Blue Origin’s heavy-lift New Glenn rocket has been grounded following a recent launch failure that prevented a satellite from reaching its intended orbit. The mission lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, marking the rocket’s third flight since its debut. During the launch, the rocket’s reusable first-stage booster performed as expected and successfully landed on an ocean-based…
For decades, the archaeological site of Monte Verde in southern Chile has been central to scientific understanding of when humans first settled the Americas. Evidence uncovered there, including preserved wooden structures, tools, and traces of fire, was widely dated to around 14,500 years ago, positioning it as one of the earliest confirmed human settlements in the Western Hemisphere. A recent…
NASA’s asteroid redirection experiment has produced a new result with potential implications well beyond planetary science. Researchers reported that the agency’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART, not only altered the motion of the small asteroid Dimorphos around its larger companion, Didymos, but also slightly changed the binary system’s path around the sun. Scientists described the finding as the first…
NASA has redrawn the near-term roadmap for its Artemis program, adding an extra practice mission and reshaping the sequence leading to the first crewed lunar landing since 1972. The changes were unveiled days after the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft were rolled back to the Vehicle Assembly Building in Florida for additional troubleshooting and repairs. NASA…
Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have produced the clearest look yet at how Uranus’ upper atmosphere behaves, after tracking the planet for about 15 hours, nearly a full Uranian rotation, to capture how its auroras and charged particles change with time and altitude. The observations focused on Uranus’ ionosphere, the high-altitude region where solar-driven particles interact with…
New research suggests China’s decades-long planting campaign around the Taklamakan Desert is doing more than slowing moving sand: it is now drawing down more carbon dioxide than the area releases, effectively functioning as a carbon sink. The Taklamakan is among the world’s largest and driest deserts, spanning roughly 130,000 square miles (337,000 square kilometers) and ringed by high mountains that…
How the Aging Brain Slows Down As the body ages, so does the brain. One of the most significant changes over time is a gradual decline in the production of new neurons. This process, driven by neural stem cells, plays a crucial role in learning, memory and overall cognitive function. In later life, however, these neural stem cells become increasingly…
