Cold connection: A Josephson junction in an ultracold 2D Fermi gas. (Courtesy: AG Moritz) Researchers in Germany have created a new platform for studying quantum phenomena by realizing a Josephson junction in an ultracold 2D Fermi gas. This structure, in which fermionic lithium (Li) atoms at temperatures just above absolute zero tunnel back and forth
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Dickinson said “norms of behavior” should be established for space domain. WASHINGTON — The United States has to work with other countries to establish “norms of behavior in space,” Army Lt. Gen. James Dickinson told the Senate Armed Services Committee during a July 28 confirmation hearing to be the next commander of U.S. Space Command.
WASHINGTON — NASA’s Mars 2020 mission has passed its final review ahead of a July 30 launch that will kick off an ambitious effort to return samples of the red planet to Earth. NASA announced July 27 that Mars 2020 completed its launch readiness review, confirming that the spacecraft and its Atlas 5 launch vehicle
By: Hannah Pell “The American Physical Society (APS) has a vision of the future of physics publishing, in 2020 or so.” So begins a 1993 Science article titled “Publication by Electronic Mail Takes Physics by Storm.” Burton Richter, then-president of APS and former head of the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC), elaborated: “Any physicist, any
Merging two atoms into a molecule with a precise, reversible quantum state that lives long enough to measure. Courtesy: J. Zhang/Harvard University Researchers at Harvard University in the US have used optical tweezers to create a single molecule from a single pair of atoms. The technique they employed, known as magnetoassociation, made it possible to
SAN FRANCISCO – U.S. and U.K. defense agencies plan to award $1 million to startups at the first International Space Pitch Day in November during the Defence Space Conference in London. The event, backed by the U.K. Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, Royal Air Force, U.S. Space Force and NATO, is designed to identify commercial
As part of our special coverage of the 34th Annual Small Satellite Conference, SpaceNews is doing daily webinars Aug. 3-6 to bring you live newsmaker interviews, panel discussions and reporter roundtables in order to help bring you the full SmallSat experience (minus the Aggie’s ice cream, unfortunately). All “SN @ SmallSat” webinars start at 11
The first quantum phase battery. (Courtesy: Andrea Iorio) Researchers in Spain and Italy have constructed the first-ever quantum phase battery – a device that maintains a phase difference between two points in a superconducting circuit. The battery, which consists of an indium arsenide (InAs) nanowire in contact with aluminium (Al) superconducting leads, could be used
WASHINGTON — A U.K. parliamentary committee said it will review the steps that led to the government’s bid for struggling megaconstellation startup OneWeb, arguing that the $500-million investment decision was rushed and jeopardizes British taxpayer dollars. Darren Jones, chair of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee in Parliament, said Wednesday that the decision to
Differences between the House and Senate versions of the NDAA will be negotiated in a conference some time this fall. WASHINGTON — The Senate on July 23 passed its version of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 by a vote of 86 to 14. The NDAA authorizes $740.5 billion for national defense
Cancelled: the December banquet for this year’s Nobel laureates will not go ahead due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Courtesy: Nobel Media AB 2016/Alexander Mahmoud) This year’s Nobel laureates will have to forego the lavish Nobel banquet that is held in December. The Nobel Foundation, which manages the Nobel prizes that are announced in early October,
WASHINGTON — The British government expects to soon release a comprehensive set of regulations that will enable companies to perform commercial launches from spaceports in the country. During a July 22 webinar by the U.K. Space Agency, part of series of virtual events held in place of the Farnborough International Airshow, government officials said they
HELSINKI — China launched three satellites on a Long March 4B late Friday for remote sensing, novel lobster eye x-ray astronomy and commercial data acquisition. The Long March 4B rocket lifted off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center at 11:13 p.m. Eastern Friday. The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp., the country’s main space contractor,
The big picture: scientists have spotted large-scale resonant waves travelling in both directions around the globe. (Courtesy: NASA) The Earth’s entire atmosphere vibrates like a giant bell, with various large-scale resonant waves travelling in both directions around the globe. That is the conclusion of scientists in Japan and the US, who have confirmed a nearly
The 21st Space Wing at Peterson Air Force Base; the 50th Space Wing at Schriever Air Force Base; and the 460th Space Wing at Buckley Air Force Base have been deactivated and new units have been stood up in their place. WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force announced on July 24 that three former U.S.
WASHINGTON — A draft of the Democratic Party’s 2020 platform suggests that an administration led by Joe Biden would make few major changes in NASA programs but does not explicitly endorse a 2024 human return to the moon. An 80-page draft of the party’s 2020 platform, distributed to party officials this week for review, includes
Caught on camera: This first-ever image of a multi-planet system around a Sun-like star shows the two planets (centre and bottom right) orbiting TYC 8998-760-1 (Courtesy: ESO/Bohn et al.) The first ever direct image of a young Sun-like star accompanied by two giant exoplanets has been captured by astronomers using the Very Large Telescope (VLT)
WASHINGTON — Members of a NASA safety panel expressed continued concern about quality issues with Boeing’s commercial crew spacecraft while cautiously supporting SpaceX’s plans to fly reused spacecraft on future crewed missions. During a July 23 teleconference by the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel, members discussed several reviews of issues with the uncrewed flight of Boeing’s