China's Magpie Bridge satellite will orbit 455,000 km from Earth to control future Moon robots

This is the first communications satellite that will operate so far from Earth and it is designed to help Chinese engineers control their robot which will explore the dark side of the Moon

May 21, 2018

China launches satellite to explore Moon's far side

Queqiao is expected to enter a halo orbit around the second Lagrangian (L2) point of the Earth-Moon system, about 455,000 km from the Earth. It will be the world's first communication satellite operating in that orbit. Monday's launch was the 275th mission of the Long March rocket series.

May 21, 2018

Strange laser beams being fired at Earth from Ant Nebula in deep space

A dying star part of a twin star system in the middle of the Ant Nebula has been ejecting lasers into the universe and to beams are coming at Earth.

May 20, 2018

NASA's exoplanet hunter takes first image of the cosmos as it swings by the Moon

TESS is a NASA mission that is designed to look for exoplanets and potentially life-bearing planets orbiting stars in the cosmos and it has just taken its first image.

May 20, 2018

Wrong axial tilt can freeze Earth-like planets even within the 'Goldilocks Zone'

Planets are believed to be hospitable if they are at a particular distance from their host star and thus able to hold liquid water, scientists have now found that a planet's tilt also plays a major role in allowing life to form on its surface.

May 18, 2018

China to compete with SpaceX by developing its own cheap, reusable rockets; launch by 2020

A state-owned space company in China is working on Long March 8, a rocket which they claim will have the takeoff and landing capability similar to SpaceX's Falcon 9.

May 17, 2018

Fastest growing black hole ever found eats a sun every 2 days

The black hole is 12 billion light years away and is unlikely to ever get near Earth. With a mass of about 20 billion suns, the black hole would have appeared 10 times brighter than the moon if it was located at the center of the Milky Way.

May 16, 2018

Elon Musk says Falcon 9 is now 'most reliable rocket ever built'

SpaceX is targeting one launch every two weeks using the Falcon 9 which now can go up to ten launches before needing any major refurbishment.

May 16, 2018

Jupiter's moon Europa could harbour life, hints water plumes shooting into space

After studying data over two decades old, scientists have now confirmed that Jupiter's moon Europa has water plumes as high as 100 miles off the surface, which shows a great deal of promise for future space missions.

May 15, 2018

Massive asteroid to brush past Earth: Watch closest encounter in 300 years

According to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, there is going to be a close encounter with an asteroid the size of New York's Statue of Liberty, as it skims past our planet on May 15.

May 15, 2018

ISRO ponders alternative propulsion tech, reusable launch vehicles

ISRO has a few lofty goals set for itself in the coming years – reducing the cost of space travel, improving manufacturing technology, building reusable rockets and vehicles, and nuclear propulsion are all things that India is looking seriously at.

May 13, 2018

Artificial intelligence in search of alien intelligence, SETI sets right foot forward

Alien intelligence need not be similar enough to human intelligence for it to exist. Considering the fact that there are forms of intelligence right here on Earth that humans are yet to identify, SETI wants to use AI to help discover alien life.

May 13, 2018

SpaceX launches updated Falcon 9, nails landing and delivers Bangabandhu in orbit

After an automated abort was triggered by SpaceX systems in its first launch attempt, the Block 5 Falcon 9 rocket was able to take its payload to space and return for a perfect landing out in the Atlantic ocean.

May 13, 2018

NASA sending a robot helicopter to Mars in 2020

The Mars Helicopter will be the size of a football and weigh about 1.8 kg. Its twin blade setup will spin ten times faster than Earth choppers and if it does manage to fly, it will take 90-second-long trips over the course of a month.

May 13, 2018

What is Bangabandhu Satellite-1? Bangladesh's first communications satellite awaits SpaceX launch

Named after Bangladesh's founding father, the satellite will give the country autonomy with telecommunications and broadcasting as well as phone and internet connectivity.

May 11, 2018