Astronomers finally confirm general relativity around a supermassive black hole
For the first time, astronomers have confirmed Einstein’s century-old theory of general relativity in action near a black hole. An international team of professional sky-gazers and observed gravitational redshift around a supermassive black hole.
Winners of NASA’s habitat competition offer a glimpse of Martian living
To get a better understanding of what habitats might look like on Mars, NASA partnered with Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois for its 3D-Printed Habitat Centennial Challenge competition. The agency recently announced the five winners of the latest phase.
TESS, NASA’s planet-hunting space satellite, begins science operations
NASA's exoplanet-hunting satellite TESS is fully operational and has begun scanning the skies for distant planets known as exoplanets, NASA reported on Friday -- and maybe, just maybe, spying signs of life outside of our galaxy. The space agency launched its TESS satellite on April 16.
Mars is as near to Earth as it’s been in 15 years, so Hubble took some photos
For the past 28 years, the Hubble Space Telescope has captured some of the most iconic images of outer space. Now, as Mars and Saturn have swung by the Earth in recent months, the legendary telescope has snapped a handful of beautiful images to add to an already impressive collection.
Watch Virgin Galactic’s tourist spacecraft reach its highest altitude to date
Virgin Galactic has just nailed another test flight of its supersonic tourist spacecraft. VSS Unity was released by its carrier aircraft at 46,500 feet before the pilots fired up the spaceship’s rocket motor that took it to an altitude of 32 miles (50 km) — its highest to date.
Blue Origin reaches a big milestone, lands rocket booster and crew capsule
Blue Origin is inching ever closer to sending folks into space, and with tickets slated to cost around $250,000, it's safe to say that folks are getting antsy for their opportunity to blast off. Jeff Bezos' space endeavor completed its most important test - a live separation of its crew capsule from its rocket booster
Moving around in zero gravity is hard. MIT’s solution? Spider-Man’s web shooter
Researchers from MIT have been researching optimal ways for astronauts to more easily move around in microgravity conditions. One of their suggestions? That astronauts use Spider-Man-style web shooters to pull themselves from location to location. Check out the device they created.
Blue Origin eyes a date for the sale of tourist spaceflight tickets
Blue Origin is moving toward the day when it'll begin taking paying customers to the edge of space. With successful testing of its Blue Shepard reusable rocket continuing, a company executive has revealed that it plans to start taking bookings for the experience next year. The price, however, is yet to be set.
Airbus to build Mars rover to get first soil samples back to Earth
Getting soil samples from Mars back to Earth would give scientists a big chance to learn a lot more about the red planet. NASA and its European counterpart, ESA, recently announced the intention to embark on such a project, and this week asked Airbus to build a "fetch" rover to help retrieve the samples.
MIT’s zero-gravity musical instrument provides a soundtrack for space travel
What will provide the soundtrack to our future space exploration? Quite possibly MIT Media Labs' Telemetron, the first electronic musical instrument to be designed specifically to be performed in zero-gravity environments. Check it out in all its oddball futuristic glory.
Virgin Galactic wants to launch space tourism flights from an Italian spaceport
Virgin Galactic has inked a deal with two of Italy's largest aerospace firms to build a spaceport there. It'll act as a launch site for suborbital space tourism flights that Virgin Galactic wants to begin in the next 12 months. Initial flights, however, will likely launch from its spaceport in New Mexico.
Oxford researchers think we’re probably alone in the universe — here’s why
You don't have to be an X-Files fan to have wondered whether or not humankind is alone in the universe? While the universe is a big place, a new paper published by researchers at Oxford University suggests that there's a good chance that we are indeed. So much for meeting E.T.!
NASA (again) delays launch of the world’s most powerful telescope
NASA has once again delayed the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope -- the largest and most expensive space telescope in history. The new target launch is March 2021, and the cost of the project has ballooned to $9.6 billion.
Astronomers make huge exoplanet discovery haul in record time
In a paper published online this week in The Astronomical Journal, an international group of scientists reported that dozens of planetary candidates have been identified by measuring light fluctuations using K2, the mission that followed up NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope.
‘Zero gravity’ champagne bottle lets you celebrate in outer space
What kind of champagne do astronauts pop on special occasions? No, it's not the setup for a joke, but the question answered by respected French champagne maker Mumm International with its new champagne, which is designed to be consumed in zero gravity. Coming soon to a space station near you.
