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Bennu Asteroid Sample Reveals Organic Compounds That May Hint at Life Beyond Earth
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission has delivered a sample from asteroid Bennu, revealing amino acids, nucleobases, ammonia, and minerals formed in saltwater. These organic compounds, vital to life, suggest that the building blocks for life might have existed in other regions of the early solar system. The discovery of evaporite minerals, including halite ...
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New Supercomputer Set to Propel Electric Spacecraft Technology Forward
Electric propulsion technology, powered by ion engines, is gaining traction for its efficiency in space travel. However, challenges such as back-scattered electrons from the ion plume threaten spacecraft components like solar arrays and antennas. Recent research by scientists from the University of Virginia and the University of Southern California...
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Chorus Waves Found Far From Earth Raise Concerns for Space Exploration
Chorus waves, energetic electromagnetic bursts resembling bird chirps, have been detected 100,000 miles from Earth, far beyond their usual range. NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale satellites observed these waves in a flatter region of Earth's magnetosphere, contradicting prior assumptions about their formation near strong magnetic gradients. The wav...
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SpaceX Achieves 400 Orbital Rocket Landings with Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy
SpaceX achieved its 400th orbital-class rocket landing with Falcon 9 leading the charge. The company’s focus on reusable technology has reshaped space exploration, with Falcon Heavy contributing through multi-booster landings. Starship development also continues, aiming to support human missions to the moon and Mars. This milestone underlines Spa...
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Study Finds Coronal Loop Flickers Could Predict Solar Flares Hours in Advance
NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory has revealed a potential breakthrough in predicting solar flares. Scientists observed brightness fluctuations in coronal loops—plasma structures in the Sun's atmosphere—that intensify hours before solar flares occur. This discovery, with a prediction accuracy of 60–80%, may provide 2–6 hours of advance warn...
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ESA Uses Solar Orbiter to Turn Solar Flares into Sound, Offering New Insights
The European Space Agency (ESA), in collaboration with NASA, has used data from the Solar Orbiter mission to convert solar flares into audible sound. By mapping solar flare data into blue circles and pairing them with tones, a new way to experience solar activity has been created. This process is linked to the sun’s 11-year solar cycle, with curr...
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Flexible, Radiation-Resistant Organic Solar Cells Ideal for Space Exploration, New Study Finds
Organic solar cells are gaining attention for their potential in space missions, offering lightweight and flexible alternatives to traditional silicon and gallium arsenide cells. A study published in Joule found that small molecule-based cells resisted radiation for up to three years, though polymer-based cells experienced efficiency drops, potenti...
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NASA's LEXI Mission Will Explore Earth’s Magnetic Shield from the Moon
NASA is preparing for the launch of the Lunar Environment Heliospheric X-ray Imager (LEXI) aboard Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lander, scheduled for January 15. The mission will observe Earth’s magnetosphere, capturing X-ray images that reveal how the planet's magnetic shield reacts to solar wind. This project could improve predictions of geoma...
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Solar Missions in 2025: Heliophysics Projects and Spacecrafts That Will Study the Sun
The study of the sun, its activity, and effects across the solar system will advance in 2025. With Solar Cycle 25 peaking, six NASA missions planned, and new research priorities outlined, scientists are poised to address long-standing questions about solar dynamics and their impacts. Missions such as IMAP, ESCAPADE, and PUNCH will investigate solar...
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NASA Confirms Successful Flyby of Parker Solar Probe, Completes Closest Sun Approach
NASA's Parker Solar Probe has set an unprecedented milestone, coming 3.8 million miles from the Sun at a speed of 430,000 mph. Launched in 2018, the spacecraft has utilised Venus flybys to perfect its orbit, enabling this historic feat. With advanced technology, it endures extreme temperatures, gathering critical data about solar wind and particle ...
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Space Missions of 2025: Lunar Landings, Asteroid Sampling, and More
Space exploration in 2025 will see remarkable missions from global agencies like NASA, ESA, China, and Japan. Key initiatives include lunar landings through NASA’s CLPS and Japan’s M2/Resilience, which will test new technologies and study lunar resources. China’s Tianwen-2 mission aims to collect asteroid samples and explore a comet, advancin...
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Parker Solar Probe's Closest Sun Flyby Sets Records, Signal Expected Soon
The Parker Solar Probe achieved the closest-ever sun flyby on Christmas Eve, reaching within 3.8 million miles of the solar surface and travelling at 430,000 miles per hour. Scientists are now waiting for a signal expected on December 27 to confirm the spacecraft’s health. Detailed telemetry and collected data are anticipated by January 1, with o...
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NASA's Parker Solar Probe Makes Closest Ever Pass By The Sun
NASA's pioneering Parker Solar Probe made history Tuesday, flying closer to the Sun than any other spacecraft with its heat shield exposed to scorching temperatures of more than 1,700 degrees Fahrenheit (930 degrees Celsius).
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What Time Is NASA's Parker Solar Probe Closest Sun Flyby on Christmas Eve?
On Dec. 24 at 6:53 a.m. EST, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe will achieve its closest flyby of the Sun at 3.8 million miles. The mission, part of a seven-year study, aims to uncover the mysteries of the Sun’s corona and solar wind. Travelling at 430,000 mph, the spacecraft is protected by a heat shield designed to withstand extreme temperatures. Upda...
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NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Achieves Closest Sun Flyby Ever on December 24
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe will make its closest-ever flyby of the sun on December 24, 2024, passing within 3.8 million miles of the solar surface at a speed of 430,000 mph. This marks the 22nd close encounter of the spacecraft’s mission, which aims to provide unprecedented insights into the sun’s corona and other solar phenomena. Despite extr...
