https://phys.org/space-news/space-exploration en-us Space exploration news and updates. Space missions and science news. Planet exploration and more. Elon Musk's SpaceX on Wednesday announced it was eyeing March 14 as the earliest date for the next test launch of its giant Starship rocket, with which it hopes to one day colonize Mars. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-spacex-eyes-starship.html Space Exploration Wed, 06 Mar 2024 16:38:05 EST news628965479 It's not hard to find out what NASA's Hubble and James Webb space telescopes have observed in the past. Barely a week goes by without news of a cosmic discovery made possible using images, spectra, and other data captured by NASA's prolific astronomical observatories. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-hubble-webb-nasa-tool.html Astronomy Space Exploration Wed, 06 Mar 2024 16:34:16 EST news628965253 The Orion spacecraft that traveled around the moon and back during 2022's Artemis I mission completed a different round trip when it recently returned to Ohio for testing. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-earth-nasa-orion-capsule-crewed.html Space Exploration Wed, 06 Mar 2024 15:30:02 EST news628961402 Ultrasound devices are commonplace in modern orbital medical kits, helping to facilitate rapid diagnoses of astronaut ailments or bodily changes. However it takes real-time guidance from experts on the ground to acquire medically useful ultrasound images. Once astronauts travel to the moon or further into the solar system such guidance will no longer be practical due to the time delay involved. A new ESA-led project aims to leverage AI and Machine Learning so that astronauts can perform close to expert quality ultrasound exams by themselves. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-ai-expert-astronaut-ultrasound.html Space Exploration Wed, 06 Mar 2024 12:42:01 EST news628951315 The Kepler mission enabled the discovery of thousands of exoplanets, revealing a deep truth about our place in the cosmos: There are more planets than stars in the Milky Way galaxy. The road to this fundamental change in our understanding of the universe, however, required almost 20 years of persistence before the mission became a reality with its selection in 2001. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-planets-stars-kepler-legacy.html Space Exploration Planetary Sciences Wed, 06 Mar 2024 12:39:10 EST news628951139 An increasing number of space objects, debris, and satellites in Low Earth Orbit poses a significant threat of collisions during space operations. The situation is currently monitored by radar and radio-telescopes that track space objects, but much of space debris is composed of very small metallic objects that are difficult to detect. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-potential-benefits-aibased-hard-space.html Space Exploration Wed, 06 Mar 2024 07:23:00 EST news628932176 The moon lander Odysseus, known as Odie, touched down on the moon's surface on February 22, becoming the first time the U.S. has landed on the moon in more than 50 years and the first commercial moon lander to successfully land on the moon. Along with its science payload, the spacecraft also brought along a fusion of art and space exploration, SETI Institute's Artist in Residence (SETI AIR), Felipe Pérez Santiago's Earthling Project, a collection of global musical compositions representing Earth's cultural diversity and harmony. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-moon-lander-odysseus-home-artistic.html Space Exploration Tue, 05 Mar 2024 16:13:03 EST news628877581 After two years of rigorous training, ten Americans officially became astronauts on Tuesday, and are now eligible for planned NASA missions to the International Space Station, the moon, and—if all goes well—to Mars. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-nasa-astronauts-eying-moon-mars.html Space Exploration Tue, 05 Mar 2024 15:41:24 EST news628875679 Three US astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut arrived Tuesday at the International Space Station for a six-month mission on board the orbiting laboratory. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-astronauts-international-space-station-swap.html Space Exploration Tue, 05 Mar 2024 13:20:19 EST news628867213 Space weather experts at the University of Surrey are urging regulators and space tourism innovators to work together to protect their passengers and crews from the risks of space weather radiation exposure. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-space-tourists-cosmic-exposure-experts.html Space Exploration Tue, 05 Mar 2024 12:12:02 EST news628863121 Before the end of this decade, NASA plans to return astronauts to the moon for the first time since the Apollo Era. But this time, through the Artemis Program, it won't be a "footprints and flags" affair. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-lunar-missions-moondust.html Space Exploration Planetary Sciences Mon, 04 Mar 2024 14:42:04 EST news628785722 The Apollo Program delivered 12 American astronauts to the surface of the moon. But that program ended in 1972, and since then, no human beings have visited. But Artemis will change that. And instead of just visiting the moon, Artemis' aim is to establish a longer-term presence on the moon. That requires more complexity than Apollo did. Astronauts will need to transfer between vehicles. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-nasa-starship-docking.html Space Exploration Mon, 04 Mar 2024 14:30:03 EST news628785002 Correcting 50-year-old errors in the math used to understand how electromagnetic waves scatter electrons trapped in Earth's magnetic fields will lead to better protection for technology in space. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-space-physics-satellite-safety.html Space Exploration Planetary Sciences Mon, 04 Mar 2024 13:36:01 EST news628781759 Four astronauts headed to the International Space Station on Sunday where they will oversee the arrivals of two new rocketships during their half-year stint. