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A planet in a binary star system has been found by a team of astronomers working with citizen scientists. The Neptune-sized planet TOI 4633 c, nicknamed Percival, orbits around a pair of stars about 309 light-years away from Earth. It was first spotted by citizen scientists who were going through data collected by NASA’s Transiting […]

An audit of NASA’s readiness for the Artemis II mission – which will put astronauts into orbit around the Moon – has found critical issues with the US space agency’s 2022 test flight. The Artemis I mission was an uncrewed test flight of the Orion spacecraft, which inserted the module into lunar orbit before splashing […]

In 2029 the asteroid once considered the most probable to strike the Earth will fly uncomfortably close to the planet’s surface. Spanning 335-375m, asteroid 99942 – dubbed ‘Apophis’ after the Egyptian god of chaos – was discovered in 2004 by astronomers from the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Tucson, Arizona. Initially, it was assessed as […]

On Tuesday, Nasa launched its Space Sustainability Strategy, which aims to better map and monitor satellites and debris, and keep orbits as clear as possible.There are currently more than 10,000 satellites orbiting the Earth – a four-fold increase since 2019 – and numbers are set to grow exponentially.Some 400,000 s...

Parts of North America will be dark next week because of a rare celestial phenomenon that will not return for the next few decades. A total solar eclipse is set to take place next Monday, for the first time since 2017, completely blocking off the mask of the sun. What a total solar eclipse is...

Astronauts can sometimes up to 8cm after they’ve been in space, and now Australian health specialists are working with NASA to make their work less of a pain in the back. Due to lower gravity in space, astronauts often suffer muscle, bone and back problems. “On Earth, when we are upright, gravity loads the spine […]

NASA’s Universe of Sound program has shared the splendour of the mind-blowing images of the cosmos, like those captured by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), with people who are blind, low vision or sighted. “Historically, astronomy has prioritised visuals to present information, with scientists and communicators overlooking the critical need to communicate astrophysics with […]

What happens when you take a spaceship worth hundreds of millions of dollars, blast it into space and deliberately smash it into an asteroid at speeds of 23,000km/h? Well, as confirmed by NASA last year, you’ll probably take a hefty chunk out of the asteroid. Thanks to the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission, the […]

The Odysseus lander, just a day after it made a historic landing on the moon, tipped over and is now on its side, officials revealed. The lander, which made history as the first private spacecraft to land on the moon in over 50 years, ended up on its side near the moon’s south pole. The...

Intuitive Machines is poised to undertake its Moon landing at the end of this week, with its journey to the lunar surface proceeding without major issue. The ‘Odysseus’ Nova-C lander can start its landing procedures from 9.49am AEDT Friday 23 February (5.49pm USET Thursday 22 February). It’s scheduled to land near the Malapert A crater […]

NASA has launched its space-based climate research project, PACE. The mission will see the PACE (short for Plankton, Aerosol, Climate, ocean Ecosystem) satellite study microscopic ocean life and airborne particles as part of an extensive monitoring program until mid-2028. On board the satellite are three devices – a spectrometer and two polarimeters. Together they will […]

Texas-based space flight company Intuitive Machines will pick up where the failed Peregrine mission left off when its IM-1 mission launches to the Moon later this month, hoping to be the first commercial organisation to land on the lunar surface. Peregrine was the failed attempt by Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic to place a lunar lander carrying a […]

Japan has become the fifth nation to land a vehicle on the Moon. It achieved the feat on Saturday when its Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) spacecraft set down on the lunar surface. The successful landing sees Japan join the United States, Soviet Union, China and India as the only nations to have done […]

The ill-fated Peregrine One lunar lander has re-entered Earth’s atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean.   Peregrine was a lunar lander from Pittsburgh-based space exploration company Astrobotic, hoping to become the first privately built vehicle to safely land on the Moon.   In doing so, it would have marked the first return of a US-flagged spacecraft to the […]

Astrobotic’s doomed Peregrine lunar lander will likely burn up in Earth’s atmosphere, the private Moon exploration company has confirmed. Currently, Peregrine is travelling in space between the Moon and Earth, but a propellant leak identified shortly after take-off last Monday put the mission’s objective of landing on the lunar surface out of reach. Astrobotic has […]

Humans will have to wait a little longer to walk on the Moon after NASA confirmed it was pushing back the launch dates for its next set of Artemis missions. Artemis II, which will put a crewed Orion spacecraft into lunar orbit, will now take place no earlier than September 2025. It was originally scheduled […]

Hopes of Pittsburgh-based space company Astrobotic returning the US to the Moon in February are waning a hit following propulsion issues for its Peregrine spacecraft shortly after rocket separation. Despite efforts to resolve issues, Astrobotic is now re-evaluating whether the mission can be salvaged. Peregrine successfully launched aboard a United Launch Alliance Vulcan rocket in […]