Science And Space

  The Launchpad (Space.com / Josh Dinner) Private moon lander launches with NASA Lunar Trailblazer Hey, Space Fans! It's officially "Moon-day" with SpaceX's successfully launch of a new private moon lander for Intuitive Machines. But there's more to this mission than just one moon probe. A SpaceX Falcon 9 launched Athena, Intuitive Machines' 2nd moon lander, last night alongside a small hopping robot, a tiny commercial lunar lander and NASA's Lunar Trailblazer to seek out moon water. Plus, Astroforge's Odin asteroid recon probe and an Epic Aerospace orbital tug. Check it out. Read More (Robert Lea (created with Canva)) NASA supercomputer finds giant spiral in Oort Cloud The moon may be close to home, astronomically speaking, but things get weird way out in the Oort Cloud and now we've got proof. A NASA supercomputer has found a vast spiral-shaped structure made of...

  Top Science News Rare fresco discovered in Pompeii shows type of woman who 'breaks free from male order to dance freely, go hunting and eat raw meat in the mountains' Archaeologists have brought to light an enormous fresco depicting a secretive cult practice in Pompeii. Read More Space 'Utterly cataclysmic': James Webb telescope spots 2 alien planets disintegrating before our eyes In world-first observations, the James Webb Space Telescope is watching two distant alien planets "spilling their guts into space" as they rapidly disintegrate — and scientists are elated at what they've found. Read More Health Surgeons remove parasitic twin from teenager who had legs growing out of his chest A rare parasitic twin protruding from the chest of a 17-year-old boy has been removed by surgeons in Delhi, India. ...

  Mars (Nasa/Getty Images) What makes Mars red? We may finally know Hey, Space Fans! We're going interplanetary today with a new Mars discovery. We've called it the "Red Planet" for ages, but scientists now say they may finally understand how rust made the planet red in the first place!  Understanding how this rust formed offers a crucial glimpse into the planet’s past — was it once warm and wet, or always cold and dry? And, more importantly, did it ever support life? Let's find out. Read More

  The Launchpad (Robert Lea (created with Canva)) Earth safe from 'city-killer' asteroid 2024 YR4! Hey, Space Fans! Happy Monday and we're starting off the week with a big (think huge space rock wize) weight off our minds as astronomers just dramatically reduced the potential threat risk of the newfound asteroid 2024 YR4 down to miniscule odds. The asteroid briefly set a record for the highest threat level ever, at a 1-in-32 chance of hitting Earth in 2032. "The NASA JPL Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) now lists the 2024 YR4 impact probability as 0.00005 (0.005%) or 1-in-20,000 for its passage by Earth in 2032," Richard Binzel, Professor of Planetary Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and creator of the Torino scale exclusively told Space.com. "That's impact probability zero folks!" Whew! Read More

  Asteroid YR4 impact odds plummet as NASA changes threat level of 'city-killer' NASA has been changing the odds of asteroid 2024 YR4 hitting Earth in recent days, but the latest shift significantly downgrades the asteroid's threat level and makes a moon strike more likely. Read More

  (dima_zel/iStock/Getty Images) JWST faces potential 20% budget cut 4 years after launch The team overseeing NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has been directed to prepare for up to 20% in budget cuts that would touch on every aspect of the flagship observatory's operations, which are managed by the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Maryland. The potential cut comes even as the space observatory is more in demand than ever before, with astronomers requesting the equivalent of nine years' worth of Webb observing time in one operational year. Read More

  (Space.com / Josh Dinner) Boeing plans to lay off hundreds of SLS employees: reports Boeing is preparing to issue layoff notices to roughly 200 employees working on the Space Launch System (SLS) - the massive rocket central to NASA's flagship Artemis program - as it braces for the possibility that its contracts with the space agency may not be renewed after they end in March. Read More

  Dwyane Wade diagnosis: What to know about kidney cancer Retired NBA legend Dwyane Wade revealed his kidney cancer diagnosis on a recent podcast episode. Here's what to know about the disease. Read More

  The Launchpad (Astrobotic/Astrolab) Private FLIP moon rover replaces NASA's cancelled VIPER The VIPER news keeps coming. Pittsburgh-based company Astrobotic has found a replacement rover to fly on the first-ever mission of its Griffin moon lander. Griffin was originally supposed to deliver NASA's ice-hunting VIPER rover to the moon's south polar region on its debut flight, which is scheduled to launch late this year. The agency canceled the VIPER program last summer, leaving a big space open on Griffin. That space has finally been filled - by FLIP, a rover built by the California company Astrolab. Read More VIPER back from dead? NASA asks US companies to partner Space   (MAXIM SHIPENKOV/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) Putin axes Yuri Borisov, head of Russia's space agency Russia has a new space chief. Vladimir Putin has dismissed Yuri Borisov after 2.5 years in charge of th...

  (Getty Images) NASA denies 'new bans' for employees' LGBTQI+ symbols According to NASA: "There are no new bans on any personal affects in employees' workspaces." Read More

  Biological aging may not be driven by what we thought A new study draws a line between random genetic mutations and predictable epigenetic changes used to measure biological aging. Read More Natural Disasters Parts of San Francisco and Los Angeles are sinking into the sea — meaning sea-level rise will be even worse A study led by NASA and NOAA has found that California is sinking in some areas, which means the projected sea level rise for parts of Los Angeles and San Francisco has doubled. Read More

  (NASA) Moon or Mars? Acting NASA admin says, 'why not both?' NASA still views the moon as a stepping stone to Mars, even though Elon Musk has dismissed Earth's nearest neighbor as "a distraction." Read More

  Top Science News 'Impossible' black holes detected by James Webb telescope may finally have an explanation — if this ultra-rare form of matter exists Observations from the James Webb Space Telescope reveal monster black holes in the early universe that seem to have grown too big, too fast. New research points to a strange form of dark matter as a possible culprit. Read More History & Archaeology World's largest-ever bead stash found in 5,000-year-old 'Ivory Lady' tomb in Spain More than a quarter million beads found in a tomb with female skeletons were used to decorate the women's ceremonial dresses, suggesting they were powerful leaders five millennia ago. Read More Health New 'Camp Hill' virus discovered in Alabama is relative of deadly Nipah — the 1st of its kind in the US A new virus that is r...