Science

International Space Station (ISS) is entering its final decade of operational life and NASA is planning to open it for commercial activities. The space agency has detailed the transition plan in a new report. It outlines the steps being taken by NASA to develop “both the supply and demand side” of the low-Earth-orbit commercial economy.

A US intelligence agency said Wednesday that its newest spy satellite successfully launched into orbit atop a reusable SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The SpaceX rocket took off at 12:27 pm local time (01:57am IST on February 3) from the Vandenberg Air Force base in California, the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), which is in charge of

Rain Neuromorphics, a startup designing chips that mimic the way the brain works and aims to serve companies using artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms, said on Wednesday it raised $25 million (roughly Rs. 187 crore). Gordon Wilson, CEO and co-founder of Rain, said that while most AI chips on the market today are digital, his company’s

Speculations about a second Trojan asteroid sharing Earth’s orbit have come to an end. Researchers have confirmed that it’s indeed real. Astronomers believed they had discovered a second Trojan asteroid orbiting Earth in 2020, which sparked rounds of speculation. Scientists affirm that the first confirmed Trojan asteroid isn’t an exceptional case after the most recent

Don’t be surprised if you look at photos of the surface of Mars and see a giant cross-section of a tree stump. Recent photos of the Red Planet show large concentric rings on the surface. These rings look very similar to a tree stump’s rings. But that’s not the case. The European Space Agency (ESA)

After several delays, SpaceX has finally launched an Italian satellite aboard its Falcon 9 rocket from a station in Florida, US. The space company founded by billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk initially planned to launch the Earth-observation satellite last week but continuous bad weather forced it to reschedule the launch several times. A window of

NASA’s Hubble telescope is known to capture spectacular glimpses of spatial objects as it is placed strategically and has an unrestricted view of the universe. It recently released an image of a group of three galaxies, collectively known as NGC 7764A. Placed in the constellation Phoenix, these galaxies are about 425 million light-years from the Earth.

Wildlife films, as seen and experienced by people on TV, are captured with the help of extremely sophisticated and expensive equipment. These cool cameras and gadgets are operated by some of the world’s best cinematographers, but this does not mean you cannot get into the amazing world of wildlife filmmaking. By making the right gear

A “close encounter” is set to happen between the Moon and Mars tonight (September 29) as they will just be just a little over 2 degrees apart. In India, this celestial event will be at its pinnacle at 8:34pm. The two celestial bodies will share the same right ascension, with the Moon passing to the

While Elon Musk-founded SpaceX has an ambitious plan to execute 52 launches in 2022, its start to the year seems sketchy. The commercial space company had planned to launch an Italian satellite on Thursday (January 27) evening but it is yet to take off due to bad weather. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket was originally

Elon Musk’s commercial space exploration company SpaceX plans to launch 52 missions in 2022. If the company is successful, it would mark the most launches it has ever conducted in a single year. SpaceX is a major partner for NASA, especially for its human spaceflight programme. It is responsible for ferrying astronauts and cargo to

Mars today is marked by its endless red desert plains. But it was not always like that. There was water and it flowed on its surface longer than previously estimated, a new research by NASA says. The Red Planet rippled with rivers and ponds just like Earth billions of years ago, providing a potential habitat

Mars has often been described as Earth’s closest companion in the solar system, having a similar size, inclination, and structural composition. Mars is even believed to have had water on its surface, giving rise to the belief that one day the Red Planet could support life. Colonising Mars is fast becoming a preoccupation among many humans

A chunk of a SpaceX rocket that blasted off seven years ago and was abandoned in space after completing its mission will crash into the Moon in March, experts say. The rocket was deployed in 2015 to put into orbit a NASA satellite called the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR). Since then, the second stage

Saturn, the second-largest planet in the Solar System after Jupiter, has always attracted the attention of not just scientists but also amateur astronomers. Given the prominent rings around it, it is easily recognisable. But it has another outstanding feature: more than 60 moons. One of these moons has got scientists particularly interested recently. According to

Exactly a month after it was launched, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has reached a position in space from where it will quietly observe the many intriguing events of the cosmos. The Lagrange Point 2, as it’s known, is located 1.5 million kilometres away from Earth on its nightside. The telescope was put into this

Hubble Space Telescope provides astronomers with breathtaking images of the cosmos for deeper studies. Recently, the telescope shared yet another strikingly beautiful image. This time, it captured the NGC 3318 galaxy, which lies in the constellation Vela, located about 115 million light-years away from the Earth. The image was shared by the European Space Agency

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is set to orbit the Lagrange point 2 in relation to the Earth and the Sun. But, what does it really mean? Where is Lagrange point 2 located and why is it of note? Explaining the intricacies, the space agency recently tweeted about the orbit that the telescope will follow

Sun’s surface is marked by electrically charged gases that keep generating powerful magnetic forces. Their area of influence is called magnetic fields. As these gases are dynamic, they continuously stretch and twist the magnetic fields. Sometimes, this tangling of magnetic fields causes a sudden explosion of energy called solar flares. These flares, if strong enough,

A recent research based on Hubble Space Telescope findings showed that black holes could go against their all-absorbing nature at times and may aid creation. The research showed a supermassive black hole at the centre of a dwarf galaxy, some 30 million light-years away, creating stars rather than swallowing it. The black hole is apparently