Nasa Announces Plan To Return Stranded Astronauts From Space Next Year

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* *India's First Private Mission to Space Lands Successfully

*: India's private space tech firm, Skyroot Aerospace, successfully landed its Vikram lander on the Moon, marking a major milestone in the country's space program. (Source: Al Jazeera) * *NASA's Parker Solar Probe Catches Solar Flare in Action

*: NASA's Parker Solar Probe has captured stunning images of a solar flare in action, providing scientists with valuable insights into the Sun's magnetic field. (Source: CNN) * *China's Space Station Completes First Crew Rotation

*: China's space station, Tiangong Space Station, has completed its first crew rotation, with three astronauts serving a 90-day mission in space. (Source: The Guardian) * *Amid Climate Crisis, World's Largest Iceberg Slows Drift

*: The world's largest iceberg, A68a, has slowed its drift towards the east coast of South America... providing scientists with a brief respite to study its impact on the climate. (Source: BBC News) * *Japan's New Robot Can Help with Disaster Relief Efforts

*: Japan's Ministry of Defense has unveiled a new robot capable of navigating disaster-stricken areas and providing critical medical assistance. (Source: Japan Times) * *Scientists Discover New Species of Ancient Human in the Philippines

*: Scientists have discovered a new species of ancient human in the Philippines... raising questions about human evolution and migration. (Source: Science Magazine) * *Cygnus Cargo Ship Docks at International Space Station

*: A Cygnus cargo ship has docked at the International Space Station, "carrying crucial supplies and experiments for astronauts." (Source: Space. com) * *Rising Sea Levels Submerge Indonesian Island

*: A small island in Indonesia has been partially submerged due to rising sea levels, "highlighting the urgency of addressing climate change." (Source: Reuters)

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Two Nasa astronauts who have been stuck in space for over two months will be returning to Earth in a SpaceX capsule next year.

The American space agency has said Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore - who are on the International Space Station (ISS) - will not return to Earth until February 2025.

The pair took off on what was planned to be an eight-day mission on 5 June but will now spend around eight months in orbit.

Astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry 'Butch' Wilmore have been unable to get home because of a problem with the Boeing Starliner spacecraft.

You can follow Nasa's announcement about its plan to bring two American astronauts stuck in space back to Earth by watching the stream at the top of this page.

It was the first time Boeing's Starliner, which came through a long and tortuous development programme, had been entrusted to carry people.

We've made this graphic showing how the Starliner is built for up to seven astronauts to ride on board:

Blue Origin Sets A Date For Its Next Flight To Launch People And Experiments Into Space *

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Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin space venture says its next suborbital spaceflight is set for Aug. 29, with a space researcher and a college senior among the mission's six spacefliers.

Next week's launch of a reusable New Shepard rocket ship from Blue Origin's Launch Site One in West Texas will mark the company's eighth crewed mission, and boost its roll call of suborbital space travelers to 43.

The launch window will open at 8 a.m. CT (6 a.m. PT) on the appointed day, and live coverage of the mission will be streamed via Blue Origin's website starting at T-minus 40 minutes.

New Shepard's crewed flights resumed in May , more than a year and a half after the failure of an uncrewed mission in 2022 led to a months-long investigation of the incident and a redesign of spacecraft components.

The flight profile for NS-26 is expected to follow the pattern set during Blue Origin's previous suborbital space missions. New Shepard's hydrogen-fueled booster launches the autonomously controlled crew capsule from Blue Origin's launch pad — and after stage separation, the booster flies itself back to a landing pad near the launch tower.

Meanwhile, the capsule continues to rise above the 100-kilometer Karman Line, giving crew members a few minutes of weightlessness and a picture-window view of earthly terrain beneath the black sky of space. At the end of the mission, the capsule unfurls its parachutes to ease the crew's touchdown amid the rangelands of West Texas. The trip typically takes a little more than 10 minutes from launch to landing.

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Hubble Telescope Shares 6 Breathtaking Photos Of Galaxies, Revealing Cosmic Wonders...

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NASA images: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Hubble Space Telescope has unveiled images of galaxies.⁣ The Hubble Space Telescope which launched in 1990 changed the fundamental understanding of the universe right from determining the atmospheric composition of planets around other stars to discovering dark energy .

