ScientistPankaj: These SpaceX moon and sunrise Starlink satellite launch photos are just incredible

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May 23, 2022

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The Launchpad

'Dog door' on Mars is a rocky 'doorway into the ancient past,' NASA says

(NASA)

Over the past week, the internet has been wild over images of what appears as a doorway cut into a cliff on Mars.

But scientists behind NASA's Curiosity rover, which snapped the pictures earlier this month, said that while the strange door-like feature on Mars provides a fascinating "doorway into the ancient past," it is perfectly natural rather than the work of some aliens in hiding.

Full Story: Space (5/21)

These SpaceX moon and sunrise Starlink satellite launch photos are just incredible

(SpaceX)

When SpaceX launched a new Starlink fleet into orbit last week, the rocket wasn't the only star.

As SpaceX prepared its ground-based tracking cameras for the early-morning Falcon 9 rocket launch from Florida on May 18, its operators snagged a spectacular view of the nearly full moon. Minutes later, the Falcon 9 launched 53 Starlink satellites to space from Pad 39A of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral.

Full Story: Space (5/22)

POLL QUESTION:

Space Quiz: What video game character did Boeing just launch to space on Starliner?

(Find the answer here!)

Sonic the Hedgehog.

Master Chief from the Halo franchise.

Jebediah "Jeb" Kerman from Kerbal Space Program.

Mario Mario some Super Mario Bros.

Hubble looks into the Needle's Eye in this spiral galaxy view

(NASA, ESA, and H. Feng (Tsinghua University); Image processing: G. Kober (NASA Goddard/Catholic University of America))

A fresh image from the Hubble Space Telescope shows a deep view of the eye of a galactic needle.

The spiral galaxy is nicknamed the "Needle's Eye", although more officially it is known as NGC 247 and Caldwell 62. NASA said May 10 the nickname is appropriate given this galaxy is a dwarf spiral, making it a relatively small group of stars compared to our own Milky Way.

Full Story: Space (5/22)

A meteor shower outburst from a shattered comet may spawn new tau Herculids display on May 30

(Vcg/Getty Images)

Sometimes, astronomy can be full of surprises. Take the case of a tiny comet, normally far too faint to be seen without the help of a telescope. But in 1995, it suddenly and quite unexpectedly brightened up to become dimly visible with the naked eye.

Come the end of May, things could turn exciting, thanks again to this same tiny comet. On that night, a new meteor shower - the tau Herculids - might erupt, perhaps ranking with the best of the annual meteor displays.

Full Story: Space (5/22)

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Spaceflight

NASA to roll Artemis 1 moon rocket back out to launch pad in early June

(Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

The Artemis 1 vehicle - a giant Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with an Orion crew capsule on top - is scheduled to return to Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida in early June for another try at a crucial "wet dress rehearsal" test, agency officials wrote in an update on Friday (May 20).

The wet dress will run the SLS and Orion through a series of prelaunch checks and procedures, including fueling of the rocket and several simulated countdowns. And next month's attempt won't be Artemis 1's first crack at it.

Full Story: Space (5/23)

Could people breathe the air on Mars?

(cokada/E+ via Getty Images)

If you tried to breathe on the surface of Mars without a spacesuit supplying your oxygen - bad idea - you would die in an instant. You would suffocate, and because of the low atmospheric pressure, your blood would boil, both at about the same time.

Full Story: Space (5/23)

Boeing's Starliner spacecraft is open for astronauts at space station for 1st time

(NASA TV)

Boeing's first Starliner capsule to the International Space Station is officially open for astronauts living on board the orbiting lab.

The commercial Starliner spacecraft, which arrived Friday on an uncrewed test flight to the station, was opened by NASA astronaut Robert Hines at 12:04 p.m. EDT (1604 GMT) to begin about five days of tests on the capsule. It's a major milestone for Boeing and NASA's Commercial Crew Program, which picked Boeing and SpaceX to fly astronauts to the International Space Station in 2014.

Full Story: Space (5/21)

Science & Astronomy

There's a mystery in our universe's expansion rate and the Hubble Space Telescope is on the case

(NASA, ESA, Adam G. Riess (STScI, JHU))

The Hubble telescope just made its best measurement yet of the universe's current expansion rate, but it still doesn't match the early universe.

The new analysis of data from the 32-year-old Hubble Space Telescope continues the observatory's longstanding quest to better understand how quickly the universe expands, and how much that expansion is accelerating.

Full Story: Space (5/21)

China's Mars rover is hibernating through the Red Planet winter

(CNSA/PEC)

We may have heard the last from China's Zhurong for a while, after the solar-powered Mars rover entered a dormant state due to winter's cold and local sand and dust storms.

Zhurong entered hibernation on May 18, with temperatures of around minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 20 degrees Celsius) during the local Mars day and minus 148 F (minus 100 C) during the night.

Full Story: Space (5/23)

Technology

3D printed satellite antennas can be made in space with help of sunlight

(Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)

Satellite antennas can be 3D-printed in space with the help of sunlight, using a new patented technique that promises to do away with clunky satellite parts that take up too much space in a rocket.

The new method, developed by Japanese technology company Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, uses a special type of resin that turns into a rigid solid material when exposed to ultraviolet radiation from the sun that is present in space.

Full Story: Space (5/21)

Save over $260 on the Snapmaker A350T 3D printer at Amazon

(Amazon)

If you're in the market for a premium 3D printer then now could be the time to bag a bargain as you can save over $260 on the Snapmaker A350T 3-in-1 3D printer on Amazon.

Right now, you can grab the Snapmaker A350T 3-in-1 3D printer for $1529 at Amazon, down from $1799. While that's still a lot of money to be dropping, it is a massive $269.85 saving on the usual price for this impressive machine.

Full Story: Space (5/19)

Skywatching

'Out There: Oceans of Time': Win a Sky-Watcher Cassegrain telescope

(Future)

"Out There: Oceans of Time" is a space exploration game that puts you at the helm of an interstellar mission of discovery spanning a vast and vibrant cosmos.

To celebrate it's launch on May 26, Space.com has teamed up with Modern Wolf to give away a brand-new telescope! Enter before June 8 for your chance to win.

Full Story: Space (5/20)

Entertainment

Stargate Interview: Amanda Tapping, Brad Wright, & Google's Laurence Moroney talk Stargate AI 2.0

(The Companion)

Sci-fi is full of cautionary tales about artificial intelligence, machines rising up to make us obsolete, and, if we're especially unlucky, wipe us out. But what does the cutting edge of AI technology actually look like today? Well, it might shock you to learn that it's busy learning how to write scripts for new Stargate episodes.

Full Story: Space (5/20)

Netflix's 'Love, Death + Robots' season 3 stars alien bugs

(Netflix)

Netflix's mind-expanding animated anthology, "Love, Death + Robots," has just dropped the trippy trailer for Season 3 and it's a far-out smorgasbord of sci-fi shorts centered around monstrous crustaceans, astronauts on acid, ravenous zombies, a cyborg bear, insectoid extraterrestrials, elder gods, silly robots, seductive sirens, and super-smart rats, all guaranteed to deliver recurring nightmares.

Full Story: Space (5/22)