Archinaut One will test 3-D printing spacecraft components, and then assembling them, in low-Earth orbit. (Credit: Made in Space, Inc.)
Putting a satellite in space is news of the past, but launching a spacecraft that can 3-D print and self-assemble is a story of the future. NASA is now betting on the technology being ready for prime time as early as 2022.
Last week, the space agency announced that they had awarded a $73.7 million contract to a startup company called Made In Space, Inc. ...read more
Could moons around hot Jupiters, like the exoplanet shown in this artist's concept, be stripped from the planets they orbit? New research suggests the answer is yes, and the researchers have defined such objects as "ploonets."
(Credit: ESA/ATG medialab)
Astronomers can’t stop debating about the definition of a planet (see: Pluto). But one thing is for sure — there are a lot of objects that skirt the line between two types of cosmic bodies.
Now, researchers are adding a new kin ...read more
An artist's illustration shows the eventual Starship, SpaceX's future passenger vehicle, launching above the clouds. (Credit: SpaceX)
Exploring space on your next family vacation is still a few years in the future. But Elon Musk now says that Starhopper, the prototype for SpaceX’s future passenger spacecraft, could be tested as soon as July 16 at the company’s facility near Brownsville, Texas. That would coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Apollo launch.
In a tweet on Jul ...read more
(Credit: Discover; Pavel Chagochkin/Shutterstock)
(Inside Science) -- Shields made of a material so light it is sometimes called "frozen smoke" could help make areas on Mars livable, a new study suggests.
Currently, the surface of Mars is too cold for water to stay liquid, often thought of as a key prerequisite for life as we know it. Moreover, its atmosphere is too thin to shield against hostile ultraviolet radiation, which is dangerous to life.
Scientists have suggested a number of s ...read more
Ochre engraving on a rib fragment from China is the oldest evidence for the material's symbolic usage, say researchers behind the find (top: photograph; bottom: illustration). (Credit: Francesco d’Errico and Luc Doyon)
Two pieces of animal bones with ochre engraving, found in central China, are the latest evidence that members of the human family used the material to express abstract ideas much earlier than once believed — and much further from Africa.
Researchers studying the ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine