Space, features and articles | Educational Science

Jan 25, 2024

Japan's high-precision 'Moon Sniper' spacecraft hit its target, but it landed upside down

A new image released by Japan's space agency has revealed why its first moon lander has had trouble charging — despite making the most precise touchdown in lunar history, the stricken craft landed on its nose. The Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) arrived on the moon's surface on Friday...

Jan 26, 2024

1st-of-its-kind European spacecraft duo will create mini eclipses in space, transforming how we study the sun

Later this year, the European Space Agency (ESA) will launch the Proba-3 mission into orbit around Earth. This unique project's twin spacecraft will align with each other to create frequent, artificial eclipses in space, which will give researchers near-unlimited access to studying the sun's outer atmosphere, or corona, for the...

Feb 1, 2024

See Earth's atmosphere glow gold in gorgeous photo taken from the International Space Station

A golden glow illuminates Earth's horizon in a stunning new image from the International Space Station. The atmospheric glow, or airglow, captured in the new photo occurs when sunlight interacts with atoms and molecules within Earth's atmosphere. The new photo, which NASA shared on Jan. 21, shows a bright golden...

Feb 4, 2024

Will future colonists on the moon and Mars develop new accents?

In the not-too-distant future, humans will begin to spread out into the solar system — and not just for fleeting visits. The ultimate goal of space exploration (apart from finding aliens) is to set up human colonies on other worlds to learn more about our cosmic neighborhood and search for...

Feb 5, 2024

Robot surgeon sent to the International Space Station to dissect simulated astronaut tissue

Very soon, a robot surgeon may begin its practice in orbit — and though it won't quite be a metallic, humanoid machine wearing a white coat and holding a scalpel, its mission is fascinating nonetheless. On Tuesday (Jan. 30), scientists sent a slew of innovative experiments to the International Space...

Feb 6, 2024

Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononeko breaks record for longest time spent in space — and he still has 6 months to go

Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko recently broke the record for most cumulative time spent in space while circling Earth in the International Space Station (ISS). The new record, which will continually extend until he returns to Earth later this year, could remain unchallenged for years to come. On Feb. 4, 59-year-old...

Feb 11, 2024

Space photo of the week: Bruce McCandless II floats untethered as the 1st 'human satellite' in history

Who it is: Bruce McCandless II, a NASA astronaut, testing the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) during space shuttle mission STS-41-B When it was taken: Feb. 7, 1984 Where it is: Low Earth orbit Why it's so special: This week is the 40th anniversary of the first untethered spacewalk. On Feb....

Feb 12, 2024

Big, dead European satellite will come crashing back to Earth this month

A dead European satellite will come crashing back to Earth later this month, in a fiery death dive that its handlers will monitor carefully. The incoming spacecraft is the European Space Agency's (ESA) European Remote Sensing 2 (ERS-2) satellite, which launched to Earth orbit in April 1995 and wrapped up...

Feb 14, 2024

5 beguiling heart-shaped objects found in space

From a teddy bear on Mars to Godzilla in a gas cloud, it's easy to see pretty much anything you want on the seemingly infinite canvas of space. And this year, on Valentine's Day, we choose to see love. Heart-shaped objects are plentiful across the cosmos and come from a...

Feb 14, 2024

NASA's Voyager 1 probe hasn't 'spoken' in 3 months and needs a 'miracle' to save it

Voyager 1, one of NASA's longest-lived space missions, is suffering a communication malfunction, and the mission team is growing concerned that the far-flung spacecraft may not recover. Engineers are currently working to fix a computer error that is preventing the craft from transmitting data back to Earth, but software limitations...

Feb 16, 2024

Can we refuel 'dead' satellites in space? Bold new missions aim to try.

Running out of gas is annoying at the best of times, let alone if you're a satellite traveling at speeds of up to 17,500 mph (28,200 km/h) high above Earth's surface. At the moment, a satellite that burns through all its fuel simply becomes space junk, adding to the vast...

Feb 16, 2024

'Stepping stone to Mars': Minimoons may help us become an interplanetary species, says MIT astrophysicist Richard Binzel

More than 30,000 asteroids are traveling on paths that bring them close to Earth. Some are giant boulders with the potential to smash into our planet, and others are little rocks known as minimoons moving harmlessly alongside Earth. For half a century, Richard Binzel, an astronomer at Massachusetts Institute of...

Feb 16, 2024

Undiscovered extra moons may orbit Earth. Could they help us become an interplanetary species?

In 2006, astronomers with the NASA-backed Catalina Sky Survey in Arizona discovered a peculiar body floating amid the sea of thousands of human-made satellites orbiting our planet. After taking a closer look, they determined that the object wasn't just another piece of space junk. Rather, it was a natural satellite...

Feb 16, 2024

Russia is developing a space-based nuclear weapon to target satellites, U.S. Congress reveals

Russia is reportedly developing a space-based nuclear weapon designed to disable or destroy satellites. The United States Congress and America's European allies were informed of Russia's plans to develop the anti-satellite capability on Wednesday (Feb. 14). It's unclear what the exact nature of the planned weapon is — that is,...

Feb 17, 2024

What would happen to a dead body in space?

Let's imagine an astronaut suddenly collapses during a spacewalk and dies of cardiac arrest only minutes later. Thankfully, this has never happened. While 21 people have died in space, spacecraft malfunctions that killed the entire crew, rather than health issues that affected only one person, have been to blame. But...