-
Bennu Asteroid Sample Reveals Organic Compounds That May Hint at Life Beyond Earth
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission has delivered a sample from asteroid Bennu, revealing amino acids, nucleobases, ammonia, and minerals formed in saltwater. These organic compounds, vital to life, suggest that the building blocks for life might have existed in other regions of the early solar system. The discovery of evaporite minerals, including halite ...
-
New Supercomputer Set to Propel Electric Spacecraft Technology Forward
Electric propulsion technology, powered by ion engines, is gaining traction for its efficiency in space travel. However, challenges such as back-scattered electrons from the ion plume threaten spacecraft components like solar arrays and antennas. Recent research by scientists from the University of Virginia and the University of Southern California...
-
Chorus Waves Found Far From Earth Raise Concerns for Space Exploration
Chorus waves, energetic electromagnetic bursts resembling bird chirps, have been detected 100,000 miles from Earth, far beyond their usual range. NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale satellites observed these waves in a flatter region of Earth's magnetosphere, contradicting prior assumptions about their formation near strong magnetic gradients. The wav...
-
SpaceX Achieves 400 Orbital Rocket Landings with Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy
SpaceX achieved its 400th orbital-class rocket landing with Falcon 9 leading the charge. The company’s focus on reusable technology has reshaped space exploration, with Falcon Heavy contributing through multi-booster landings. Starship development also continues, aiming to support human missions to the moon and Mars. This milestone underlines Spa...
-
Study Finds Coronal Loop Flickers Could Predict Solar Flares Hours in Advance
NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory has revealed a potential breakthrough in predicting solar flares. Scientists observed brightness fluctuations in coronal loops—plasma structures in the Sun's atmosphere—that intensify hours before solar flares occur. This discovery, with a prediction accuracy of 60–80%, may provide 2–6 hours of advance warn...
-
ESA Uses Solar Orbiter to Turn Solar Flares into Sound, Offering New Insights
The European Space Agency (ESA), in collaboration with NASA, has used data from the Solar Orbiter mission to convert solar flares into audible sound. By mapping solar flare data into blue circles and pairing them with tones, a new way to experience solar activity has been created. This process is linked to the sun’s 11-year solar cycle, with curr...
-
Flexible, Radiation-Resistant Organic Solar Cells Ideal for Space Exploration, New Study Finds
Organic solar cells are gaining attention for their potential in space missions, offering lightweight and flexible alternatives to traditional silicon and gallium arsenide cells. A study published in Joule found that small molecule-based cells resisted radiation for up to three years, though polymer-based cells experienced efficiency drops, potenti...
-
NASA's LEXI Mission Will Explore Earth’s Magnetic Shield from the Moon
NASA is preparing for the launch of the Lunar Environment Heliospheric X-ray Imager (LEXI) aboard Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lander, scheduled for January 15. The mission will observe Earth’s magnetosphere, capturing X-ray images that reveal how the planet's magnetic shield reacts to solar wind. This project could improve predictions of geoma...
-
Solar Missions in 2025: Heliophysics Projects and Spacecrafts That Will Study the Sun
The study of the sun, its activity, and effects across the solar system will advance in 2025. With Solar Cycle 25 peaking, six NASA missions planned, and new research priorities outlined, scientists are poised to address long-standing questions about solar dynamics and their impacts. Missions such as IMAP, ESCAPADE, and PUNCH will investigate solar...
-
NASA Confirms Successful Flyby of Parker Solar Probe, Completes Closest Sun Approach
NASA's Parker Solar Probe has set an unprecedented milestone, coming 3.8 million miles from the Sun at a speed of 430,000 mph. Launched in 2018, the spacecraft has utilised Venus flybys to perfect its orbit, enabling this historic feat. With advanced technology, it endures extreme temperatures, gathering critical data about solar wind and particle ...
-
Space Missions of 2025: Lunar Landings, Asteroid Sampling, and More
Space exploration in 2025 will see remarkable missions from global agencies like NASA, ESA, China, and Japan. Key initiatives include lunar landings through NASA’s CLPS and Japan’s M2/Resilience, which will test new technologies and study lunar resources. China’s Tianwen-2 mission aims to collect asteroid samples and explore a comet, advancin...
-
Parker Solar Probe's Closest Sun Flyby Sets Records, Signal Expected Soon
The Parker Solar Probe achieved the closest-ever sun flyby on Christmas Eve, reaching within 3.8 million miles of the solar surface and travelling at 430,000 miles per hour. Scientists are now waiting for a signal expected on December 27 to confirm the spacecraft’s health. Detailed telemetry and collected data are anticipated by January 1, with o...
-
NASA's Parker Solar Probe Makes Closest Ever Pass By The Sun
NASA's pioneering Parker Solar Probe made history Tuesday, flying closer to the Sun than any other spacecraft with its heat shield exposed to scorching temperatures of more than 1,700 degrees Fahrenheit (930 degrees Celsius).
-
What Time Is NASA's Parker Solar Probe Closest Sun Flyby on Christmas Eve?
On Dec. 24 at 6:53 a.m. EST, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe will achieve its closest flyby of the Sun at 3.8 million miles. The mission, part of a seven-year study, aims to uncover the mysteries of the Sun’s corona and solar wind. Travelling at 430,000 mph, the spacecraft is protected by a heat shield designed to withstand extreme temperatures. Upda...
-
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Achieves Closest Sun Flyby Ever on December 24
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe will make its closest-ever flyby of the sun on December 24, 2024, passing within 3.8 million miles of the solar surface at a speed of 430,000 mph. This marks the 22nd close encounter of the spacecraft’s mission, which aims to provide unprecedented insights into the sun’s corona and other solar phenomena. Despite extr...
