Science

The launch of SpaceX’s four-person Polaris Dawn mission will be delayed by at least a day because of a helium leak in ground equipment at Kennedy Space Center, the company said on Tuesday, hours before the scheduled liftoff of its Crew Dragon capsule. The highlight of the five-day mission is expected to come two days

Two NASA astronauts who flew to the International Space Station (ISS) in June aboard Boeing’s faulty Starliner capsule will need to return to Earth on a SpaceX vehicle early next year, NASA officials said on Saturday, deeming issues with Starliner’s propulsion system too risky to carry its first crew home as planned. Veteran NASA astronauts Butch

New research indicates that the brain stores at least three distinct copies of every memory, overturning the long-held belief that a single, modifiable version exists. Conducted on rodents, the study focused on the hippocampus, a critical brain region for memory and learning. Researchers discovered that neurons in this area create multiple memory copies, each varying

New research suggests that peculiar zones in the Earth’s mantle, where seismic waves slow dramatically, may be more common than previously thought. These ultra-low velocity zones (ULVZs) have intrigued scientists for years due to their ability to slow seismic waves by up to 50 percent. Recent findings indicate that these enigmatic features could be present

Get ready for a spectacular celestial event this Saturday morning, August 24, when six planets will align in the sky. Following a similar event on June 3, skywatchers will have another chance to view Saturn, Neptune, Uranus, Jupiter, Mars, and Mercury all at once. This planetary parade, while not extremely rare, is a highlight of

Indian Space and Research Organisation (ISRO) has released a fresh set of images from the Chandrayaan-3 mission, coinciding with the first anniversary of its successful landing on the Moon. These images, taken by the Vikram lander and Pragyan rover, showcase key moments from the mission, including Pragyan’s attempts to imprint India’s national emblem on the

India is celebrating its inaugural National Space Day today, marking a significant milestone in the country’s space exploration journey. This day commemorates the historic event of August 23, 2023, when Chandrayaan-3 successfully made a soft landing on the Moon. With this achievement, India became the fourth nation to land on the Moon and the first

Chandrayaan-3 mission, India’s first successful mission to have landed on the Moon, might have made a notable discovery. As per a new study, it might have found evidence of a former magma ocean near the Moon’s South Pole. This finding was achieved through the efforts of the Pragyan rover, which landed on the lunar surface

Recent observations from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) suggest that Ariel, one of Uranus’s moons, might harbour an underground liquid ocean. Ariel is one of the 27 moons orbiting Uranus, the seventh planet from the Sun. The discovery was made during a 21-hour observation period as part of the “Moons of Uranus” project. The

SpaceX has marked a significant milestone by launching 22 new Starlink satellites into orbit, greatly expanding its global satellite network. The launch occurred on Tuesday, August 20, 2024, at 9:20 a.m. EDT (1320 GMT) from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This mission was remarkable not only for boosting SpaceX’s Starlink megaconstellation but also

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is advancing its lunar exploration efforts with the upcoming Chandrayaan-4 and Chandrayaan-5 missions. ISRO Chairman S. Somanath confirmed that the designs for both missions are finalised and are awaiting government approval, as per a new report. These missions follow the successful Chandrayaan-3, which marked India as the first nation

Elon Musk, the influential figure behind SpaceX, has expressed a pragmatic view on the timeline for human colonization of Mars. Speaking at the Satellite 2020 conference, Musk noted the slow pace of advancements in space exploration, he may not live to see a sustainable Martian settlement. Despite SpaceX’s strides, such as successful Falcon 9 and

Researchers have made a significant breakthrough that may help save the world’s bananas from a disease threatening their existence. The disease in question, fusarium wilt, has already devastated various banana types in the past, including the Gros Michel variety in the 1950s. The Cavendish banana, the most common variety consumed globally today, is now facing

On August 15, 2024, NASA’s Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 project, driven by citizen scientists, uncovered an astonishing discovery: an object travelling at a staggering speed of 1 million miles per hour, enough to escape the Milky Way’s gravitational grasp. This hypervelocity object, known as CWISE J124909.08+362116.0, marks the first of its kind identified with the

Archaeologists have uncovered the remains of a man and a woman in Pompeii, providing new insights into the tragic events of the city’s destruction during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79. The two skeletons, found in a small room, offer a stark view of the last moments of these individuals as they faced

Recent observations from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have cast doubt on the long-held belief that asteroid 16 Psyche is the core remnant of a protoplanet. The JWST detected hydrated minerals on Psyche’s surface, which include hydroxyl and possibly water. This finding complicates our understanding of the asteroid’s composition and its role in the

Scientists have unearthed a previously unknown marine mammal species, Ontocetus posti, which lived 2.2 million years ago. Led by Dr. Mathieu Boisville from the University of Tsukuba, this discovery provides fresh insights into the evolutionary history of walruses and the impact of environmental changes on marine life. The fossil remains, found in Norwich, UK, and

A groundbreaking project by Harvard University and Google has produced the most detailed map of human brain connections to date. This achievement focuses on a cubic millimetre of the cerebral cortex, extracted from a patient during epilepsy surgery in 2014. Over a decade, a team of biologists and machine-learning experts meticulously analysed this small tissue

New research suggests that climate change could lead to prokaryotes, the oldest and smallest microorganisms on Earth, becoming more dominant in the oceans. These tiny organisms, including bacteria and archaea, have existed for billions of years and are essential for maintaining marine ecosystems. They play a key role in nutrient cycles and support the food

Archaeologists have made a significant discovery in Lake Bolsena, central Italy — a 3,000-year-old clay figurine — believed to represent an ancient goddess. This artifact was found submerged in the volcanic lake, which holds the remains of an early Iron Age village from around the 10th or 9th century B.C. The figurine, measuring approximately 6 inches