Firefly’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 set a new benchmark for commercial lunar exploration, lasting longer than any previous private mission and delivering 10 NASA instruments to the Moon. The mission achieved several firsts, including the deepest robotic thermal probe on another planetary body and the
Category: space – Page 47
Megastructures & Robots: Full Documentary
Which of these technologies excites you the most? CHAPTERS:00:00 20 Space Megastructures That Will Transform Our Future01:15:51 15 Robotics TechnologiesThat…
Mediterranean neutrino observatory sets new limits on quantum gravity
Quantum gravity is the missing link between general relativity and quantum mechanics, the yet-to-be-discovered key to a unified theory capable of explaining both the infinitely large and the infinitely small. The solution to this puzzle might lie in the humble neutrino, an elementary particle with no electric charge and almost invisible, as it rarely interacts with matter, passing through everything on our planet without consequences.
For this very reason, neutrinos are difficult to detect. However, in rare cases, a neutrino can interact, for example, with water molecules at the bottom of the sea. The particles emitted in this interaction produce a “blue glow” known as Čerenkov radiation, detectable by instruments such as KM3NeT.
The KM3NeT (Kilometer Cube Neutrino Telescope) is a large underwater observatory designed to detect neutrinos through their interactions in water. It is divided into two detectors, one of which, ORCA (Oscillation Research with Cosmics in the Abyss), was used for this research. It is located off the coast of Toulon, France, at a depth of approximately 2,450 meters.
Oxygen discovered in most distant known galaxy
Two different teams of astronomers have detected oxygen in the most distant known galaxy, JADES-GS-z14-0. The discovery, reported in two separate studies, was made possible thanks to the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), in which the European Southern Observatory (ESO) is a partner. This record-breaking detection is making astronomers rethink how quickly galaxies formed in the early universe.
Discovered last year, JADES-GS-z14-0 is the most distant confirmed galaxy ever found: it is so far away, its light took 13.4 billion years to reach us, meaning we see it as it was when the universe was less than 300 million years old, about 2% of its present age.
The new oxygen detection with ALMA, a telescope array in Chile’s Atacama Desert, suggests the galaxy is much more chemically mature than expected.
What was the first thing scientists discovered? A historian makes the case for Babylonian astronomy
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Private Starlab space station moves into ‘full-scale development’ ahead of 2028 launch
“Our successful PDR is a testament to the expertise and dedication of our team,” Starlab CEO Tim Kopra said in the statement. “This milestone confirms that our space station design is technically sound and safe for astronaut crewed operations. Now, with our partners, we shift our focus to the full-scale development of the station, including the manufacturing of critical hardware and software integration.”
The 12,000-cubic-foot (340-cubic-meter) Starlab will be fitted with a robotic arm and a set of racks for microgravity experiments to enable companies and researchers to develop new products in space. Voyager also hopes to seal a contract with NASA to host the agency’s astronauts.
Nanomaterials used to measure first nuclear reaction on radioactive nuclei produced in neutron star collisions
Physicists have measured a nuclear reaction that can occur in neutron star collisions, providing direct experimental data for a process that had previously only been theorized. The study, led by the University of Surrey, provides new insight into how the universe’s heaviest elements are forged—and could even drive advancements in nuclear reactor physics.
Working in collaboration with the University of York, the University of Seville, and TRIUMF, Canada’s national particle accelerator center, the breakthrough marks the first-ever measurement of a weak r-process reaction cross-section using a radioactive ion beam, in this case studying the 94 Sr(α, n)97 Zr reaction. This is where a radioactive form of strontium (strontium-94) absorbs an alpha particle (a helium nucleus), then emits a neutron and transforms into zirconium-97.
The study has been published in Physical Review Letters.
From order to chaos: Understanding the principles behind collective motion in bacteria
The collective motion of bacteria—from stable swirling patterns to chaotic turbulent flows—has intrigued scientists for decades. When a bacterial swarm is confined in small circular space, stable rotating vortices are formed. However, as the radius of this confined space increases, the organized swirling pattern breaks down into a turbulent state.
This transition from ordered to chaotic flow has remained a long-standing mystery. It represents a fundamental question not only in the study of bacterial behavior but also in classical fluid dynamics, where understanding the emergence of turbulence is crucial for both controlling and utilizing complex flows.
In a recent study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on March 14, 2025, a research team led by Associate Professor Daiki Nishiguchi from the Institute of Science Tokyo, Japan, has revealed in detail how bacterial swarms transition from organized movement to chaotic flow. Combining large-scale experiments, computer modeling, and mathematical analysis, the team observed and explained previously unknown intermediate states that emerge between order and turbulence.
NASA’s Next Mission Could Finally Solve the Mystery of Our Solar System’s Edge
The heliosphere, a cosmic bubble formed by the Sun, protects our solar system from interstellar threats and influences life’s evolution. Despite its vital role, its true shape remains a puzzle, with data from Voyager missions hinting at its complexities. Upcoming interstellar probes aim to uncover more about this mysterious region.
The Sun does more than just warm the Earth, making it habitable for people and animals. It also shapes a vast region of space. This region, known as the heliosphere, extends more than a hundred times the distance between the Sun and Earth, influencing everything within it.
As a star, the Sun constantly emits a flow of charged particles called the solar wind, a stream of energized plasma.