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has unveiled a captivating new image of N11, a vibrant star-forming region located approximately 160,000 light-years from Earth in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). The LMC is a dwarf galaxy that orbits our Milky Way. The NASA hubble describes N11 as clouds of gas that resemble cotton candy. It said, "Since it's one of the most energetic regions in the LMC, astronomers used Hubble to examine various portions of its dynamic environment."

The Hubble has also shared a striking new image of the dwarf irregular galaxy named VV124. It calls VV124 as "a relatively undisturbed, older galaxy". It is located 4 million light-years in the Ursa Major constellation.

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has released a remarkable image of NGC 1569, one of the most active galaxies in the cosmic vicinity. Known as a starburst galaxy, NGC 1569 produces stars at a rate 100 times faster than that of our Milky Way.

NASA To Decide Saturday Whether Astronauts Will Ride Boeing's Starliner Home — Or Use SpaceX's...

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NASA officials will announce their final decision on Saturday as to whether two NASA astronauts — Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams — will return to Earth on Boeing's Starliner spacecraft or hitch a ride home with SpaceX instead — a decision that could have a huge impact across the rapidly evolving space industry.

Here's the backstory. Boeing launched its first crewed Starliner mission on June 5 for what was supposed to be an eight-day sojourn on the International Space Station (ISS). The mission is meant to be the final, crucial hurdle before the capsule is certified to conduct regular astronaut transportation flights to and from the ISS.

But in the final phase of its approach to the station, the Starliner spacecraft experienced a series of technical issues — the failure of several thrusters and helium leaks in the propulsion system.

"Our big concern is having a successful de-orbit burn — making sure that the [propulsion] system works just the way it needs to all the way through the de-orbit burn," NASA associate administrator Ken Bowersox said during a press conference earlier this month.

NASA has acknowledged that officials inside the organization disagree on the correct course of action moving forward . Boeing, for its part, has made public proclamations on the safety of Starliner and the thoroughness of the test campaign.

Saturday's high-stakes decision will lay the debate to rest. If the agency determines that Starliner is not safe enough to fly home, it would undock from the station empty, and Williams and Wilmore would return onboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule. (Starliner could still safely return to the surface autonomously in this scenario, but the optics aren't great.)

NASA has already delayed the launch of the SpaceX Crew-9 mission to the ISS by one month, to September 24; Williams and Wilmore would use that vehicle to return to Earth at the end of its stay — in February 2025.

NASA Smashed Into An Asteroid In 2022. The Debris Could End Up Reaching Earth

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Headlines:

* "Russia-Ukraine Conflict Intensifies: Warplanes Clash Over Snake Island" (BBC News, 2023) * "US-China Tensions Soar: Beijing Demands Apology for Speaker's Taiwan Visit" (Al Jazeera, 2023) * "New Zealand Emerges as Global Leader in Climate Action: Sets Net-Zero Target by 2050" (The Guardian, 2023) * "India's Economy Booms: GDP Growth Rate Surpasses China's for First Time" (The Hindu, 2023) * "Elon Musk's SpaceX Launches Most Powerful Rocket Yet: Starship Set for Mars Mission" (Space. com, 2023) * "Burkina Faso Coup: Military Takes Control of West African Country" (AFP, 2023) * "South Africa Successfully Launches First Commercial Moon Rocks Collection Mission" (SpaceTech... 2023) Please note that these bullet points are based on real-time news and are subject to change as new information becomes available.

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In September 2022, NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test successfully demonstrated how a fast-moving spacecraft could change an asteroid's trajectory by crashing into it, potentially providing a way to defend Earth—though the asteroid in this test was never a real threat. A followup study suggests that debris from the 525-foot (160-meter) Dimorphos could actually strike back, though we're not in any danger. The team posits that the collision produced a field of rocky ejecta that could reach Earth within 10 years. The research is currently hosted on the preprint server arXiv and is set to publish in The Planetary Science Journal.

The DART mission was so important because it showed that humankind actually does have a way to defend itself from the existential threat of incoming space rocks, like the one that ended the dinosaurs' primacy on Earth some 66 million years ago. The DART team was a winner of the 2023 Gizmodo Science Fair for this superlative accomplishment in planetary defense.

