A research team from the Institute of Modern Physics (IMP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has directly measured the masses of two highly unstable atomic nuclei, phosphorus-26 and sulfur-27. These precise measurements provide crucial information for determining the nuclear reaction rate during X-ray bursts, advancing our understanding of how elements are synthesized under […]

Stanford researchers have become the first to demonstrate that machine-learning control can safely guide a robot aboard the ISS, laying the groundwork for more autonomous space missions.

Go to Source

China routinely sends astronauts to and from its space station Tiangong. A crew capsule is about to undock from the station and return to Earth, but there’s nothing routine about its journey home.

Go to Source

Like a toddler right before naptime, TRAPPIST-1 is a small yet moody star. This little star, which sits in the constellation Aquarius about 40 light-years from Earth, spits out bursts of energy known as “flares” about six times a day.

Go to Source

Of the seven Earth-sized worlds orbiting the red dwarf star TRAPPIST-1, one planet in particular has attracted the attention of scientists. This planet orbits the star within the “Goldilocks zone”—a distance where water on its surface is theoretically possible, but only if the planet has an atmosphere. And where there is water, there might be […]

Acoustic signals have been important markers during NASA’s Mars missions. Measurements of sound can provide information both about Mars itself—such as turbulence in its atmosphere, changes in its temperature, and its surface conditions—and about the movement of the Mars rovers.

Go to Source

If you look across space with a telescope, you’ll see countless galaxies, most of which host large central black holes, billions of stars and their attendant planets. The universe teems with huge, spectacular objects, and it might seem like these massive objects should hold most of the universe’s matter.

Go to Source

[…]

Sometime in 2029, the European Space Agency is scheduled to launch its Comet Interceptor Mission. The Interceptor will wait for a long-period comet to arrive in the inner solar system then set off on a trajectory to rendezvous with it. These objects are ancient and primordial, carrying material largely unaltered by time that holds clues […]