Free Republic

China National Space Administration, the state owned space corporation, may be planning a “takeover” of the Moon as part of its military space program, NASA’s administrator Bill Nelson has told newspaper Bild. During the interview Nelson affirmed that the United States was involved in the space race with Beijing. In 2035, he iterated, China will complete construction of its own Moon station, and will launch several moon programmes. The 79-year-old NASA administrator acknowledged that the American space administration has, in fact, been "very concerned" about China's landing on the Moon and its agenda of hijacking the Moon

Industrial-scale agriculture has changed the make up of our atmosphere. So "exofarms" ought to be visible on Earth-like planets orbiting other stars. One of the key developments separating modern civilization from the hunter gatherer societies of the past is the invention of farming, which took place about 10,000 years ago. This began with the cultivation of wild plants and the domestication of various animals for dairy products and meat. The big advantage of farming is that it sustains a much larger population than hunting and gathering. This led to the emergence of cities, the sharing of natural resources and of...

The agency said the double crater might indicate that the rocket had a large mass on each end of it. A rocket that has used up its fuel usually will just have its mass on the end with the motor, with the other side being an empty fuel tank. The rocket’s origin is uncertain, but the double crater that it produced might reveal its identity, according to the release. A rocket body hitting the moon has not created a double crater before, the release states.

You can see it now, and the view could be getting better in the next two weeks. The comet is called Comet C/2017 K2 and was discovered using the telescope called PanSTARRS. The comet was spotted just five years ago in May 2017... C/2017 K2 is heading toward the sun, and coming closer to Earth. The comet will make its closest approach to Earth on July 14. The comet can now be seen with binoculars in the southern sky after dark. The best viewing is done out in the countryside, away from city lights. NASA adds that C/2017 K2, “is...

UC Riverside and the University of Delaware say they have found a method to bypass the need for biological photosynthesis, allowing them to create food without sunlight via artificial photosynthesis... The researchers...used a two-step electrocatalytic process to convert carbon dioxide, electricity, and water into acetate, which is the main component in vinegar. They then applied the acetate to food-producing organisms in the dark, causing these organisms to grow. UC Riverside researchers...say they can combine their method with solar panels to generate the electricity required to power the electrolysis. This would increase the conversion efficiency of sunlight into food by up...

This phrase is the standard that astronomers will be applying to a curious signal captured with China's "Sky Eye" telescope that might be a transmission from alien technology. An article reporting the signal was posted on the website of China's state-backed Science and Technology Daily newspaper, but was later removed. So have astronomers finally found evidence of intelligent found life beyond Earth? And is it being hushed up? We should be intrigued, but not too excited (yet). An interesting signal has to go through a lot of tests to check whether it truly carries the signature of extraterrestrial technology or...

NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) will jointly release the James Webb Space Telescope’s first full-color images and spectroscopic data during a live broadcast on July 12 at 10:40 AM EDT.The trio of space agencies plans to release the images one by one and the broadcast will serve to kick off the scientific operations of the largest and most powerful space telescope the world has ever launched.The photos will not be available to anyone prior to the live unveiling, allowing the entire world to enjoy the photos together unspoiled.Live coverage of the image release...

The sun flexed its considerable magnetic muscles today (June 13), and two solar spacecraft captured the show on video. Earth's star unleashed a long-duration solar flare early this morning, blasting high-energy radiation into space for about three hours. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), which has been studying the sun from Earth orbit since 2010, observed the dramatic event in multiple wavelengths. The flare registered as an M3.4, putting it in the "medium" class of solar outburst. It was strong enough, however, to cause temporary radio blackouts(opens in new tab) in the Asia-Pacific region here on Earth. (Scientists put powerful solar...

Thanks to Pioneer 10's pictures, the planet Jupiter and its moons, which were formerly only small circles in a telescope, became large, vibrant worlds in the eyes of scientists. For decades after those images beamed back to Earth, Pioneer 10 kept going. It sent valuable scientific data about the sun and cosmic rays before its signal became too faint for Earthlings to hear. Pioneer 10 also carries a plaque with a message to any intelligent life it might encounter on its journey. The Pioneer plaque includes diagrams of Earth's location and drawings of a man and a woman

These tiny meteoroids typically weigh less than a gram, yet they still pose a significant threat to spacecraft because their average speed...is a staggering 22,500 mph...After initial assessments, the team found the telescope is still performing at a level that exceeds all mission requirements despite a marginally detectable effect in the data.