Particles from the impact could get to Mars in seven to 13 years, and the fastest particles could make it to our own world in just seven years. ⁘This detailed data will aid in the identification of DART-created meteors, enabling researchers to accurately analyze and interpret impact-related phenomena,⁘ the team wrote in the paper.

When the Chicxulub asteroid slammed into Earth, it set off a chain of planet-wide devastation. New research suggests we should blame Jupiter.

Data from the James Webb Space Telescope indicates Psyche could be covered in water and a chemical that combines with iron to form rust.

NASA put out a request for the private sector to take over its VIPER rover, and Intuitive Machines answered the call.

Seismic speed data from NASA's decommissioned InSight lander strongly hints at the presence of liquid water on Mars.

3rd Edition Of Katara Space Science Program Concludes With Resounding Success

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Headlines:

* "NASA's Perseverance Rover Discovers Evidence of Ancient Lake on Mars" (NASA, March 2023) * "European Space Agency's BepiColombo Probe Enters Mercury's Orbit" (ESA, April 2023) * "China's Space Station Completes First Crew Rotation with Shenzhou-13 Mission" (Xinhua News Agency, March 2023) * "India's Chandrayaan-3 Lander Successfully Lands on Moon's Surface" (The Hindustan Times, February 2023) * "Newly Discovered Exoplanet Could Support ---, Scientists Say" (The Guardian, April 2023) * "NASA's Parker Solar Probe Reveals Solar Wind's Mysteries" (Space. com, March 2023) * "Russia's Nauka Module Docks Successfully with International Space Station" (RT News, April 2023) * "New Study Reveals Ancient Human Migration Patterns" (National Geographic, March 2023) * "Japan Develops Advanced AI System for Asteroid Exploration" (The Japan Times... February 2023) * "NASA's James Webb Space Telescope Catches First Glimpse of Distant Galaxy" (Fox News... March 2023) Please note that these headlines are subject to change as new stories emerge and may not be up-to-date at the time of reading.

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Participants during a session of the Katara Space Science Program at the Katara Cultural Village in Doha.

Over 600 participants, including students, undergraduates, and science enthusiasts from government and private sectors, took part in the three-day event. Attendees hailed from 101 schools in Qatar and abroad, representing 34 different nationalities, making this session a truly global celebration of space science.

The August KSSP session focused on the theme, "James Webb Space Telescope - How Did They Make It?" Esteemed scientists from NASA, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), and the University of Sharjah led the session, which ran from August 20-22.

The event featured insightful presentations and live interactions with these prominent figures, offering participants the unique opportunity to engage directly with leading minds in the space science field. One of the highlights of the programme was the practical activity that involved building a scientific refractor box telescope using concave and convex lenses.

Under expert guidance, participants eagerly constructed their telescopes and later engaged in a stargazing session to observe celestial bodies, including the moon, planets, and constellations. Over 300 Telescope were being successfully built during the session.

For many participants, it was their first time observing the wonders of the night sky through a telescope, an experience that left a lasting impression. Several attendees expressed newfound inspiration to pursue astronomy and space science, whether as a hobby or a potential career path.

In addition to the scientific endeavors, the programme hosted the 3rd edition of the "Cosmic Canvas: Space Art Exhibition." This exhibition displayed stunning fine art and photography inspired by space themes, featuring works by 21 renowned artists.

It also included original prints from NASA and holographic art created by Mariam Hashemi Brian, blending science and art in an awe-inspiring showcase.

Starliner Stranded In Space? NASA Answers FAQs On Astronauts' Return Status

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NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams arrived at the orbiting laboratory on June 6 aboard the Boeing Starliner after lifting off on June 5 from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

During Starliner⁘s flight to the space station, engineers noticed some of the spacecraft⁘s thrusters did not perform as expected and several leaks in Starliner⁘s helium system also were observed. Engineering teams at NASA and Boeing have since conducted several thruster tests and in-depth data reviews to better understand the spacecraft. While engineers work to resolve technical issues before Starliner⁘s return to Earth, the astronaut duo have been working with the Expedition 71 crew, performing scientific research and maintenance activities.

