Chinese Astronauts Dock with Tiangong-2 Space Lab
Artist’s illustration of China’s Tiangong-2 space lab docked with a crewed Shenzhou spacecraft. A Chinese spacecraft carrying two astronauts has successfully docked with the uncrewed Tiangong-2 space lab , according to Chinese media reports. The Shenzhou-11 spacecraft linked up with Tiangong-2 at 3:24 p.m. EDT (1924 GMT) today (Oct. 18; 3:24 a.m. Oct. 19 Beijing […]
European Probe to Attempt Daring Mars Landing Wednesday: What to Expect
Europe is on track to achieve an epic Mars landing on Wednesday (Oct. 19) — that is, as long as its spacecraft can survive supersonic speeds, iron-melting heat and a tightly choreographed set of final maneuvers . The landing capsule, named Schiaparelli, is scheduled to touch down on the Red Planet’s surface tomorrow (Oct. 19) […]
Volcanoes on Venus Erupted Recently, New Study Suggests
An elevation model of the volcano Idunn Mons, located at Imdr Regio on Venus. PASADENA, Calif. –Volcanic activity on Venus took place in the recent past, geologically speaking, and may still be happening on the planet today. New research takes a deeper look at one recent eruption on Venus’ surface. The Idunn Mons volcano in […]
Birthplace of Rosetta Probe's Comet Pinned Down
Orbit of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in the distant past. The comet that Europe’s Rosetta spacecraft orbited for more than two years was probably born in the realm of icy bodies beyond Neptune, a new study suggests. New analyses of the orbit of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko — on which Rosetta intentionally crash-landed on Sept. 30, ending the probe’s […]
Watch a Space Crew Launch & a European Probe Land on Mars Wednesday
The Russian Soyuz MS-02 spacecraft was rolled out Oct. 16, 2016 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in preparation for an Oct. 19 crew launch. A new, space-station-bound crew will lift off early Wednesday morning (Oct. 19), and Europe’s Schiaparelli landing capsule will touch down on the surface of Mars later that day — and you […]
Seeing Red: Pluto Probe's Next Target Has a Bloody Hue
Artist’s illustration of NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft encountering a Kuiper Belt object (KBO), as part of an extended mission. New Horizons is set to fly past the KBO 2014 MU69 on Jan. 1, 2019. Recent data from the Hubble Space Telescope suggests 2014 MU69 is even redder than Pluto. The tiny, faraway object that NASA’s […]
Indie Sci-Fi Gets Its Own Online Channel: Recursor.TV
A new website, Recursor.TV, features exclusively science fiction series and movies. Independent science fiction movies and series are available in spades on a new website called Recursor.TV. The sci-fi platform (which you can find at www.recursor.tv/ ) features curated content from independent filmmakers, and includes subgenres such as military science fiction, artificial life, augmented reality, time […]
Liftoff of Antares Rocket From NASA Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia
The Orbital ATK Antares rocket, with the Cygnus spacecraft onboard, launches from Pad-0A, Monday, October 17, 2016 at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Cygnus is delivering over 5,100 pounds of science and research, supplies and hardware to the space station. To source
NASA's MAVEN Mission Gives Unprecedented Ultraviolet View of Mars
New global images of Mars from the MAVEN mission show the ultraviolet glow from the Martian atmosphere in unprecedented detail, revealing dynamic, previously invisible behavior. To source
Orbital ATK Cargo Mission Set For Launch to Space Station
The Orbital ATK Antares rocket, with the Cygnus spacecraft onboard, is seen on launch Pad-0A as the moon sets, predawn, Saturday, Oct. 15, 2016 at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Orbital ATK’s cargo resupply mission will deliver over 5,100 pounds of science and research, supplies and hardware to the space station. To source
SpaceX's Musk Says Sabotage Unlikely Cause of Sept. 1 Explosion, But Still a Worry
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk speaking with the National Reconnaissance Office employees Oct. 13. at NRO headquarters in Chantilly, Virginia. PARIS — Statements attributed to SpaceX founder Elon Musk suggest he remains concerned that Falcon 9 rocket operations are vulnerable to attack by “a long list” of SpaceX adversaries even if it’s unlikely that such an […]
Proxima Centauri Is Like Our Sun… on Steroids
Imagine stepping outside on a clear day and looking up at the sun. However, that isn’t our sun; it appears much closer in the sky and, wait, if you squint, you can see there’s something not quite right about the light it’s emitting. This star appears to have vast, ominous dark patches shimmering against the bright […]
China Launches Shenzhou-11 Astronauts to Tiangong-2 Space Lab
A Chinese Long March 2F rocket launches two astronauts into orbit aboard the Shenzhou-11 spacecraft from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on Oct. 17, 2016 (Beijing Time), kicking off a 30-day mission to the country’s new Tiangong-2 space laboratory module. WASHINGTON — China successfully launched its first human spaceflight mission in more than three years Oct. […]