Category Archives: Space

Australian taxpayers paid $466,000 for training of nation’s first female astronaut Katherine Bennell-Pegg

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With Bennell-Pegg unlikely to go to space anytime soon, there are questions about the value of the spending by the cash-strapped Australian space program

Australia’s first female astronaut, Katherine Bennell-Pegg, graduated from the European Space Agency’s (ESA) training program on Monday night.

She may be unlikely to take a giant leap into space anytime soon, but is on a mission to bolster the space industry and inspire women and girls.

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After an absence of 71 years, the green-tinged Devil Comet returns to Australian skies

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While 12P/Pons-Brooks may not be as famous as Halley’s, its appearance close to Jupiter is causing great excitement for stargazers

The green, horned “Devil comet” is now visible in Australian skies, offering a once-in-lifetime chance to see a unique celestial body.

The comet – real name 12P/Pons-Brooks – was nicknamed the Devil comet because eruptions from its nucleus can make it look like it has two horns. More recently, Star Wars fans have nicknamed it the Millennium Falcon.

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Nasa chief warns China is masking military presence in space with civilian programs

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Bill Nelson told Capitol Hill lawmakers that China has been ‘very, very secretive’ about its space progress, warning ‘we are in a race’

The head of Nasa has warned of China bolstering its space capabilities by using civilian programs to mask military objectives, cautioning that Washington must remain vigilant.

“China has made extraordinary strides especially in the last 10 years, but they are very, very secretive,” Nasa administrator Bill Nelson told lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

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Total solar eclipse: millions watched rare spectacle as moon blocked sun in Mexico, US and Canada – as it happened

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First contact is when the moon’s outer edge first appears to touch the sun, creating the beginnings of a partial eclipse and a crescent sun reducing in size until totality (second contact).

In the moments before totality, look for (in order) shadow bands, Baily’s Beads and a diamond ring, three of the most memorable stages of a total eclipse.

It gives us the opportunity not just to leverage all the great scientific capabilities that we have in the US, using all kinds of equipment, aircraft, kites, balloons, sounding rockets, all flying up into the atmosphere to observe.

But in addition we have trained regular citizens, not professional scientists, to use solar telescopes. And we have an app on your phone. We’re going to have hundreds of thousands of people taking pictures, and by pulling all that data together, we think we’re going to understand the shape of the sun down to within a few kilometers.

When literally day turns to night, animals start to behave differently, we’re seeing changes in the Earth’s atmosphere, it’s a mystical, mysterious experience. And I love the thought that millions of Americans will stand together today, looking up into the sky wearing their glasses. It is amazing.

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‘A mystical experience’: millions watch total solar eclipse sweep across North America

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Almost 32 million people in the path of totality as moon’s shadow crossed the Mexico-Texas border and then traversed 15 states

The ethereal spectacle of a total solar eclipse swept across North America on Monday afternoon, giving tens millions of people in Mexico, the US and Canada the chance to witness a rare and dazzling celestial show.

Almost 32 million people were in the path of totality as the moon’s shadow crossed the Mexico-Texas border at lunchtime and traversed 15 states over the next hour and a half, although many, especially in the south and midwest, were denied a clear view by low clouds and rain.

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‘I get emotional thinking about it’: US and Canada ready for total solar eclipse

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Cities expect huge crowds with millions gathering in 115-mile wide ‘path of totality’ for Monday’s exceptionally large and long eclipse

Should the weather gods grant their blessing, a celestial show for the ages will darken the heavens over a large swathe of the US from Texas to Maine on Monday, giving tens of millions of people a grandstand view of a rare phenomenon being billed as “the Great American Eclipse”.

It will be another 20 years until the next total solar eclipse can be viewed anywhere in the contiguous US, lending extra incentive for many who live outside the 115-mile wide “path of totality” to travel in and experience the moments of twilight, stillness and a sudden temperature drop the event will bring.

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Moon Standard Time? Nasa to create lunar-centric time reference system

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Space agency tasked with establishing Coordinated Lunar Time, partly to aid missions requiring extreme precision

The White House wants Nasa to figure out how to tell time on the moon.

A memo sent Tuesday from the head of the US Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) has asked the space agency to work with other US agencies and international agencies to establish a moon-centric time reference system. Nasa has until the end of 2026 to set up what is being called Coordinated Lunar Time (LTC).

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Northern lights predicted across US and UK on Monday night in wake of solar storms

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Spectacular aurora borealis caused by geomagnetic storms on sun’s surface may be visible in North America as far south as the midwest

Solar eruptions are sending a stream of particles towards Earth, creating spectacular auroras in both hemispheres.

The aurora borealis – in the northern hemisphere – will be potentially visible on Monday night in the US as far south as the midwest. The northern lights, more commonly associated with northern Europe, could also be visible in northern United Kingdom.

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Space One rocket explodes soon after launch in Japan

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First attempt with private Kairos rocket was intended to test viability of homegrown commercial launch business

A rocket made by a Japanese company has exploded seconds after it was launched with the goal of putting a satellite into orbit.

Tokyo-based Space One’s 18-metre Kairos rocket blasted off from the company’s launch pad in the Wakayama region of western Japan, carrying a small government test satellite, on Wednesday.

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Astronomers detect ‘waterworld with a boiling ocean’ in deep space

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Exclusive: Significant discovery, made by James Webb telescope, provokes disagreement over conditions on planet’s surface

Astronomers have observed a distant planet that could be entirely covered in a deep water ocean, in findings that advance the search for habitable conditions beyond Earth.

