You can’t fly an inflatable module to space without bursting a few on Earth. Sierra Space watched its giant, 20-foot tall space station module explode in dramatic fashion, but the company wasn’t too stressed about it. In fact, it marked a successful test on the road to building the first commercial space station in…
Scientists may have figured out one of the many mysteries surrounding everyone’s favorite microscopic survivor: the tardigrade. In new research, a team appears to have uncovered a key mechanism that these tiny critters use to withstand harsh conditions that would kill almost any other animal.
The aluminum canister containing bits of an ancient space rock has finally been opened, revealing the bulk of the asteroid Bennu sample in all its glory.
Japan’s space agency, JAXA, achieved a historic soft landing with SLIM on Friday morning, but the lander ran into instant trouble by not being able to collect solar energy and generate electricity. Hopeful for some westerly sunshine, JAXA is cautiously optimistic that SLIM could spring back to life in a couple of…
Scientists scrutinizing the fine dust covering the Moon have identified a handful of boulders on the lunar surface that they believe may be covered with uniquely magnetized dust.
Meet the dorado octopus, a newly described deep sea cephalopod with some seriously alien features. A remotely operated vehicle took incredible images of this species and its habitat, including just-hatched babies and a field brooding females. Click through for our top science stories from this week.
Astrobotic bid farewell to its Peregrine lunar lander on Thursday as the spacecraft plunged through Earth’s atmosphere, thereby preventing the failed mission from colliding into other spacecraft.
Japan’s SLIM is on the Moon and sending data to Earth, in what is a monumental achievement for Japan—it’s now the fifth country to accomplish the feat. The successful soft landing notwithstanding, the situation looks grim; officials with Japanese space agency JAXA say the lander’s solar cell is not generating…
In April 2023, SpaceX’s massive Starship rocket lifted off for the first time, sending chunks of debris thousands of feet across the South Texas landscape and sparking a fire in a nearby state park. It was an environmental nightmare; the launchpad is surrounded by a wildlife habitat that’s home to endangered species.…
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