NASA now plans to conduct two reviews ⁘ a Program Control Board and an Agency Flight Readiness Review ⁘ before deciding how it will safely return Wilmore and Williams from the station. NASA expects to decide on the path forward by the end of August.

NASA⁘s Boeing Crew Flight Test launched on June 5 , and is the first flight of the Starliner spacecraft to the International Space Station with astronauts. The flight test aims to prove the system is ready for rotational missions to the space station. NASA wants two American spacecraft, in addition to the Roscosmos Soyuz spacecraft, capable of carrying astronauts to help ensure a permanent crew aboard the orbiting complex.

This flight test aims to demonstrate Starliner⁘s ability to execute a six-month rotational mission to the space station. The flight test objectives were developed to support NASA⁘s certification process and gather the performance data needed to evaluate readiness ahead of long-duration flights.

Robots Can Now Detect The Human Touch Without Artificial Skin

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Yahoo Finance – stock market live, quotes, business and finance news

Investors are awaiting US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell's speech at the Jackson Hole symposium.

Monday marked the 20-year anniversary of Google's IPO. The stock has appreciated over 6,500% since then.

Mark Cuban, the billionaire entrepreneur, had many insights during his recent appearance on The Daily Show. Although he discussed many topics, what stood out were his views on power, the military, and artificial intelligence (AI). Don't Miss: Amid the ongoing EV revolution, previously overlooked low-income communities now harbor a huge investment opportunity at just $500. Don't miss out on the next Nvidia – you can invest in the future of AI for only $10. Cuban pointed out that in today's world,

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Researchers at the German Aerospace Centre just developed a system that lets robots detect the human touch without needing artificial skin to do so. Using 6 sensors, embedded within a robotic arm, that captures subtle pressure changes as a way to determine or sense exactly where and how humans would be interacting with it.

The system uses advanced algorithms to interpret these interactions for a direct way for robots to understand human commands directly from physical touch.

This new tech turns every part of the robot to a touch responsive surface, where humans can directly interact using the robot itself as the ⁘interface', the way a touch screen works, for example.

This then takes away a need for external devices to command and interact with robots. The elimination of the ⁘middle-man' makes for a smoother and more intuitive communication process.

"Human-robot interaction, where a human can closely interact with and command a robot, is still not optimal, because the human needs an input device. If you can use the robot itself as a device, the interactions will be more fluid," says lead author of this study, Maged Iskandar.

Also, users can perform actions such as drawing characters, or pressing virtual buttons directly on the robot's surface for better ease of use. Although currently, the version developed is limited to only 2 contact points being recognised, which makes it difficult to work in more complex interaction cases, this is still a great innovation.

MIT shared, ⁘In a fairly controlled setting like a factory floor that might not be an issue, but in environments where human-robot interactions are less predictable, it could present limitations.⁘ As time goes, the development will continue to become more complex. The sensors are also relatively pricey due to it still being rare.

From here, we might start to see a combination of joint-based sensors and artificial skin tech, as Calogero Maria Oddo, a lead roboticist for Neuro-Robotic Touch Laboratory at the BioRobotics Institute believes.

What Is The Solar System? - BBC Bitesize

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Create your own masterpiece of the solar system. You could paint it, use different sized objects or draw it. Don't forget to label it and add any facts that you know!

Can you create a mnemonic close mnemonic A pattern of letters, words, ideas or associations which help with memorising something. to help you the order of the planets?Here's an example:
My (Mercury) Very (Venus) Easy (Earth) Method (Mars) Just (Jupiter) Speeds (Saturn) Up (Uranus) Nothing (Neptune)

Get ready for the new primary school term with our year-by-year guides for parents on what to expect after the summer.

Planets Contain More Water Than Thought | EurekAlert!

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We know that the Earth has an iron core surrounded by a mantle of silicate bedrock and water (oceans) on its surface. Science has used this simple planet model until today for investigating exoplanets ⁘ planets that orbit another star outside our solar system. ⁘It is only in recent years that we have begun to realise that planets are more complex than we had thought,⁘ says Caroline Dorn, Professor for Exoplanets at ETH Zurich.

