Space

Out in the cosmic landscape, planetary nebulas would offer the perfect Halloween doors to knock on. They’re spooky tricksters in their names, as they have nothing to do with planets at all and are rather the gory scenes of stars dying. The term “planetary nebula” actually comes from an accident. Long ago, astronomers using early-iteration telescopes thought these objects looked…

Earth’s moon is a treasure trove of resources. Space agencies around the world are planning missions to access and use lunar volatiles, which include hydrogen, water, helium, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide, in order to produce fuel sources, breathable air, and even drinking water  —  all with the goal of establishing long-term presences on the moon. But much is unknown about the…

Fragments of a rare type of meteorite have been found in the sample of material brought back from the lunar far side by China’s Chang’e 6 mission, and they could help shed light on the origin of Earth’s water. The meteoritic debris found among the 1,935.3 grams (68.3 ounces) of lunar regolith sampled by Chang’e 6 belongs to a class of carbon- and water-rich meteorites known…

The amount of bandwidth provided by SpaceX’s Starlink satellites is limiting Ukraine’s ability to operate ground robots on the frontline of the nation’s war against Russia, forcing the beleaguered nation’s tech innovators to look for out-of-the-box solutions. Over the past year, Ukraine dispatched thousands of wheeled ground robots to its frontline military units to help…