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  • Moon dust could stop being a nuisance and start reshaping how humans may build beyond Earth
    on April 23, 2026 at 10:50 pm

    As space agencies and private companies look toward a sustained human presence on the moon, a fundamental challenge centers on how to build strong, durable infrastructure without hauling every material from Earth. New research from Rice University points to an unexpected solution—transforming one of the moon’s most stubborn obstacles, its abrasive dust, into a valuable building resource. The study demonstrates that lunar regolith simulant, a terrestrial stand-in for the moon’s fine, abrasive dust, can be used to strengthen advanced composite materials. The work, published in Advanced Engineering Materials, was also selected for the cover of the journal’s latest issue.

  • Tiny satellites face big data limits: How foldable antennas could change CubeSat missions
    on April 22, 2026 at 9:40 pm

    An origami-inspired reflectarray antenna developed by researchers at Institute of Science Tokyo enables CubeSats to achieve high antenna gain while fitting within the tight size constraints of small satellites. Weighing just 64 grams, it folds compactly inside a 3U CubeSat for launch and expands in space. Such designs could support higher data-rate communications, expanding the capabilities of future CubeSat missions, including deep-space and lunar exploration.

  • Light-powered propulsion expands space exploration possibilities
    on April 22, 2026 at 6:20 pm

    Reaching the nearest star system, Alpha Centauri, would take hundreds of thousands of years using current rocket propulsion technology. Researchers in the J. Mike Walker ’66 Department of Mechanical Engineering at Texas A&M University have demonstrated a new approach to light-driven motion, showing that lasers can be used to lift and steer objects in multiple directions without physical contact. This breakthrough may one day enable travel to Alpha Centauri within roughly 20 years.

  • Blue Origin reuses New Glenn booster for the first time in Florida launch
    on April 19, 2026 at 2:10 pm

    Blue Origin, the U.S. space company of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, on Sunday successfully reused and recovered a booster for its New Glenn rocket, confirming its mastery of a technical feat that could boost its launch cadence and expand its rivalry with SpaceX.

  • Space worms! A microscopic crew goes into orbit to support future moon missions
    on April 13, 2026 at 2:40 pm

    British scientists have launched a crew of microscopic worms to the International Space Station in a pioneering experiment that could help unlock the secrets of long-duration space travel—and support ambitions to reach the moon and beyond.

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  • Astronomers may have found a strange new kind of cosmic explosion
    on April 24, 2026 at 2:02 pm

    A mysterious cosmic explosion has astronomers buzzing, as a strange event may hint at an entirely new kind of stellar cataclysm. After detecting ripples in space-time, scientists spotted a fast-fading red glow that initially looked like a rare kilonova—the kind of collision that forges gold and uranium. But just days later, the signal shifted, behaving more like a supernova, leaving researchers puzzled. Now, some think they may have witnessed something never seen before: a “superkilonova.”

  • Scientists stunned as JWST finds ice clouds on a giant alien planet
    on April 22, 2026 at 9:24 am

    Scientists have discovered unexpected water-ice clouds on a distant, Jupiter-like exoplanet, challenging current atmospheric models. By directly imaging Epsilon Indi Ab with the James Webb Space Telescope, they found less ammonia than expected—likely hidden by thick, patchy clouds. The finding reveals new layers of complexity in giant planets and shows how much we still have to learn.

  • Black hole jets measured for first time and rival the power of 10,000 suns
    on April 18, 2026 at 3:40 pm

    Scientists have captured stunning new insights into one of the universe’s most powerful phenomena—black hole jets—by using a planet-sized network of radio telescopes. Focusing on Cygnus X-1, one of the first known black holes, they measured jets blasting out with the energy of 10,000 Suns and moving at half the speed of light. By watching these jets get pushed and bent by the fierce stellar winds of a nearby supergiant star, researchers could calculate their true power for the first time.

  • Black hole wakes after 100 million years and erupts like a cosmic volcano
    on April 13, 2026 at 6:23 am

    A colossal “cosmic volcano” has erupted in deep space, as a supermassive black hole in galaxy J1007+3540 roars back to life after nearly 100 million years of silence. Astronomers captured stunning radio images showing fresh jets blasting outward while crashing into the intense pressure of a surrounding galaxy cluster, creating a chaotic, distorted structure stretching nearly a million light-years.

  • The Universe is expanding too fast and scientists still can’t explain it
    on April 12, 2026 at 6:37 am

    A major international effort has produced an ultra-precise measurement of the Universe’s expansion rate, confirming it’s faster than early-Universe models predict. By linking multiple distance-measuring techniques, scientists ruled out simple errors as the cause of the discrepancy. The persistent “Hubble tension” now looks more real than ever. It could mean our current model of the cosmos is incomplete.