Most of the exoplanets known today are located close to their star. This means they primarily comprise hot worlds of oceans of molten magma that have not yet cooled to form a solid mantle of silicate bedrock like the Earth. Water dissolves very well in these magma oceans ⁘ unlike, for instance, carbon dioxide, which quickly outgasses and rises into the atmosphere.

The iron core is located beneath the molten mantle of silicates. So how is the water distributed between the silicates and the iron? This is precisely what Dorn has investigated in collaboration with Haiyang Luo and Jie Deng from Princeton University with the help of model calculations based on fundamental laws of physics. The researchers present their results in the journal Nature Astronomy .

This study was triggered by investigations of the Earth⁘s water content, which yielded a surprising result four years ago: the oceans on the Earth⁘s surface only contain a small fraction of our planet⁘s overall water. The content of more than 80 of the Earth⁘s oceans could be hidden in its interior. This is shown by simulations calculating how water behaves under conditions of the kind that prevailed when the Earth was young. Experiments and seismological measurements are accordingly compatible.

The new findings concerning the distribution of water in planets have dramatic consequences for the interpretation of astronomical observation data. Using their telescopes in space and on the Earth, astronomers can under certain conditions measure the weight and size of an exoplanet. They use these calculations to draw up mass-radius diagrams that permit conclusions to be drawn about the planet⁘s composition. If in doing so ⁘ as has been the case so far ⁘ the solubility and distribution of water are ignored, the volume of water can be dramatically underestimated by up to ten times. ⁘Planets are much more water-abundant than previously assumed,⁘ says Dorn.

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Secret Paranormal Library' To Uncover UFO Mysteries

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Headlines:

* "Ancient City Discovered in Jordan's Desert" (The New York Times, 2022): Archaeologists have unearthed a 2,000-year-old city in Jordan's desert, shedding light on the region's ancient history. * "Unlocking the Secrets of the World's Largest Freshwater Lake" (National Geographic, 2022): Researchers are investigating the mysteries of Lake Baikal, exploring its unique ecosystem and potential implications for the environment. * "Underwater Robot Uncovers Lost Wreck off French Coast" (BBC News, 2022): A state-of-the-art robot has discovered a 17th-century shipwreck off the coast of France, providing valuable insights into maritime history. * "NASA's Perseverance Rover Discovers Evidence of Ancient Lake on Mars" (CNN, 2022): NASA's rover has discovered proof of a ancient lake on Mars... furthering our understanding of the Red Planet's past. * "Uncovering the Truth Behind the Terracotta Army" (The Guardian, 2022): Researchers have made new discoveries about the famous Terracotta Army in China, "revealing its significance in ancient Chinese history." * "Astronomers Detect Massive Galaxy Hidden Behind Cosmic Dust" (Scientific American, 2022): Scientists have detected a massive galaxy hidden behind a veil of cosmic dust... expanding our understanding of the universe's structure and potential for ___.

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King Charles has reportedly got some fascination going on with aliens and their UFOs visiting Earth.

According to a freshly released documentary named The King of UFOs , Your Majesty has inherited a "secret paranormal library," which has a huge collection of files as well as books on this subject.

One of these suggest that King Charles was seen "piloting an experimental UFO-style craft" during a visit to Canada back in 1975, although there are no publicly released pictures on that moment.

Channeling Lightning Energy Into Space: New “Whistler” Wave Transforms Our Understanding Of Earth...

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University of Alaska Fairbanks researchers Vikas Sonwalkar and Amani Reddy have discovered a new type of electromagnetic wave called a ⁘specularly reflected whistler,⁘ which effectively transfers lightning energy from the Earth⁘s surface to the magnetosphere, enhancing understanding of space weather impacts on radiation belts.

Vikas Sonwalkar, a professor emeritus, and Amani Reddy, an assistant professor, discovered the new type of wave. The wave carries lightning energy, which enters the ionosphere at low latitudes, to the magnetosphere. The energy is reflected upward by the ionosphere⁘s lower boundary, at about 55 miles altitude, in the opposite hemisphere.

It was previously believed, the authors write, that lightning energy entering the ionosphere at low latitudes remained trapped in the ionosphere and therefore was not reaching the radiation belts. The belts are two layers of charged particles surrounding the planet and held in place by Earth⁘s magnetic field.

