a spacecraft to a black hole?

Black holes represent some of the most extreme environments in the universe. They are the sources of the strongest gravitational fields, allowing us to test Einstein's theory of general relativity to an extent impossible ...

Are we missing alien lighthouses?

Searching for extraterrestrial intelligence has so far primarily meant focusing on one particular type of signal—and that signal has normally been based on our own current cutting-edge technology. But what if that's the wrong ...

Electyrolyzer experiment designated ready-to-fly by NASA

A Southwest Research Institute and University of Texas at San Antonio experiment has passed a critical NASA review, designating it ready for parabolic flight testing. The two institutions will evaluate the performance of ...