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new video loaded: SpaceX Launches Intuitive Machines’ Moon Lander transcript Back transcript SpaceX Launches Intuitive Machines’ Moon Lander Onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is Athena, Intuitive Machine’s second moon lander, with instruments designed to dig up lunar soil and search for compounds like frozen water. 3, 2, 1, ignition and liftoff. There is that … Read more
Star Wars is back, with an executive order from President Trump that the White House said “directs the building of the Iron Dome missile defense shield for America.” The order, issued on Monday night, didn’t quite do that. It was more a vaguely worded set of instructions to accelerate current programs or explore new approaches … Read more
Two canyons near the south pole of the moon rival the Grand Canyon, both in depth and length. Unlike the sinuous chasm in Arizona, the two lunar canyons, known as Vallis Schrödinger and Vallis Planck, are straight, as if the crust of the moon had been cut by a knife. And unlike the Grand Canyon, … Read more
NASA’s second thoughts about VIPER opened an opportunity for someone else to book that ride to the moon. Just because its cargo was canceled did not mean Astrobotic’s journey was off — it remains scheduled for later this year. And on Wednesday, a small startup named Venturi Astrolab Inc. announced it had claimed that opportunity … Read more
Astute skywatchers may have already seen the striking line of planets across the night sky in January. This week Mercury joins the queue. Now every other world in our solar system will be visible among the stars at the same time — if you know where to look. According to Gerard van Belle, director of … Read more
The seventh test flight of SpaceX’s Starship rocket failed on Thursday as the vehicle’s upper stage experienced a catastrophic malfunction as it headed upward to space. SpaceX was able to achieve some success by repeating the feat of catching the gargantuan Super Heavy booster back at the launchpad. But then data indicated that some of … Read more
Our solar system contains planets, dwarf planets, asteroids and comets — but only one world is known to harbor life. Scientists have long debated whether Earth is truly unique. Perhaps our planet just happened to have the right combination of ingredients, conditions and timing to allow life to emerge. But a pinch of grit from … Read more
Since December, astronomers have been carefully studying whether an asteroid between 130 and 300 feet long will impact the Earth in just under eight years. And the odds, overall, seem to be rising. On Jan. 29, the chances of this asteroid (named 2024 YR4) striking our planet on Dec. 22, 2032, were 1.3 percent. Then … Read more
A private company is aiming to heave a microwave oven-size spacecraft toward an asteroid later this week, its goal to kick off a future where precious metals are mined around the solar system to create vast fortunes on Earth. “If this works out, this will probably be the biggest business ever conceived of,” said Matt … Read more
William R. Lucas, who oversaw development of rockets for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and shouldered much of the institutional blame for the catastrophic explosion that killed all seven astronauts aboard the Challenger space shuttle in 1986, died on Feb. 10 at his home in Huntsville, Ala. He was 102. His family confirmed the … Read more