Science

WASHINGTON — The next commercial crew mission to the International Space Station passed its final review before its scheduled April 22 launch, with weather the only major issue. At an April 20 briefing, NASA said the Crew-2 mission passed its launch readiness review, the final major review before launch. That allows NASA and SpaceX to

WASHINGTON — The successful flight of NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter on Mars paves the way for its use on future missions, agency officials said, but exactly when and how remain to be determined. At a press conference April 19, project officials said Ingenuity’s first flight, also the first powered flight by an aircraft on another world,

Transcranial ultrafast ultrasound localization microscopy of deep brain vessels in a human patient. (Courtesy: Alexandre Dizeux/Physics for Medicine Paris) Researchers at the laboratory Physics for Medicine Paris have performed the first microscopic mapping of the vascular network in the human brain. The team used transcranial ultrafast ultrasound localization microscopy (ULM) of intravenously injected microbubbles to

NRO’s Pete Muend: ‘One of the things that we are moving out on is the potential to purchase commercial radar imagery’ WASHINGTON — The National Reconnaissance Office plans to sign new deals with commercial providers of satellite radar imagery as the agency looks to better understand the capabilities of the private sector, a senior NRO

WASHINGTON — Boeing said April 17 that the next test flight of its CST-100 Starliner commercial crew vehicle won’t take place until at least August, confirming a lengthy delay widely expected because of the schedule of other launches and International Space Station missions. In a statement, Boeing said that the company and NASA are projecting

Join the audience for a live webinar at 2 p.m. BST on 12 May 2021 exploring the critical role of independence in providing unbiased assurance in radiation therapy that treatment-related issues are caught Want to take part in this webinar? This webinar will address the critical role of independence in providing unbiased assurance in radiation

WASHINGTON — NASA now plans to attempt a first flight of the Mars helicopter Ingenuity early April 19 after finding a workaround to a software problem that delayed the flight earlier this month. The agency announced April 17 that the first flight of the 1.8-kilogram helicopter will take place at 3:31 a.m. Eastern. Images and

Updated 8 p.m. Eastern with comments by Beyer and Bridenstine. WASHINGTON — The White House announced April 16 it will nominate former astronaut Pam Melroy to be NASA’s deputy administrator. Melroy’s nomination was one of eight the White House announced to fill positions across the government. The position will require confirmation by the Senate. Melroy

Bulging waves: artist’s impression of the gravitational waves given off by the merger of two supermassive black holes. ESA’s LISA space mission may be able to detect evidence of tidal distortions in black-hole mergers. (Courtesy: ESA) Some spinning binary black holes can tidally deform as they merge together – according to new calculations by Alexandre

TAMPA, Fla. — Private investors deployed another $1.9 billion in SpaceX, OneWeb and other space infrastructure companies in the first three months of 2021, according to data from New York-based Space Capital. The company, which invests in early-stage ventures in addition to providing market intelligence, includes rocket and satellite builders in how it defines space

WASHINGTON — NASA has selected SpaceX as the sole company to win a contract to develop and demonstrate a crewed lunar lander, while keeping the door open for others to compete for future missions. NASA announced April 16 that it awarded a contract to SpaceX for Option A of the Human Landing System (HLS) program,

Too cool: Xiulin Ruan holds a sample of the whitest paint ever. (Courtesy: Purdue University/Jared Pike) One way to keep cool this summer is to coat your roof with what is claimed to be the whitest paint ever made. Created by engineers at Purdue University in the US, the coating reflects 98.1% of sunlight –

Todd Harrison: The U.S. government needs to be clear about which Chinese space developments pose a threat and which merely show that China is pursing an ambitious civil space program. WASHINGTON — The U.S. intelligence community in a report listed China’s space program as a top security concern for the United States. Some space experts

By Allison Kubo Hutchison Left: Glowing basaltic eruption in Iceland taken at night (image: Áslaug Arna Sigurbjörnsdóttir / twitter). Right: Grey ash clouds rise into the atmosphere over St. Vincent (image: University of West Indies Seismic Research Center / twitter). In Iceland, where we lay our scene, lava spills orange and black tendrils from three

WASHINGTON — More than a year after selecting SpaceX to deliver cargo to the lunar Gateway, NASA has yet to formally start that contract as it performs a broader review of its Artemis program. NASA announced in March 2020 that it awarded a contract to SpaceX for the agency’s Gateway Logistics Services program to transport

Have physicists at Fermilab found evidence for a new force? In this episode of the Physics World Weekly podcast Sam Grant of University College London explains why he and his colleagues on Fermilab’s Muon g-2 experiment are excited about their recent measurement of the muon’s magnetic moment and what it could mean for the future

SAN FRANCISCO – A consortium led by the State of California, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Planet announced plans April 15 for a constellation of hyperspectral satellites to pinpoint, quantify and track point sources of methane and carbon dioxide. The constellation is one element of Carbon Mapper, a public-private partnership aimed at providing information to

By Hannah Pell  On 7 April 2021, physicists at Fermi National Laboratory announced the first results of their Muon g-2 (“g minus 2”) experiment, which have hinted that muons may behave in a way not predicted by the Standard Model, a self-consistent yet incomplete theory of fundamental particles and their interactions. You can picture a