Mars 2020 rover enters its final year of engineering before launch
The countdown has begun in the last year of development before the Mars 2020 launches. The launch window opens on July 17, 2020, and runs until August 5, 2020 for the launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Progress on finalizing the rover is right on track, according to NASA.
From the moon to mass production: 10 pieces of modern tech indebted to Apollo
Illustrations by Chris DeGraw This article is part of , a multi-part series that explores the technological advances behind Apollo 11, their influence on modern day, and what’s next for the moon. You may have heard that freeze-dried food was invented to feed astronauts on the Apollo missions, and although “astronaut ice cream” was never […]
Space tourism is coming, and it’s going to wreak havoc on Earth’s atmosphere
NASA has announced it will be allowing tourists to visit the International Space Station. But experts who spoke to Digital Trends warn that space tourism could hurt the environment by damaging our planet's fragile ozone layer.
Watch SpaceX’s parachute tests for its soon-to-be-manned Crew Dragon capsule
SpaceX is developing its Crew Dragon capsule to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station, but there have been some challenges along the way, such as in April when a capsule exploded during testing due to a leaky valve. Now, a new video shows the parachute systems for the capsules being tested.
See how a life-sized astronaut was built from LEGO bricks
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, LEGO has unveiled this life-sized model of an astronaut, constructed entirely from LEGO bricks. The model of the Apollo 11 lunar module pilot is based on the suit which Neil Armstrong wore when he made his historic small step onto the moon.
Watch live: Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins reflect on the moon landing
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the famous Apollo 11 mission to the moon, which launched on July 16, 1969, NASA will hold a live broadcast featuring a retrospective on the historic mission and presentations by the astronauts involved. You can watch the event live on July 16 at 6:15 a.m. PT.
Astronomers have spotted a moon forming around a proto-Jupiter
Astronomers have spotted a young planet with a disk of gas and dust around it which is believed to be similar to the one from which the moons of Jupiter were born. The planet PDS 70 b is a gas giant several times the size of Jupiter which is in the process of forming and is located 370 light-years away.
The Very Large Telescope captures the beautiful remnants of a dying star
This beautiful cosmic object is a planetary nebula named Abell 24, captured by the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (VLT). Located in constellation of Canis Minor (The Lesser Dog), it is a swirl of dust and gas which is illuminated by the core of a dead star.
See a gargantuan dust storm covering the north pole of Mars
An epic dust storm around Mars' north pole has been imaged by the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter. Smaller localized dust storms are common on Mars, but occasionally a storm will expand into a planet-wide event like this one or the one which caused the demise of the Opportunity rover.
Russia launches X-ray observatory capable of locating thousands of black holes
Russia has finally launched its X-ray observatory, Spektr-RG, after a delay caused by faulty batteries on board the spacecraft. The launch took place at 5:30 a.m. PT on Saturday, July 13. Spektr-RG was created in cooperation between the Russian Federal Space Agency and the German Aerospace Centre.
Apple backs down, returns parental control app OurPact to App Store
Controversial parental control app OurPact has returned to the iOS App Store. In April this year, Apple removed a number of parental control apps which used a technology called Mobile Device Management that allows access to user location, app use, email accounts, camera permissions, and browsing history.
Bouncing robot for low-gravity space missions has a spring in its step
If you've ever looked at astronauts bouncing on the moon and thought that looked a great way to get around, you're not the only one. The European Space Agency has created SpaceBok, a robot for low-gravity "dynamic walking". On the moon, SpaceBok could potentially jump as high as six and a half into the air.
Meet NASA’s climbing robots, able to move through the slipperiest environments
When it comes to exploring far off planets, robots need to be able to tackle all sorts of environmental challenges. NASA has been working on a series of climbing robots to take on different tasks in inhospitable environments, like LEMUR which can climb rock walls using fishhooks in its fingers.
Hubble spots unexpected disc around supermassive black hole
Hubble has discovered something odd: A disc of material around a supermassive black hole which was thought to be starving, but looks like what is seen in very active galaxies. The black hole in question lies at the center of the spiral galaxy NGC 3147, which is 130 million light-years away from Earth.
Orbiter spots Curiosity from space, shows our rover friend on surface of Mars
If you've been wondering how Curiosity is faring on Mars, now you can see for yourself, thanks to this image of the rover captured from orbit by NASA's HiRISE camera. Curiosity is sitting pretty in a location called Woodland Bay, which is part of the clay-bearing unit that the rover has been exploring.