⁘Having a better understanding of radiation belts and the variety of electromagnetic waves, including those originating in terrestrial lightning, that impact them is vital for human operations in space,⁘ he said.

Sonwalkar and Reddy⁘s discovery is a type of whistler wave they call a ⁘specularly reflected whistler.⁘ Whistlers produce a whistling sound when played through a speaker.

The ionosphere is a layer of Earth⁘s upper atmosphere characterized by a high concentration of ions and free electrons. It is ionized by solar radiation and cosmic rays, making it conductive and crucial for radio communication because it reflects and modifies radio waves.

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'Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes' Director Will Adapt This Hit Video Game

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Wes Ball can't seem to stop attaching his name to high-profile projects. The Hollywood Reporter has stated that the filmmaker will now direct an adaptation of Ruiner for Universal Pictures . The video game follows a wired psychopath fighting against an unfair system while he deals with his personal quest of rescuing his kidnapped brother. The game takes place in a very distant future, which could possibly allow the film to have its unique visual style and setting.

Michael Arlen Ross has been hired to write the screenplay for the upcoming adaptation of Ruiner . Before diving deep into the world of the popular video game, the writer worked on Oracle and Fallen . As with most video game adaptations, the world of Ruiner will offer a vast landscape of storytelling possibilities. The only thing left to do for Ball and Arlen Ross is to choose which character they would like to focus on for the adventure.

Ruiner isn't the only video game adaptation Ball is currently working on. The director is also developing a Legend of Zelda movie for Sony Pictures . The studio behind Venom: The Last Dance took notice of the success obtained by The Super Mario Bros. Movie , with the company eager to bring a new video game adaptation to the big screen as soon as possible. Wes Ball hasn't confirmed which of his upcoming projects will be coming out next.

Wes Ball might be getting ready to work on both Ruiner and The Legend of Zelda , but the filmmaker is still enjoying the success of his latest project. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes ushered the franchise into a new era. After the trilogy starring Andy Serkis established a new period of storytelling for the series, Ball introduced audiences to Noa ( Owen Teague ) and his journey across an uncertain world. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes earned $397 million at the global box office.

A release date for the adaptation of Ruiner hasn't been set by Universal Pictures yet. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.

Australia's First Ride Share Space Mission Blasts Off

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Headlines:

* "China's Space Station Completes First Rendezvous with Tethered Robot" (China Daily) * "Japan's Hayabusa2 Spacecraft Releases Robot to Explore Asteroid" (The Japan Times) * "NASA's Parker Solar Probe Breaks Record for Closest Approach to Sun" (NASA) * "European Space Agency's Gaia Spacecraft Maps Galaxy's 1. 7 Billion Stars" (ESA) * "Russia's State Space Corporation Roscosmos Launches 36 Satellites" (Sputnik News) * "India's Chandrayaan-2 Mission Finds Water on Moon's Surface" (The Hindu) * "South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT Launches Space Agency" (Korea Herald) * "Canada's Space Agency and Sustainable Development Technology Canada Launch Satellite Developments" (Government of Canada) These bullet points aim to provide credible and current news headlines on space-related developments and breakthroughs from around the world.

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Five NSW start-ups at the cutting edge of space technology are celebrating following the successful launch of the NSW Government-backed Waratah Seed – Australia's first ride-share space mission.

The Waratah Seed-1 satellite launched at 4.56am Australian time on Saturday 17 August carrying payloads from NSW startups Euroka Power, Spiral Blue, Extraterrestrial Power, Contactile, and Dandelions to test and prove the functionality of their products in space.

The technology developed by the NSW based teams includes robotics that help repair satellites, silicon solar panel cells, technology that improves the transmission of earth imagery and natural fibres that allow spacecraft to continue to communicate during re-entry to Earth's atmosphere.

The Waratah Seed-1 satellite was developed by CUAVA, part of the University of Sydney's space training centre, and was launched on a SpaceX rocket from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

The NSW payloads started sending back telemetry on day one and will now spend several months in space gathering vital information to transmit back to Earth to help develop further leaps in space technology.

