Read MoreOliver Hayes2026-10-052Swift Telescope Nearing Reentry After Bold Rescue AttemptNASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory is losing altitude after 22 years in orbit. A daring rescue attempt with the Catalyst 'Link' spacecraft failed, but Swift's instruments have been partially reactivated to capture final gamma-ray burst observations.
Read MoreNora Schmidt2026-10-033Why Mars' North Polar Ice Is Cleaner Than Scientists ThoughtNew analyses suggest Mars' north polar ice contains far less dust than earlier estimates, revealing cleaner layered ice that preserves climate history and may influence transient melt and habitability scenarios.
Read MoreOliver Hayes2026-10-012Crew-13 Targets Under-Nine-Hour Trip to the ISS TodayNASA and SpaceX aim for an 11:10 a.m. EDT October 1 liftoff for Crew-13. The four astronauts may reach the ISS in under nine hours, docking at Harmony to join Expedition 75 and begin research.
Read MoreOliver Hayes2026-10-013Why Nearby Exoplanets May Still Harbor Only MicrobesA study suggests that cumulative photosynthetic energy, not age alone, governs how far life evolves on nearby exoplanets. Many old worlds may remain microbial due to limited light, water, and climate.
Read MoreOliver Hayes2026-09-302Buried Volcano on Moon Points to an Ancient DynamoOrbital gravity and magnetic data reveal a 60 km–wide, magnetized volcanic body beneath the Moon's Dewar region, strengthening evidence that an ancient core-driven dynamo once existed and reshaping ideas about lunar magnetism.
Read MoreOliver Hayes2026-09-302Protostar to Test First Wireless Power Transfer in OrbitStar Catcher Industries will launch Protostar in October 2026 to attempt the first wireless transfer of optical power between independent spacecraft, testing tracking, conversion, and thermal challenges in orbit.
Read MoreNora Schmidt2026-09-302Why Boeing's Starliner Won't Carry Crew Before 2028Boeing's Starliner suffered propulsion and seal failures during a 2024 crew test, delaying crewed flights until 2028. NASA and Boeing plan staged fixes, an additional uncrewed demo, and a switch from Atlas V to Vulcan Centaur, costing about €334 million.
Read MoreNora Schmidt2026-09-284Roman Telescope Switches On Its 300-Megapixel CameraNASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope has powered up its 300-megapixel Wide Field Instrument and completed early coronagraph checks, beginning months of commissioning on the road to L2 and first science images by early 2027.
Read MoreNora Schmidt2026-09-282First Quantum Computer Runs Onboard an Earth SatelliteA photonic quantum processor on a satellite produced a clear Hong-Ou-Mandel interference signature in low Earth orbit, validating quantum effects in space and pointing to future on-board quantum processing.
Read MoreOliver Hayes2026-09-262Early Solar System Built From Hot Beads, Not Icy DustNew Yale-led research finds the solar system's first solid bodies were overwhelmingly made of chondrules, tiny molten beads, with only 8 to 17 percent icy matrix, shifting our view of early planet formation.
Read MoreOliver Hayes2026-09-252Sunspot 40 Times Earth's Width Suggests Superflare RiskA Max Planck study links massive historical sunspots to potential superflares, suggesting our Sun could produce extreme eruptions that drive strong space weather and rare but disruptive events on Earth.
Read MoreOliver Hayes2026-09-232Roman Telescope May Double Its Lifetime to 22 YearsNASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope used far less propellant than planned during early maneuvers. Combined with a lighter launch mass and precise operations, these savings could extend its mission from 10 to at least 22 years of science at L2.
Read MoreOliver Hayes2026-09-223Largest Supernova Catalog Hints Dark Energy ChangesA reanalyzed catalog of 2,884 Type Ia supernovae suggests dark energy may vary over time, challenging the cosmological constant and guiding future surveys to probe cosmic expansion with greater precision.
Read MoreNora Schmidt2026-09-183Faint Hydrogen Echoes Reveal New Cosmic CartographyMeerKAT detected faint neutral hydrogen emissions from 4-5 billion years ago, advancing hydrogen intensity mapping as a practical tool for 3D cosmic structure surveys and future SKAO projects.
Read MoreOliver Hayes2026-09-172Hidden Hypersoft X-ray Sources Lighting Nearby GalaxiesAstronomers uncovered 84 hypersoft X-ray sources in nearby galaxies using Chandra data. Their extreme-ultraviolet-dominated emission may hide accreting white dwarfs, novae, neutron stars, or black holes and could shed light on Type Ia progenitors.
Read MoreOliver Hayes2026-09-163Saturn's New Ten-Sided Wave Encircles the South PoleHubble images reveal a ten-sided atmospheric wave forming at Saturn’s south pole. Scientists trace its emergence, compare it with the northern hexagon, and plan Hubble and Webb follow-ups and modeling.
Read MoreNora Schmidt2026-09-152Why New Analysis Confirms the Universe Is Still AcceleratingA multinational team rebuts a recent claim that cosmic expansion is slowing, showing calibration errors in the contested study and reaffirming that dark energy still best explains the universe's accelerating expansion.
Read MoreOliver Hayes2026-09-152Engineered Yeast and Gelatin: Building Mars HabitatsResearchers propose using engineered yeast, gelatin hydrogels, and Martian regolith to 3D print freeze-dried foam habitats that are strong, energy-efficient, and potentially recyclable for future Mars missions.
Read MoreOliver Hayes2026-09-136Mercury Up Close: Secrets of the Solar System's SmallestA comprehensive, accessible guide to Mercury: its formation, oversized iron core, surface geology, polar ice, magnetic field, and key mission discoveries from Mariner 10 to BepiColombo.
Read MoreNora Schmidt2026-09-123The Universe Still Has Fuel but Makes Fewer Stars TodayNew FAST and DESI observations show the Universe retains abundant neutral hydrogen while star formation has dropped sharply, suggesting a slowdown in converting HI to molecular gas and reshaping galaxy evolution models.