Watch Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic test its tourist spaceplane
Virgin Galactic believes it can launch a commercial "space tourism" service for suborbital trips within the next 12 months. On Tuesday it took another step toward its goal with the second successful rocket-powered test flight of VSS Unity, the spaceplane that will carry the crew and passengers.
Prime delivery, straight from the moon? Bezos dreams of heavy industry in space
Amazon and Blue Origin boss Jeff Bezos still wants to go to the moon, but not to simply marvel at the spectacular view. Speaking at an event in Los Angeles, the billionaire said he wants to focus on how to shift heavy industry there from Earth, a move that he said would "make this planet better."
Virgin Galactic ‘neck and neck’ with Blue Origin in space tourism race
Virgin boss Richard Branson says Virgin Galactic's first commercial space tourism flight is "months away, not years away," and he plans to be one of the six passengers on board. The company recently completed a successful test of its new Unity spaceplane that will take tourists to the edge of space — for $250K each.
SpaceX nails another launch, but fails to catch the fairing
Less than two weeks have passed since SpaceX's last rocket launch, but today the company will attempt to break free from the shackles of gravity and reach orbit once again, launching yet another Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
Stellina smart telescope on sale exclusively through Museum of Modern Art
With app connectivity, Stellina makes collecting gorgeous images of the night sky easier than ever before. This new-age telescope makes collecting gorgeous images of the stars easier than ever before. Introduced at CES 2018, the Stellina is now on sale exclusively at The Museum of Modern Art.
International relations are tense in orbit. Is creating a ‘Space Force’ a good idea?
The next generation of military space-bots are already in orbit as Russia, the US, and China each struggle for dominance in space.
Blue Origin sends New Shepard space capsule to its highest altitude yet
Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin space company launched its sub-orbital New Shepard rocket from its spaceport in the west Texas desert on Sunday, April 29, with the ascent taking the capsule to 351,000 feet (66 miles, or 107 kilometers) above the surface of Earth — several miles higher than previous launches.
A.I. outperforms astronomers, predicts whether exoplanets will survive
At its core, the search for exoplanets is the search for habitable exoplanets and AI may now help make that hunt easier. Using machine learning algorithms, the researchers were able to calculate how well exoplanets could survive in stable orbits, outperforming scientists who made a career out of stuff like this.
Blue Origin is working on the BE-4, a rocket engine that can launch 100 missions
Look out, SpaceX. You may not be the belle of the ball in the industry forever. This week, Blue Origin, the rocket company founded by Jeff Bezos, announced that its new rocket engine would have the capacity to launch "100 full missions," as per CEO Bob Smith. The BE-4 could begin launching quite soon.
Engineers want to 3D print stuff in space using recycled astronaut poop
Canadian researchers have developed a way to use astronaut poop as an ingredient for 3D printing in the stars.
A luxury space hotel is now taking reservations — if you’ve got $10 million
Even if you don't have the "right stuff," you could still be an astronaut one day. Aurora Station, a space hotel planned for launch in four years, is now taking reservations for a 12-night stay.
Virgin Galactic completes its first powered flight — what’s next?
It wasn't long ago that we were celebrating Virgin Galactic's return after a two-year hiatus. Now, the company has a powered test flight.
Antarctic scientists are growing veggies without dirt, sunlight, or pesticides
Scientists in Antarctica have successfully grown the first crop of veg without the help of earth, daylight or pesticides.
A.I. spots thousands of unidentified craters on the moon
Thousands of previously unknown craters have been spotted on the moon thanks to an artificial intelligence program designed by researchers at the University of Toronto.
Prolonged time in space literally changes the structure of astronauts’ eyes
Optometrists have analyzed the pre- and post-flight data from astronauts. Their conclusion? That space changes the structure of their eyes.
NASA releases first images of Jupiter’s bizarre geometric storms
Bizarre geometric storms measuring several thousands miles across, surround a massive cyclone on each of Jupiter's poles.
With 200,000 laser dots, this glass orb puts the Milky Way on your desk
Freshly arrived on Kickstarter, this awesome glass desk ornament compresses the entire Milky Way into an 8-cm sphere.
Hello, moon! The lunar surface is set to have 4G network in 2019
At long last, astronauts on the moon may have access to their very own 4G network thanks to a partnerships between a few tech giants and a team of “part-time” scientists.
A ‘flying brain’ is going to help out on the space station this summer
CIMON the "flying brain" is heading to the International Space Station this summer to show off its A.I. smarts and assist crew members with a range of tasks.