Space & Physics: A quantum reversal of time's arrow

Top stories in space and physics news                    

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April 23—This week, our top stories include a quantum reversal of time’s arrow, a postmortem on the problematic space toilet from Artemis II, musings on the solar system’s “weirdest” planet and a long-awaited date with destiny for NASA’s flagship Roman Space Telescope. All that and more is below. Enjoy! Thoughts? Questions? Let me know via e-mail (lbillings@sciam.com), X or Bluesky. —Lee Billings, Senior Editor, Physical Sciences

Top Stories

NASA’s Roman Space Telescope will begin its revolutionary mission in September Ahead of schedule and under budget, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will launch in early September. The mission aims to map the universe in unprecedented detail Dan Vergano

What’s the weirdest planet in the solar system? All the sun’s planets are oddballs. But some are more so than others Phil Plait

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What if time were reversed? Physicists show how time could flow backward on a quantum scale Researchers have developed a way to flip time to move backward in a quantum system. This level of control could lead to bizarre real-world applications Stephanie Pappas

Why is it so hard to make a working toilet fit for space travel? The space environment—microgravity, extreme temperatures and more—make it near-impossible to truly test a space toilet like Artemis II's ahead of launch, experts say Jackie Flynn Mogensen

Astronauts’ brains don’t fully adapt to moving in microgravity, new study finds New research shows astronauts tend to grip objects in microgravity as if they felt as heavy as or heavier than they would on Earth, a finding that could help future space exploration Claire Cameron

Earth Day in the Artemis era: Can NASA’s moon missions spur a new environmental movement? Fresh takes on Apollo’s famous “Earthrise” and “Blue Marble” images showed off our planet’s beauty just weeks before Earth Day Meghan Bartels

The solar system’s first solids formed in a rush Rather than slowly condensing over millions of years, the first building blocks of Earth and other planets may have formed rapidly in a chaotic disk at the dawn of the solar system Javier Barbuzano

Former NASA astronauts launch new group to promote U.S. constitutional values More than 100 NASA astronauts have signed on to a nonpartisan effort to promote “the principles that have propelled our nation for 250 years” Adam Kovac

Magnetic muon measurements and gene-therapy advances win $3 million Breakthrough prizes This year’s winners include hundreds of physicists across more than 30 institutions Zeeya Merali, Nature magazine

NASA’s 2028 moonshot may be delayed because of lack of space suits, watchdog report warns NASA needs new space suits to land astronauts on the moon by 2028, but development is behind and in danger of slipping further, according to a report from the agency’s Office of Inspector General Claire Cameron

What’s this fast-moving wave of darkness creeping across Mars? Observations by the Mars Express orbiter reveal rapid changes on the Red Planet’s surface from windblown volcanic ash Joseph Howlett

NASA shuts down one of Voyager 1’s instruments to try keep the spacecraft alive This iconic spacecraft launched nearly 49 years ago and is running perilously low on power Meghan Bartels

Behold! This is the largest, sharpest 3D map of the universe yet A new map of the cosmos, including more than 47 million galaxies and other cosmic objects, represents one of the most extensive surveys of our universe ever conducted Claire Cameron

What We're Reading

Blue Origin’s Failure May Hamstring NASA’s Moon Plans | The New York Times You want your Moon landings in HD? So does NASA—here’s how it’s happening. | Ars Technica House Science Committee pans NASA budget request | Space News

From the Archive

In the Quantum Realm, Time’s Arrow Might Fly in Two Directions Scientists studying a centuries-old mystery of physics suggest two “arrows of time” control the evolution of quantum systems Gayoung Lee

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