Growing up in Guadalajara, Mexico, Katya Echazarreta was encouraged to abandon her dreams of traveling to space. “Everyone around me — family, friends, teachers — I just kept hearing the same thing: That’s not for you,” Echazarreta told The Associated Press. Echazarreta, 26, will prove them wrong Saturday when she joins a diverse international crew boarding the fifth passenger flight by Blue Origin, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ space travel venture. She and five others, including Victor Correa Hespanha, the second Brazilian to fly to space, will blast off from Texas atop a New Shepard rocket for a 10-minute flight. The...

The first full-color images and other data, coming July 12, 2022, will showcase Webb's capabilities and kick off its science mission.

According to NASA, most stargazers in America will have a great chance to see two planets in close proximity during the predawn night sky from May 27 through May 30. While Jupiter and Mars will still be quite far from each other, they will appear to be quite close during what is called a planetary conjunction, to be seen with the naked eye. At their closest point throughout the period, Mars and Jupiter will be separated by just .6 degrees, which will equate to about the width of a raised finger for those on the ground. Mars will be found...

TOKYO, May 17, 2022 - Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (TOKYO: 6503) announced today that the company has developed an on-orbit additive-manufacturing technology that uses photosensitive resin and solar ultraviolet light for the 3D printing of satellite antennas in the vacuum of outer space. The novel technology makes use of a newly developed liquid resin that was custom formulated for stability in vacuum. The resin enables structures to be fabricated in space using a low-power process that utilizes the sun's ultraviolet rays for photopolymerization. The technology specifically addresses the challenge of equipping small, inexpensive spacecraft buses with large structures, such as high-gain...

A House subcommittee is scheduled to hold next week the first open congressional hearing on unidentified aerial vehicles in more than half a century, with testimony from two top defense intelligence officials. The hearing comes after the release last June of a report requested by Congress on “unidentified aerial phenomena.” The nine-page “Preliminary Assessment” from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence focused on 144 incidents dating back to 2004 and was able to explain only one. The report declined to draw inferences, saying that the available reporting was “largely inconclusive” and noting that limited and inconsistent data created...

The research involved imaging the brains of 15 astronauts before and after extended tours of duty on the International Space Station. Researchers used magnetic resonance imaging to measure perivascular space — or the space around blood vessels — in the brains of astronauts prior to their launch and again immediately after their return. They also took MRI measurements again at one, three, and six months after they had returned. Astronauts’ images were compared with those taken of the same perivascular space in the brains of 16 Earth-bound control subjects. In all cases, scientists found no problems with balance or visual...

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Fifty years after his Apollo 16 mission to the moon, retired NASA astronaut Charlie Duke says he’s ready for the U.S. to get back to lunar exploration. Part of that effort, Duke said Friday, will come in the form of the Artemis program, which includes NASA’s upcoming flight to the moon using its new Space Launch System rocket. The first of the huge rockets is supposed to blast off without crew later this year, with crewed flights planned subsequently. “With Artemis, NASA is going to be focused on deep space, to the moon and beyond, and...

Fifty years after his Apollo 16 mission to the moon, retired NASA astronaut Charlie Duke says he's ready for the U.S. to get back to lunar exploration. Part of that effort, Duke said Friday, will come in the form of the Artemis program, which includes NASA's upcoming flight to the moon using its new Space Launch System rocket. The first of the huge rockets is supposed to blast off without crew later this year, with crewed flights planned subsequently. "With Artemis, NASA is going to be focused on deep space, to the moon and beyond, and I'm excited about...

SpaceX and NASA are targeting no earlier than Wednesday, April 27 for Falcon 9’s launch of Crew-4, Dragon’s fourth science expedition mission to the International Space Station, from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Launch is targeted for 3:52 a.m. ET (7:52 UTC), with a backup opportunity available on Thursday, April 28.

LOS GATOS, CA—With Netflix stock taking a nosedive, the company has committed to making big changes to attract more subscribers. This initiative includes replacing Neil Degrasse Tyson with Vice President Kamala Harris as the host for COSMOS: A SpaceTime Odyssey. "We've had our eye on Kamala Harris for some time, to be honest," said COSMOS showrunner Francis Martin. "She's such an eloquent speaker known for giving truly captivating, informative speeches. But once we heard her most recent speech on space, we knew we had to have her." Netflix has confirmed that Neil Degrasse Tyson—the well-known astrophysicist, planetary scientist, author, and...