A detailed independent study found that SpaceX's Starship is every bit as revolutionary as expected, while revealing both its impressive capabilities and its biggest remaining hurdles。 It also introduces an ambitious European rocket concept that could offer a very different route to affordable super heavy launches
Researchers have created cosmic dust from scratch by recreating space-like conditions inside glass tubes。 The dust contains complex carbon-rich molecules built from elements essential to life and produces infrared signals similar to real material found in space。 By studying these laboratory samples, scientists can explore how organic chemistry unfo
A distant Sun-like star appears to have devoured one of its planets, leaving behind a surprising chemical fingerprint。 Researchers found an unusually high concentration of lithium, a strong sign that planetary material was mixed into the star。 Careful comparisons with dozens of similar stars confirmed the signal is highly unusual, and scientists th
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has revealed new details about the blistering lava planet 55 Cancri e, where temperatures are high enough to melt rock。 The data indicate the planet likely has a hydrogen-rich atmosphere shaped by gases escaping from its molten interior, with signs that volcanic outgassing may even create temporary clouds
A new study suggests spacecraft exhaust could quickly contaminate the moon's most scientifically valuable regions, potentially masking ancient clues about how life began on Earth。 Researchers say future lunar missions should consider new ways to reduce and monitor this pollution before it becomes widespread
China’s Chang’e-6 samples have uncovered a surprising difference between the Moon’s two hemispheres。 Solar wind particles penetrated deeper into the far-side soil because Earth’s magnetosphere slows the particles that reach the near side。 Noble gases locked inside the lunar regolith preserved evidence of this uneven bombardment
Researchers have created self-destructing living plastic that uses engineered bacteria to completely break itself down when activated。 The material degrades in just six days without creating microplastics, offering a potential new solution for single-use plastic waste
Physicists from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) have examined a fundamental property of quantum mechanics in collaboration with the German Aerospace Center (DLR)。 In the scientific journal Physical Review Letters, they show that this theory does not necessarily need to be formulated with imaginary numbers – real numbers can in fact also
Dying Sun-like stars may not fade away quietly。 As blobs of gas erupt unevenly from their swollen surfaces, each burst gives the star a tiny push in the opposite direction。 Thousands of these random kicks could eventually break apart distant stellar pairs or, in rare cases, drive two stars into a violent collision
NASA's Perseverance rover has reached an impressive new milestone on Mars, completing the equivalent of a full marathon by driving 26。2 miles (42。195 kilometers) across the Red Planet
A newly discovered turning point in the Sun’s 11-year cycle could allow scientists to predict future solar activity years earlier than before。 At this “switch-off” point, the most violent space weather abruptly ends, and the remaining number of sunspots offers clues about the next cycle’s strength。 Early projections suggest Solar Cycle 26 may be mo
NASA has chosen 41 commercial technology projects that could solve critical challenges for future missions to the Moon and Mars。 From powering lunar outposts to protecting spacecraft from Moon dust, the innovations are designed to push both space exploration and the commercial space economy forward
Scientists have created a programmable optical chip that can slow light on demand, giving engineers far greater control over how optical signals propagate through a circuit。 The technology could provide the delays, synchronization, and buffering functions needed to make light-based computing more practical。 A single chip could eventually perform se