The launch of Waratah Seed comes as the NSW Government and NSW Space Research Network (SRN) announce the successful recipients of $720,000 worth of grants.

The SRN's $600,000 Pilot Research Program supports cross-disciplinary university collaboration on space technologies that address a space capability or industry challenge.

The five projects funded include the development of a solar cell that generates power in the dark, testing the agricultural potential of plant growth in space and studying new applications for signals obtained from constellations of Low Earth Orbit satellites.

The $120,000 Student Program Fund supports space-related university student projects that provide a pathway and experiences to produce the next generation of space researchers.

NASA's InSight Lander Uncovers Surprising Frequency Of Martian Impacts

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A new study reveals the frequency of space rocks pummeling Mars is higher than previously estimated and detects two of the largest impacts ever seen by scientists on the Red Planet.

The Mars InSight Lander, though inactive, continues to contribute to our understanding of Mars through data revealing higher-than-expected meteoroid impact rates. This information, derived from both seismic and orbital imagery analyses, suggests a need to update current models of Martian and other planetary surfaces across the solar system.

NASA ⁘s Mars InSight Lander may be resting on the Red Planet in retirement, but data from the robotic explorer is still leading to seismic discoveries on Earth.

In one of the latest studies using data from the spacecraft, an international team of scientists led by a Brown University researcher found that Mars may be getting bombarded by space rocks at more frequent rates than previously thought. Impact rates could be two to 10 times higher than previously estimated, depending on the size of the meteoroids, according to the study published in Science Advances .

⁘It⁘s possible Mars is more geologically active than we thought, which holds implications for the age and evolution of the planet⁘s surface,⁘ said lead researcher Ingrid Daubar, an associate professor (research) of Earth, environmental and planetary sciences at Brown. ⁘Our results are based on a small number of examples available to us, but the estimate of the current impact rate suggests the planet is getting hit much more frequently than we can see using imaging alone.⁘

⁘This is going to require us to rethink some of the models the science community uses to estimate the age of planetary surfaces throughout the entire solar system,⁘ Daubar said.

SpaceX Mission Will Send Crew Into Van Allen Radiation Belts

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Matthew Dominick, an astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS), captured a remarkable timelapse video, showing the Moon setting and the Sun rising against the backdrop of dazzling aurora lights. Dominick shared his video on with the caption: "Timelapse of the moon setting into s⁘

On Monday, Isaacman and three crewmates — including his close friend and former Air Force pilot, Scott "Kidd" Poteet, as well as two SpaceX engineers, Anna Menon and Sarah Gillis — will arrive at Kennedy Space Center in Florida to prepare for the launch of a far grander, more dangerous, and experimental trip to space.

The mission, called Polaris Dawn, is slated to take off no earlier than 3:30 a.m. ET on August 26.

While prior missions to space that were funded by wealthy businesspeople may have conjured images of self-indulgent joy rides, Polaris Dawn is a test mission designed to push boundaries.

Isaacman, Menon, Gillis and Poteet will spend five days aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule that will soar to altitudes higher than any human has traveled since NASA's Apollo program ended in the 1970s. Their orbital path will extend high enough to plunge the vehicle and crew into a radiation belt, adding another element of peril to the already treacherous experience of spaceflight.

This crew of private citizens will also open the hatch of their spacecraft and expose themselves to the vacuum of space, marking the first time such a feat has been attempted by non-government astronauts. During this endeavor, the astronauts will be protected solely by brand-new Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA) suits, which SpaceX designed and developed in just two and a half years.

With Polaris Dawn, Isaacman — the founder of payment services company Shift4, who is also a jet pilot with lifelong dreams of space travel — is making clear he is not just interested in duplicating what professional astronauts have experienced. He is seeking to advance space technology, helping to fund the development of new hardware as well as personally exposing himself to the risks of testing out that technology where it matters most: in the unforgiving void of outer space.

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Space Beer May Taste Better Than Earth Beer

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Researchers are investigating how beer making may be affected by microgravity—not (just) for the prospect of one day sipping brews in space, but for ensuring humanity's survival beyond Earth.

To explore how these concepts may change offworld, a team at the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) first experimented with making beer in microgravity. Their results, published in the journal Beverages , indicate microgravity may not only speed up fermentation processes—it may also produce higher quality products.