SpaceX wins contract to launch NASA’s new X-Ray observatory in 2021
NASA has announced it will be contracting SpaceX to launch its newest X-Ray observatory into space. This is the sixth contract the company has won through NASA's Lunch Service Program, which oversees the launch of rockets carrying satellites for scientific missions by contracting with commercial companies.
How do you kill a jellyfish galaxy? With a supermassive black hole
Strange things lurk out in space, like jellyfish galaxies, which have tendrils of stars that stream away from the main body of the galaxy like the tentacles of a jellyfish. Now, an astronomer has investigated what happens to these galactic jellies when they interact with supermassive black holes.
A.I. can spot galaxy clusters millions of light-years away
Galaxy clusters are enormous structures of hundreds or even thousands of galaxies which move together. But despite their massive size, they can be hard to identify because they are so very far away from us. Now, a British Ph.D. student has created a deep learning A.I. which could help with this issue.
Chrome browser to add audio and video controls to address bar
Google's Chrome browser will soon be getting a nifty feature: Media controls which let you interact with currently playing videos in your browser from the address bar. You can preview the feature in the Chrome nightly developer build, Canary version 77, where Google rolls out new experimental features.
Cosmic dust feeds star formation in this week’s Hubble image
This week's Hubble image shows the beautiful rosy glow of a dusty spiral galaxy where stars are being born. The galaxy is called NGC 972, and it was discovered in 1784 by William Herschel. It is located in the constellation of Aries, 71 million light-years away from Earth.
Exploding star system revealed through ultraviolet Hubble image
A new Hubble image shows Eta Carinae, a double star system 7500 light-years away, which has been exploding in slow motion for more than a hundred years. The system contains at least two stars which glow five million times brighter than our Sun.
Installation of SuperCam Mast Unit on Mars 2020 rover is a towering success
The Mars 2020 rover reached another milestone this week, when technicians installed its mast, the SuperCam Mast Unit. The rover already has its wheels and a robotic arm, and the next step was to add the mast. The rover's camera, laser, and spectrometers installed as part of the mast unit.Â
Gmail tracks everything you purchase and you STILL can’t delete it or opt out
In May, it was revealed that Google was tracking the purchase history of its users, through a little-known Purchases page which pulls information from Gmail emails like order confirmations. This was bad enough, but it gets worse. Even when emails are deleted, the information remains on the Purchases page.
See last week’s SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch in gorgeous slow motion
SpaceX had success last week with their most difficult ever Falcon Heavy launch. Now a video shows the launch in unique slow motion. The video was recorded by cinematographer Ryan Chylinski, who spoke with Digital Trends about his project documenting rocket launches for his studio Cosmic Perspective.
Watch NASA test the Orion spacecraft’s emergency escape system live
NASA will test the emergency escape system for Orion, the next-generation spacecraft which will hopefully carry humans to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. You can watch the Ascent Abort-2 flight test live from Florida starting a 4 a.m. PT Tuesday morning.
Research unearths clues about Tunguska event for International Asteroid Day
Today is International Asteroid Day, marking the 111th anniversary of the most destructive asteroid event in recorded history: The Tunguska event. But this isn't only a historical curiosity -- scientists are still researching the aftermath of the event and what it can tell us about asteroids.
Beresheet 2.0 won’t go to moon, will have another significant objective instead
SpaceIL hoped to be the company to put the first Israeli craft on the moon, but that hope was scuppered when the Beresheet craft crash landed. Now, the company has announced it will be not sending a second mission to the moon, but will be pursuing a different, currently unnamed objective instead.
Images of the Whirlpool galaxy show the value of infrared light observations
Have you ever wondered why sometimes telescopes capture light in the visible spectrum, and other times in infrared? NASA has released images of the Whirlpool galaxy, located in the constellation Canes Venatici, which demonstrate the value of collecting data at different wavelengths.
SpaceX hopes to blast off its Starship and Super Heavy Rocket project in 2021
SpaceX's inaugural missions for its next-generation Starship and Super Heavy Rocket project could take place as early as 2021, a company executive has said. Jonathan Hofeller, SpaceX’s vice president of commercial sales, discussed the company's plans for the Starship project at a conference in Jakarta.
Armed and ready: Mars 2020 rover is fitted with its robotic arm
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory continues to make progress on preparing the Mars 2020 rover for its upcoming mission. Recently the rover had its six wheels fitted so it can traverse the Martian surface, and now it has had its 2.1 meter-long robotic arm installed as well.
Methane mystery: Curiosity detects highest-ever levels of methane on Mars
The strange puzzle of methane on Mars continues. Curiosity has detected the highest yet levels of methane at 21 parts per billion units by volume using its Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) spectrometer. This suggests that transient plumes of methane appear in addition to seasonal changes in levels of gas.