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-astronauts-international-space-station-month.html Space Exploration Mon, 04 Mar 2024 03:55:42 EST news628746932 Japan's moon lander has been put back to sleep after it surprisingly survived the freezing, two-week lunar night, the country's space agency said, with another operation attempt scheduled for later this month. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-japan-moon-lander-surviving-lunar.html Space Exploration Sat, 02 Mar 2024 08:56:39 EST news628592193 Where will you be watching the April 8 total solar eclipse? There are just a few weeks left to pick your spot to see the skies darken along a strip of North America, whether by land, sea or air. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-april-total-solar-eclipse.html Space Exploration Sat, 02 Mar 2024 08:48:46 EST news628591717 After 16 years studying Earth's highest clouds for the benefit of humanity—polar mesospheric clouds—from its orbit some 350 miles above the ground, NASA's Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere, or AIM, mission has come to an end. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-night-cloud-mission-yields-high.html Space Exploration Planetary Sciences Fri, 01 Mar 2024 12:18:25 EST news628517897 On October 19th, 2017, astronomers with the Pann-STARRS survey observed an interstellar object passing through our system—1I/2017 U1 'Oumuamua. This was the first time an ISO was detected, confirming that such objects pass through the solar system regularly, as astronomers predicted decades prior. Just two years later, a second object was detected, the interstellar comet 2I/Borisov. Given 'Oumuamua's unusual nature (still a source of controversy) and the information ISOs could reveal about distant star systems, astronomers are keen to get a closer look at future visitors. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-oumuamua-ready-interstellar-explorer.html Space Exploration Fri, 01 Mar 2024 11:38:05 EST news628515481 When shifting from the microgravity of a spacecraft to the gravity-rich environment of the moon or Mars, astronauts experience deficits in perceptual and motor functions. The vestibular system in the inner ear, which detects the position and movement of the head, must adjust to reinterpret new gravity cues. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-augmented-reality-astronaut-adjustment-gravity.html Space Exploration Fri, 01 Mar 2024 11:17:03 EST news628514221 An infrared view of a laser-based test campaign—taking place at Redwire Space in Kruibeke, Belgium—which represents crucial preparation for ESA's precision formation flying mission, Proba-3. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-proba-laser-precise-positioning.html Space Exploration Fri, 01 Mar 2024 10:44:38 EST news628512275 The first U.S. spacecraft to land on the moon since the Apollo astronauts fell silent Thursday, a week after breaking a leg at touchdown and tipping over near the lunar south pole. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-moon-lander-century-week-touchdown.html Space Exploration Fri, 01 Mar 2024 04:28:17 EST news628489692 Their mission around the moon is not expected until September 2025 at the earliest, but the four astronauts on NASA's Artemis II mission are already preparing for their splashdown return. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-moon-nasa-artemis-ii-crew.html Space Exploration Thu, 29 Feb 2024 16:02:34 EST news628444949 Bad weather conditions on the launch corridor for a human spaceflight from Kennedy Space Center have prompted a two-day delay, so SpaceX took the opportunity to roll out and try and shoehorn a launch without humans from nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Thursday. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-spacex-delays-crew-lines-starlink.html Space Exploration Thu, 29 Feb 2024 15:09:54 EST news628441792 In a corner room of the Aerospace Engineering Sciences Building at CU Boulder, Torin Clark is about to go for a ride. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-space-motion-sickness.html Space Exploration Thu, 29 Feb 2024 12:01:58 EST news628430514 An increasing number of seismologists are using fiber optic cables to detect seismic waves on Earth—but how would this technology fare on the moon, and what would it tell us about the deep layers of our nearest neighbor in space? https://phys.org/news/2024-02-fiber-optic-cable-scientists-probe.html Space Exploration Planetary Sciences Thu, 29 Feb 2024 10:03:27 EST news628423405 A Russian rocket on Thursday successfully put an Iranian satellite into orbit, a launch that underlined increasingly close cooperation between Moscow and Tehran. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-russian-rocket-successfully-iranian-satellite.html Space Exploration Thu, 29 Feb 2024 04:44:37 EST news628404273 The first private U.S. spacecraft to land on the moon broke a leg at touchdown before falling over, according to company officials who said Wednesday it was on the verge of losing power. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-private-moon-lander-leg-falling.html Space Exploration Thu, 29 Feb 2024 04:42:07 EST news628404122 Russian space officials on Wednesday acknowledged a continuing air leak from the Russian segment of the International Space Station, but said it poses no danger to its crew. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-russian-space-air-leak-international.html Space Exploration Thu, 29 Feb 2024 03:58:33 EST news628401505 In recent years, with the significant increase in space launch activities, the number of deorbited spacecraft has sharply risen, posing a serious impact on both active orbiting spacecraft and future space activities. Traditional rope net capture systems, serving as a technology for actively deorbiting spacecraft, hold vast potential in mitigating and clearing space debris. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-dynamics-fntsm-spacecraft-capture-pocket.html Space Exploration Wed, 28 Feb 2024 15:23:15 EST news628356191 Astrobotic Technology's latest space-related venture won't take it far from home. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-space-mission-astrobotic-eyes-expansion.html Space Exploration Wed, 28 Feb 2024 14:07:44 EST news628351660