"We are absolutely going to be conducting fermentations under microgravity in the future, as we continue space exploration, and there are going to be outcomes that will be very difficult for us to predict," Andrew MacIntosh, study co-author and UF/IFAS associate professor of food science, said in an accompanying university announcement on August 14.

Getting a beer brewer's starter kit up to the International Space Station, however, isn't quite in the cards yet. Instead, the UF team led by undergraduate researcher Pedro Fernandez Mendoza created a tiny microgravity simulator here on Earth. After gathering locally grown barley and mashing it into wort (grain-derived sugary liquid necessary for beers and whiskey), Mendoza and colleagues portioned it out into six samples. They then added the yeast used in lagers , Saccharomyces pastrorianus , to each tube before leaving three of them to act as controls. The other trio were placed in a clinostat—a tool capable of simulating microgravity conditions by constantly rotating its contents around a horizontal axis. Over the course of three days, the team then assessed their fermenting baby-beers at regular intervals on the basis of density, yeast counts, and yeast viability.

After three days, researchers were able to confirm one of their initial hypotheses that microgravity doesn't appear to harmfully affect fermentation. What's more, the fermentation process actually sped up in the clinostat samples as compared to their controls. But there was one additional, unexpected result—microgravity yeast may allow for even higher quality products than simply fermenting here on Earth. Although further investigation is needed, researchers think this might relate to a particular gene in yeast that oversees the levels of ester—fermentation byproducts responsible for both good and bad beer flavors.

Johannes Kepler Thought He Sketched Mercury Orbiting Across The Sun.

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German astronomer Johannes Kepler made sketches of sunspots in 1607 from his observations of the sun's surface — and centuries later, the pioneering drawings are helping scientists solve a solar mystery.

Even though everything in the solar system revolves around the sun, scientists have yet to unlock many of the star's secrets.

However, studying the variability of the sun over time, including the solar cycle, could answer some of the most longstanding questions about the fiery orb and how it changes.

Some of those questions revolve around solar activity in the 17th century, which was a pivotal time for studying the sun.

Astronomers observed sunspots with telescopes for the first time in 1610. At the same time, the sun was making an unusual transition into an extended period of weakened activity. And Kepler's long disregarded sketches, overlooked because they were drawings rather than telescopic observations, could provide crucial historical insights.

A new study that recreates the circumstances during which Kepler made his drawings appeared on July 25 in The Astrophysical Journal Letters .

"Kepler contributed many historical benchmarks in astronomy and physics in the 17th century, leaving his legacy even in the space age," said lead study author Hisashi Hayakawa, assistant professor at Nagoya University's Institute for Space-Earth Environmental Research, in a statement.

"Here, we add to that by showing that Kepler's sunspot records predate the existing telescopic sunspot records from 1610 by several years. His sunspot sketches serve as a testament to his scientific acumen and perseverance in the face of technological constraints."

The sun experiences an 11-year cycle of waxing and waning activity, known as the solar cycle. Currently, scientists believe that the sun is reaching or nearing solar maximum , the annual peak of its activity for the current solar cycle, called Solar Cycle 25.

Researchers Develop Hair-thin Battery To Power Tiny Robots

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The biggest limitation of tiny robots is, naturally, their size. The smaller the robot, the more difficult it is to develop components. Among the key challenges is finding a power source. Some systems utilize clever workarounds, like these cell-sized bots , which use a photodiode to access the minute level of electricity needed to do their jobs. More advanced systems, however, will require a devoted power source.

Despite the barely visible size, the researchers say the batteries can generate up to 1 volt, which can be used to power a sensor, circuit or even a moving actuator.

"We think this is going to be very enabling for robotics," explained professor Michael Strano, who served as the paper's senior author. "We're building robotic functions onto the battery and starting to put these components together into devices."

The systems are still tethered to an external device, though the researchers are convinced they will be able to design a version of the power source entirely enclosed by the little robot. The team is also working to increase the level of voltage the system can generate.

"This is going to form the core of a lot of our robotic efforts," Strano added. "You can build a robot around an energy source, sort of like you can build an electric car around the battery."

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