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

Astronomers have traditionally relied on helioseismology to estimate the Sun’s age by analysing the vibrations that ripple through its interior. However, recent research has uncovered a significant obstacle, the Sun’s magnetic activity, which follows an 11-year cycle, appears to be distorting these measurements. Data from the Birmingham Solar Oscillations Network (BISON) and NASA’s SOHO mission,

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

Astronomers have long anticipated a cosmic clash between the Milky Way and the Andromeda galaxy. This event, projected to occur within the next 5 billion years, has been seen as an inevitable galactic merger. However, a recent simulation suggests that the chances of this collision happening within the next 10 billion years might be less

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

MIT engineers have achieved a major breakthrough with the creation of a zinc-air microbattery, a device so tiny it measures just 0.1 millimetres in length and 0.002 millimetres in thickness—about the thickness of a human hair. This innovative battery harnesses oxygen from the air to oxidise zinc, generating up to 1 volt of power. This

The Indian Space and Research Organisation (ISRO) Chief S. Somanath has stated that the ongoing challenges faced by NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, who has been stuck in space for over 60 days, will provide valuable lessons for India’s Gaganyaan mission, as per a report. Williams and fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore have encountered difficulties with Boeing’s

Neuralink Corp., Elon Musk’s brain-computer company, said surgery for its second implant in a human “went well” and the patient is now able to design 3D objects and play video games like Counter-Strike 2. The procedure also appears to have successfully averted an issue that dogged the experience of the first patient, Noland Arbaugh, who

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

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

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

Super Blue Moon, a rare astronomical event, occurred on August 19. The much anticipated event was seen in the night sky after almost a year, as the previous Blue Moon was seen on August 30, 2023. But what exactly does that mean? Despite the exciting name, the Moon is not blue, and the change in

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

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