The observations, by Nasa’s James Webb space telescope (JWST), revealed water vapour and chemical signatures of methane and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of the exoplanet, which is twice Earth’s radius and about 70 light years away. This chemical mix is consistent with a water world where the ocean would span the entire surface, and a hydrogen-rich atmosphere, according to researchers from the University of Cambridge, although they do not envisage a balmy, inviting seascape.

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First North Korea spy satellite is ‘alive’ and being controlled, experts say

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Changes in orbit of Malligyong-1 suggest Pyongyang is successfully maneuvering the satellite

North Korea’s first spy satellite is “alive”, space experts have said, after detecting changes in its orbit that suggested Pyongyang was successfully controlling the spacecraft – although its capabilities remain unknown.

After two fiery failures, North Korea successfully launched the Malligyong-1 satellite into orbit in November. Pyongyang’s state media claimed it has photographed sensitive military and political sites in South Korea, the US and elsewhere, but has not released any imagery. Independent radio trackers have not detected signals from the satellite.

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Odysseus craft’s moon mission to be cut short after sideways landing

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Intuitive Machines, private company behind lander, says mission will end after five days rather than the expected to seven to 10

Flight control engineers expect to lose contact with the private US moon lander Odysseus on Tuesday, cutting short the mission five days after its sideways touchdown, the company behind the spacecraft, Intuitive Machines, said.

It remained to be seen how much scientific data might be lost as a result of the shortened life of Odysseus, which, according to previous estimates from the company and its biggest customer, Nasa, would have otherwise operated on the moon for seven to 10 days.

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Japan’s moon lander survives two-week lunar night after wonky landing

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Unmanned Slim spacecraft responds to signal from Earth after touching down at awkward angle in January

Japan’s moon lander has responded to a signal from Earth, suggesting it survived the two-week lunar night, the country’s space agency has said.

The unmanned Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (Slim) touched down last month at a wonky angle that left its solar panels facing the wrong way. But as the sun’s angle shifted, it powered up for two days and carried out scientific observations of a crater with a hi-spec camera.

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US spacecraft on the moon ‘caught a foot’ and tipped on to side, says Nasa

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Intuitive Machines CEO says Odysseus tipped over and ended up on its side as it landed on to south polar region

Odysseus, the first US-built spacecraft to touchdown on the moon in more than half a century, is tipped over on its side, according to an update from Nasa and Intuitive Machines, the company that built and operated the lander.

The robotic lander descended on to the south polar region of the moon on Thursday at 6.23pm ET. But several minutes passed before flight controllers were able to pick up a signal from the lander’s communication systems.

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US returns to lunar surface for first time in over 50 years: ‘Welcome to the moon’

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Intuitive Machines’ spacecraft Odysseus lands after a 73-minute descent, touching down near moon’s south pole

The United States has returned to the lunar surface for the first time in more than 50 years after a privately-built spacecraft named Odysseus capped a nail-biting 73-minute descent from orbit with a touchdown near the moon’s south pole.

Amid celebrations of what Nasa hailed “a giant leap forward”, there was no immediate confirmation of the status or condition of the lander, other than it had reached its planned landing site at crater Malapert A.

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Odysseus spacecraft lands on the moon as Nasa hails ‘giant leap forward’ – as it happened

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Odysseus has started its “powered descent initiative”, as it readies for a landing. The engine on the lander has started up, and it is slowing itself down. As it lowers, sensors on the it will look for a safe spot for a landing,

As an example of the mixed payloads that private space missions are taking, Nasa administrator, Bill Nelson said of today’s mission “Nasa scientific instruments are on their way to the moon, a giant leap for humanity as we prepare to return to the lunar surface for the first time in more than half a century.”

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Japan to launch world’s first wooden satellite to combat space pollution

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The environmentally friendly LignoSat probe – set to orbit this summer – has been created to combat harmful aluminium particles

Japanese scientists have created one of the world’s most unusual spacecraft – a tiny satellite that is made of timber.

The LignoSat probe has been built of magnolia wood, which, in experiments carried out on the International Space Station (ISS), was found to be particularly stable and resistant to cracking. Now plans are being finalised for it to be launched on a US rocket this summer.

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Japan launches second flagship H3 rocket a year after inaugural flight self-destructed

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Space agency announces ‘successful liftoff’ and says rocket has already released one micro-satellite

Japan’s space agency has successfully launched a second test model of its new flagship rocket H3, in a welcome boost to its space program after last year’s inaugural flight failed.

The launch further burnishes the country’s space credentials after the historic “pinpoint” moon landing of Japan’s Slim spacecraft last month.

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Private moon lander lifts off aiming for first US lunar touchdown in 52 years

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Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lander sets off on SpaceX rocket from Cape Canaveral on weeklong journey

A moon lander built by the Houston-based aerospace company Intuitive Machines was launched from Florida early on Thursday on a mission to conduct the first US lunar touchdown in more than a half century and the first by a privately owned spacecraft.

The Nova-C lander, nicknamed Odysseus, lifted off shortly after 1am EST atop a Falcon 9 rocket flown by Elon Musk’s SpaceX from Nasa’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral.

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Japan’s Slim moon lander overcomes power crisis to start scientific operations

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Moon probe starts taking pictures of lunar surface after bumpy landing left its solar cells pointing in the wrong direction

Japan’s Moon lander has resumed operations, the country’s space agency said on Monday, indicating that power had been restored after it was left upside down during a slightly haphazard landing.

The probe, nicknamed the “moon sniper”, had tumbled down a crater slope during its landing on 20 January, leaving its solar batteries facing in the wrong direction and unable to generate electricity.

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