An experimental satellite that launched in 1974 disappeared from ground-based sensors in the 1990s, only to be found again this week. Some defunct satellites or debris can often go missing for years, presenting hazards within an increasingly crowded Earth orbit. But, how exactly do objects disappear in space?
Jostling on the fault lines of Enceladus’ frozen crust may be responsible for the plumes of icy material spewing from the moon’s watery underbelly, according to a team of researchers that recently modeled the motion.
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When office workers stopped working in offices in 2020, trading their cubicles for living room couches during Covid-19 lockdowns, many began questioning those hours they had spent commuting to work. All those rushed mornings stuck in traffic could have been spent getting things done? Life was often lonely for those…
A drone that paints over graffiti has been launched in Washington state under a new pilot program, according to a press release from the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT). And if the new spray drones succeed, one could easily imagine other municipalities across the country embracing drones for…
Pitch-black darkness. Crushing squeezes, muddy passages, icy waterfalls. Bats and spiders. Abseiling over ledges into the unknown. How far would you go for a fossil? On a two-year retrieval mission of nearly 60 hours in an underground cave, we met our limits—and went beyond.
This story is part of our Chief Innovation Officer Forecast series with Quartz, a business report from the front lines of the future.
Bird flu isn’t just lurking inside cows, new research shows. Florida scientists have reported the first known case of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in a common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus). Though the case dates back to 2022, it’s the latest indication that these flu strains can potentially infect…
A baseball player may tap his helmet three times before stepping up to the plate, and an Argentina supporter may burn incense in front of a portrait of Diego Maradona as the Albiceleste kick off. Now, a team of archaeologists have found evidence that the ancient Maya blessed their ball courts with ritual offerings, an…
This week, Russia unsurprisingly vetoed a draft resolution to prevent the placement of nuclear weapons in orbit. Russia’s rejection of the United Nations resolution is not a clear indication that it possesses orbital arsenal that could destroy satellite constellations, but it shows the country is not wavering under…
