One way to determine the mass of a galaxy is to study its rotation curve, measuring the speed of the stars in the galaxy depending on their distance from the galactic center. The speed at which a star rotates is proportional to the amount of mass in its orbit, so...
An Einstein ring is a rare type of gravitationally lensed object that was predicted by Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity. Gravitational lensing occurs when the gravity of a massive object, such as a cluster of galaxies or a black hole, bends the space-time around it and light emitted by more...
According to a statement released by the Indian Space Agency (ISRO) on social network X (formerly known as Twitter), the Indian solar mission Aditya-L1 is heading towards the Lagrange 1 (L1) point between the Sun and the Earth, passing the Earth’s sphere of influence. Successful launch of Aditya-L1 mission by...
On September 29, NASA announced that it would extend the New Horizons mission, which was currently only planned until the end of fiscal year 2024. Communication with the device will be maintained until it leaves the Kuiper belt, which is expected at the end of the decade. The main focus...
India began exploring the lunar surface in August 2023, becoming the fourth country to successfully land a vehicle on the Moon. The rover Pragyan (“Wisdom”) explored the vicinity of the south pole of the Moon, but was turned off before the onset of lunar night, which lasts about 2 weeks...
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has announced that the equipment for the Venus mission, planned for 2024, has already been developed. Venus. Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech“We have many missions at the conceptual stage. The mission to Venus is already configured. Payloads have already been developed for it“said ISRO chief Sridhara Somnath....
The three-year contract is part of a $60 million deal announced in April 2023. The X-Bow contract includes $30 million in funding from the US Air Force and $30 million in investment from private investors. X-Bow will operate under AFRL’s Rapid Energetics & Advanced Rocket Manufacturing (RE-ARM) program, which is...
The spacecraft, weighing about 8,200 kg, will be launched on a Long March 5 rocket from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on the coast of China. The lander will descend into the southern part of Apollo Crater into the South Pole–Aitken basin, a giant ancient impact crater that may provide...
NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter made its sixtieth flight to Mars, during which it set a speed record. It was 28.8 km/h. Before this, the maximum speed at which Ingenuity moved was 24 km/h. Image: Mark Garlick/Science photo library/GettyOn its sixtieth flight, Ingenuity flew 340 meters at an altitude of 16 meters....
SLIM was launched on an H-2A rocket on September 6. The mission passed its first critical phase in Earth orbit, successfully completing a series of systems tests. New data from SLIM came in the form of a photograph of the Earth. The photo was taken to test a camera that...
The company announced a 17-year agreement with the UAE government to finance two geostationary satellites from Airbus, scheduled for launch in 2027 and 2028. The agreement includes an upfront payment of $1 billion in 2024, roughly the same amount the operator plans to spend in total on the Al Yah...
On September 26, the company announced a Series B round led by three Japanese investors: Bank of Japan MUFG, trading company Kanematsu Corporation and Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire, the country’s largest insurance company. Sierra Space raised $1.4 billion in its Series A round in November 2021. The combined investments...
But the two cameras were able to create a mosaic map of the Moon’s south pole and Shackleton Crater, whose depths had been hidden in complete darkness for perhaps the last few billion years. Scientists suggest that water ice could have accumulated in its depths, which astronauts could use on...
The American Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA announced that a team of scientists has already opened the lid of the sample container collected by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. So far, scientists have discovered only “black dust and debris,” but they are not discouraged and consider this a sign of the success...
Two of the RS-25 engines are from NASA’s shuttle program, and two are new engines using refurbished spare parts. The next steps in preparing the rocket at Montchoud in New Orleans include “fully securing the engines to the stage and integrating the propulsion and electrical systems,” NASA officials said. Once...
Early last month, one such field campaign took the mission’s science team to a barren and rocky region of Iceland, where they studied the surface near the active Askja volcano. Its volcanic regions have been used by scientists to simulate the surface of Venus to better understand the different types...
