Feb 26 Private U.S. lunar lander to cease operations Tuesday after landing sideways By Marcia Dunn, Associated Press Intuitive Machines, the Houston company that built and flew the spacecraft, said Monday that sunlight will likely stop shining on the solar panels Tuesday morning. Continue reading
Feb 25 Watch 1:09 A mind-boggling look at what might be the brightest object in the universe By John Yang, Harry Zahn According to a paper published this past week in the journal Nature Astronomy, scientists found what could be the brightest known object in the universe: a quasar produced by a massive and voracious black hole. It’s estimated to be emitting… Continue watching
Feb 23 Astronomers spot 3 new tiny moons around Neptune and Uranus By Christina Larson, Associated Press The latest tally puts Neptune at 16 known moons and Uranus at 28. Scientists say the new moon around Uranus is likely the smallest of the planet's moons. Continue reading
Feb 23 WATCH: NASA and Intuitive Machines say lunar lander is on its side, hampering communications By Marcia Dunn, Associated Press A private U.S. lunar lander tilted over at touchdown and ended up on its side near the moon’s south pole, hampering communications, company officials said Friday. Continue reading
Feb 22 Watch 5:29 U.S. company lands private spacecraft on surface of the moon By Geoff Bennett, Miles O'Brien, Shoshana Dubnow It's the first U.S.-built spacecraft to land on the moon in more than 50 years, and the first ever by a private company. The Odysseus lander took off from Cape Canaveral last week and made it to the lunar surface… Continue watching
Feb 21 How do whales sing? Scientists point to a specialized voice box that other animals don’t have By Maria Cheng, Associated Press A newly published study says whales have a specialized voice box that isn't seen in other animals. The study was too tiny to be definitive, but experts say the discovery will direct future research into how whales communicate. Continue reading
Feb 19 Quasar with black hole at its center may be brightest object in the universe, astronomers say By Marcia Dunn, Associated Press This distant quasar shines 500 trillion times brighter than our sun, and its black hole is more than 17 billion times more immense than our sun. Continue reading
Feb 17 Watch 6:12 How a new space race could be harming the Earth’s atmosphere By John Yang, Harry Zahn According to data from the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, 2023 was a record year for launching satellites, probes, landers and more into space. But scientists worry those plumes of exhaust trailing behind rockets could be scattering harmful… Continue watching
Feb 17 Japan successfully sends new H3 rocket into orbit in key test after last year’s failed debut By Mari Yamaguchi, Associated Press Japan's flagship H3 rocket reached orbit and released two small observation satellites in a key second test following a failed debut launch last year, buoying hope for the country in the global space race. Continue reading
Feb 14 Analysis from Japan’s lunar spacecraft could shed light on moon’s origin By Mari Yamaguchi, Associated Press A Japan space agency official says an unmanned spacecraft that landed on the moon last month has captured and transmitted data analyzing 10 lunar rocks, a greater-than-expected achievement. Continue reading