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Astronauts launch space agriculture with seed pillows

When the Crew-11 astronauts launched to the International Space Station on August 1, 2025, they carried with them another chapter in space farming: the latest VEG-03 experiments, complete with seed pillows ready for planting.

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EIRSAT-1 novel control payload successfully demonstrates advanced satellite pointing in space

EIRSAT-1, Ireland’s first satellite, has successfully tested an advanced onboard control system that allows it to orient itself accurately in space. The breakthrough was achieved using a payload called Wave-Based Control (WBC), a software platform designed by a team at UCD School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering to test new satellite maneuvering techniques while in […]

Six planets are hanging out in early morning skies this month. Here’s how to spot them

Six planets are hanging out in the sky this month in what’s known as a planetary parade. Catch the spectacle while you can because it’s the last one of the year.

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Simple instrument could find Martian DNA if it exists

Mars still holds the promise of being one of the first places in the solar system humanity will colonize. However, if there was evolutionarily distinct, extant life on the planet, it might sway the heart of even the most ardent Mars colonization fans. So astrobiologists are in a race against time to try to determine […]

As the atmosphere changes, so will its response to geomagnetic storms

Rising concentrations of carbon dioxide in the upper atmosphere will change the way geomagnetic storms impact Earth, with potential implications for thousands of orbiting satellites, according to new research led by scientists at the U.S. National Science Foundation National Center for Atmospheric Research (NSF NCAR).

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Robots team up to explore planetary lava caves

In the not-too-distant future, the search for signs of life on Mars and the moon could see the next generation of robots exploring a new frontier: subsurface lava tubes. These missions could also help us determine the best locations for establishing human bases.

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Cleaning up space with gecko technology

Old satellites and debris pose a danger to space travel. An international research team with participation from Würzburg is working on a satellite that cleans up space—inspired by the animal kingdom.

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Observations investigate ultraluminous X-ray sources in the galaxy NGC 5813

Using NASA’s Chandra and ESA’s XMM-Newton space observatories, Indian astronomers have explored the population of ultraluminous X-ray sources in the galaxy NGC 5813, which resulted in the detection of a new source of this type. Results of the observational campaign were published August 7 on the pre-print server arXiv.

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Astronomers discover new type of supernova triggered by black hole-star interaction

Astronomers have discovered what may be a massive star exploding while trying to swallow a black hole companion, offering an explanation for one of the strangest stellar explosions ever seen.

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Trump orders space regulations eased in win for Musk

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday easing regulations for the private space industry, including eliminating some environmental reviews, in a move likely to please his erstwhile advisor Elon Musk.

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Speculations about extraterrestrial life peak in news articles—and in scientist quotes

Astrobiology poses fundamental questions about life in the universe: How did it emerge? Is there life beyond Earth? In a recently published study in PLOS One, researchers from Leiden University investigated how the field was portrayed in the public sphere from 1996 to 2024 by shining light on what speculations and promises about the search […]