Artist’s illustration showing the scorching-hot exoplanet Kepler-13Ab, which circles very close to its host star, Kepler-13A. In the background is the star’s binary companion, Kepler-13B; the third member of the multiple-star system is the orange dwarf star Kepler-13C. The weirdness of exoplanets continues to amaze. It snows titanium dioxide, one of the active ingredients in […]
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'The Fifty-Year Mission': Authors Recount Strange 'Star Trek' History
Chase Masterson (left), Ed Gross (middle) and Mark A. Altman (right) discuss the history of “Star Trek” at New York Comic Con 2017. “Star Trek” is a dramatic, exciting saga with a diverse cast of characters that’s taken more than 50 years to unfold. As it turns out, so is the story behind making “Star […]
Smithsonian to Renovate, Revitalize Air and Space Museum Over 7 Years
The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum will undergo an extensive renovation, including the revitalization of its exhibitions like the new “Destination Moon,” as pictured. The Wright Flyer, John Glenn’s Mercury spacecraft and the Apollo 11 spacesuit that Neil Armstrong wore on the moon, among hundreds more air and space artifacts curated by the Smithsonian, […]
European Space Agency Launches ESAshop, Offers Apparel and Accessories
“Space is our middle name.” One of the original designs available through the European Space Agency’s new ESAshop. The European Space Agency has set up shop to spread some space. ESAshop, the new official one-stop store for the European Space Agency’s (ESA) apparel and accessories, launched online on Wednesday (Oct. 25). “ESA has produced all […]
SpaceX Will Launch Another Used Dragon Capsule to Space Station Soon
SpaceX’s uncrewed Dragon cargo ship approaches the International Space Station (ISS) on April 17, 2015, in this still from a camera on the orbiting lab’s exterior. This same Dragon will fly SpaceX’s next ISS resupply run for NASA. SpaceX’s march toward full reusability continues. The company’s next cargo mission to the International Space Station (ISS), […]
Where Are All the Intelligent Aliens? Maybe They're Trapped in Buried Oceans
Jupiter’s moon Europa, which harbors an ocean of liquid water beneath its icy shell. E.T. may be out there, silently swimming in frigid oceans beneath miles and miles of ice. Nearly 70 years ago, Nobel Prize-winning physicist Enrico Fermi famously asked, “Where is everybody?” He was referring to intelligent aliens , who seemingly should have […]
Foom! NASA Tests Powerful Engine That Will Take Astronauts into Deep Space
Spectacular footage from a rocket engine test at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi shows a larger than life cloud of smoke pouring across a field as spectators look on. The video shows the Oct. 19 test of a RS-25 engine that will power NASA’s next-generation rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS). The rocket — […]
Hello to the Heavens: Pope Francis Phones the Space Station
Pope Francis made a phone call to the International Space Station today (Oct. 26) to ask its six occupants deep questions about humanity’s place in the universe. Calling from the Vatican in Rome, Pope Francis spoke with Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli of the European Space Agency along with three NASA astronauts and two Russian cosmonauts. […]
Einstein's Hidden 'Formula' for Happiness Sells for $1.5 Million
Two advice-filled notes Albert Einstein wrote to a bellboy in Japan 95 years ago, including one that advocated for “a calm and modest life,” fetched more than $1.5 million at an auction on Tuesday (Oct. 24). In October 1922, Einstein was traveling to Japan to deliver a series of lectures when he received a […]
How Do You Make a Conscious Robot?
You’ve likely heard of conscious thought and subconscious thought, but humans may in fact possess three levels of consciousness, a new review suggests — and this concept could help scientists develop truly conscious artificial intelligence (AI) someday. Though AI technology has been advancing at a rapid clip, in many ways, computers still fall short of […]
NASA's Astronaut Twins Study Shows How Spaceflight Changes Gene Expression
The changes spaceflight induces in astronauts are much more than skin deep. Space travel strongly affects the way genes are expressed, or turned on and off, preliminary results from NASA’s “Twins Study ” have revealed. “Some of the most exciting things that we’ve seen from looking at gene expression in space is that we really […]
Satlets: Crazy Idea or Ingenious Concept? This Week's Test on ISS Will Offer Clues
A NovaWork’s illustration of its modular “Satlet” design. SAN FRANCISCO – On Oct. 25, astronauts onboard the International Space Station planned to link NovaWurks’ spacecraft building blocks in the first on-orbit test of a radically new approach to satellite design and manufacturing. Instead of fitting spacecraft components into a rectangular bus as companies have for […]
How Cassini Mission's Twists and Turns Led to Discovery of Enceladus' Plumes
Plumes of water ice erupt from the surface of Saturn’s moon Enceladus. Image taken by the Cassini probe in November 2005. If life exists somewhere in the solar system beyond Earth, there’s a good chance it will live underground. Or in the case of Saturn’s moon Enceladus, under a thick layer of ice, in a […]