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    • I Am Artemis: Peter Rossoni
      by Kendall Murphy on April 24, 2026 at 4:33 pm

      Listen to this audio excerpt from Peter Rossoni, Orion Artemis II Optical Communications System flight manager: As a child, Peter Rossoni watched the Apollo missions launch with his family. In April 2026, he became a part of NASA’s Artemis II mission, helping enable communications as astronauts journeyed around the Moon. Rossoni’s path to NASA began

    • The Day of the Trifid Nebula
      by Monika Luabeya on April 24, 2026 at 2:56 pm

      This shimmering region of star-formation, a close-up of the Trifid Nebula about 5,000 light-years from Earth, was captured in intricate detail by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope in an image released on April 20, 2026. The colors in Hubble’s visible light image, which marks the 36th anniversary of the mission’s launch on April 24, are reminiscent of an underwater

    • NASA Astronauts to Answer Questions from Missouri Students
      by Gerelle Q. Dodson on April 24, 2026 at 2:47 pm

      Students in Missouri will hear from NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway as they answer prerecorded science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) questions while aboard the International Space Station. The Earth-to-space call will begin at 10:50 a.m. EDT Thursday, April 30, and will stream live on the agency’s Learn With NASA YouTube channel. This

    • NASA Celebrates Decade of University Innovation in Aeronautics 
      by Jim Banke on April 24, 2026 at 1:04 pm

      For 10 years, a NASA initiative has helped the agency produce breakthrough aeronautical innovations while fostering the aviation workforce of tomorrow – and the University Leadership Initiative (ULI) is still flying high, making awards with the potential to change 21st century air travel.  Through ULI, NASA has supported more than 1,100 students at 100 schools, allowing them

    • An Agricultural Mosaic in Taiwan
      on April 24, 2026 at 4:01 am

      Diversity reigns across the farmland of Yunlin County in southwestern Taiwan—a region that produces an array of crops on small farms.

    NASA Image of the Day The latest NASA “Image of the Day” image.

    • The Day of the Trifid Nebula
      on April 24, 2026 at 2:59 pm

      NASA celebrates Hubble’s 36th anniversary with a new image of the Trifid Nebula, a star-forming region it first captured in 1997. The telescope leveraged almost its full operational lifetime to show us changes in the nebula on human time scales with an improved camera.

    • NASA’s Chandra Finds Young Stars Dim Quickly
      on April 23, 2026 at 3:05 pm

      Scientists have found that young stellar cousins of our Sun are calming down and dimming more quickly in their X-ray output than previously thought, according to a study using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory.

    • Night and (Earth) Day
      on April 22, 2026 at 3:16 pm

      This image, released in celebration of Earth Day, shows the terminator – the line between night and day – on Earth. The Artemis II astronauts captured this view on April 2, 2026, during their journey to the Moon.

    • A Fresh Look at the Crab Nebula
      on April 21, 2026 at 3:33 pm

      This image that NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope captured of the Crab Nebula, paired with its past observations and those of other telescopes, allows astronomers to study how the supernova remnant is expanding and evolving over time.

    • Wheels Up for X-59
      on April 20, 2026 at 3:59 pm

      NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft flies over the Mojave Desert in California on April 14, 2026.

    ESA Top News ESA Top News

    • Week in images: 20-24 April 2026
      on April 24, 2026 at 1:15 pm

      Week in images: 20-24 April 2026 Discover our week through the lens

    • Braving the Arctic for upcoming polar-focused satellites
      on April 24, 2026 at 9:08 am

      As sea ice continues to succumb to the climate crisis, measuring its decline with precision has never been more urgent. To meet this challenge, the European Space Agency is developing three new Copernicus satellites, each employing distinct but complementary techniques to monitor this fragile component of the Earth system.To ensure the data from these new satellites are razor-sharp, an international team of hardy scientists is now out on the Arctic sea ice braving the cold and flying above to collect critical in situ measurements.

    • Earth from Space: Cloud patterns over the Canary Islands
      on April 24, 2026 at 8:00 am

      Image: This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image highlights a distinctive cloud formation north of the Canary Islands of Tenerife and La Gomera.

    • Smile set to launch on 19 May
      on April 23, 2026 at 2:43 pm

      The European-Chinese Smile mission is due to launch on Tuesday 19 May 2026, at 05:52 CEST / 04:52 BST / 00:52 local time on a European Vega-C rocket.

    • A Saturday‑night dinner onboard the International Space Station
      on April 23, 2026 at 11:56 am

      Video: 00:00:46 After an intense few weeks the crew took time to celebrate together with a shared meal proposed by ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot.It’s a long‑standing tradition: each ESA astronaut works with a chef to create a few special dishes reserved for rare occasions — known as “bonus food”. Sophie’s bonus food was created by multi‑Michelin‑starred chef Anne‑Sophie Pic, offering the crew a taste of French gastronomy far from Earth.Bonus food, tailored to specific crew members, makes up around one tenth of an astronaut’s menu. Astronauts say it adds variety to their meals, supports mental well‑being, and helps strengthen bonds among the crew in orbit.

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