The US space agency’s Orion capsule has reached a key milestone on its demonstration mission around the Moon. On Monday, it moved some 430,000km (270,000 miles) beyond the Earth – the furthest any spacecraft designed to carry humans has travelled. The ship is uncrewed on this occasion, but if it completes the current flight without incident, astronauts will be on the next outing in two years’ time. Nasa is planning a series of ever more complex missions with Orion. They’re part of the agency’s Artemis programme, which seeks to return people to the lunar surface after a gap of 50 … Continue reading Amazing: Nasa’s Orion capsule breaks distance record

A new image shows that an asteroid which was deliberately struck by Nasa’s Dart probe has left a trail of debris stretching thousands of kilometres. A telescope in Chile captured the remarkable picture of a comet-like plume spreading behind the giant rock. The probe was crashed last week to test whether asteroids that might threaten Earth can be nudged out of the way. Scientists are working to establish whether the test was a success, and the asteroid’s trajectory altered. The extraordinary image was taken two days after the collision by astronomers in Chile, who were able to capture the vast … Continue reading Asteroid struck by Nasa probe leaves 10,000km trail

A Russian cosmonaut who holds the record for the longest-ever trip to space has died aged 80. Valery Polyakov spent 437 full days orbiting the Earth between 1994 and 1995 on the Mir space station. He worked on experiments to see whether people could maintain their mental health if they were to make a long journey to Mars. Tests found that there was no impairment of his cognitive function as a result of his 14-month expedition. Polyakov’s death was announced by the Russian space agency, which used his honorary titles, including hero of the Soviet Union and pilot-cosmonaut of the … Continue reading Legendary Russian cosmonaut Valery Polyakov dies aged 80

Stargazers have been treated overnight to a stunning and unusual sight – a super blood Moon. Shortly after 03:30 GMT on Monday, Earth’s orbit meant that for several minutes our planet was positioned directly between the Sun and the Moon. In that time the Moon fell completely into Earth’s shadow – temporarily turning it a dusky shade of dark red. Its hue was created by sunlight being projected through Earth’s atmosphere onto the Moon’s shadowed surface. The lunar eclipse coincided with a separate event – a super Moon. This is when the Moon is at its closest point to Earth … Continue reading Full lunar eclipse creates rare super blood Moon

The American space agency is rolling out its new giant Moon rocket for the first time. The vehicle, known as the Space Launch System (SLS), is being taken to the pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to conduct a dummy countdown. If that goes well, the rocket will be declared ready for a mission in which it will send an uncrewed test capsule around the Moon. This could happen in the next couple of months. Ultimately, it’s hoped astronauts would climb aboard later SLS rockets to return to the Moon’s surface some time in the second half of … Continue reading Nasa’s giant new SLS Moon rocket makes its debut

The International Space Station (ISS) will continue working until 2030, before plunging into the Pacific Ocean in early 2031, according to Nasa. In a report this week, the US space agency said the ISS would crash into a part of the ocean known as Point Nemo. This is the point furthest from land on planet Earth, also known as the spacecraft cemetery. Many old satellites and other space debris have crashed there, including the Russian space station Mir in 2001. Nasa said that in the future space activities close to Earth would be led by the commercial sector. The ISS … Continue reading International Space Station to crash down to Earth in 2031

Elon Musk is facing a social media backlash after China complained that its space station was forced to avoid collisions with satellites launched by his Starlink Internet Services project. The country’s space station had two “close encounters” with Starlink satellites, Beijing claimed. China’s complaints, lodged with the UN’s space agency, have not yet been independently verified. Starlink is a satellite internet network operated by Mr Musk’s SpaceX. Mr Musk is well known in China even as his electric carmaker Tesla comes under growing scrutiny from regulators. The incidents occurred on 1 July and 21 October, according to a document submitted by … Continue reading Elon Musk criticised after China space complaint to UN

Japanese entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa has blasted off on a trip to the International Space Station (ISS), joining the growing list of billionaires who have made it to space. A Russian rocket carrying Mr Maezawa took off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. He is expected to spend 12 days at the ISS, and is the first space tourist to visit the station in recent years. It is a precursor to Mr Maezawa’s much-publicized trip to the Moon in 2023. Wednesday’s launch saw Mr Maezawa accompanied by Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin and video producer Yozo Hirano, who is documenting the voyage … Continue reading Japanese billionaire blasts off to International Space Station

The US has condemned Russia for conducting a “dangerous and irresponsible” missile test that it says endangered the crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The test blew up one of Russia’s own satellites, creating debris that forced the ISS crew to shelter in capsules. The station currently has seven crew members on board – four Americans, a German and two Russians. The space station orbits at an altitude of about 420km (260 miles). “Earlier today, the Russian Federation recklessly conducted a destructive satellite test of a direct ascent anti-satellite missile against one of its own satellites,” US state department … Continue reading Russian anti-satellite missile test draws condemnation

Blue Origin, the space tourism company owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has announced plans to launch a commercial space station. Bosses said on Monday that they hope to operate the station, named “Orbital Reef,” by the end of the decade. Promotional material released by the company claims the station will be a “mixed-use business park” in space and will host up to 10 people. The company will partner with Sierra Space and Boeing to build the outpost. Blue Origin said the 32,000 sq ft station would provide customers with an ideal location for “film-making in microgravity” or “conducting cutting-edge … Continue reading Jeff Bezos unveils plans for ‘space business park’

Astronomers have found hints of what could be the first planet ever to be discovered outside our galaxy. Nearly 5,000 “exoplanets” – worlds orbiting stars beyond our Sun – have been found so far, but all of these have been located within the Milky Way galaxy. The possible planet signal discovered by Nasa’s Chandra X-Ray Telescope is in the Messier 51 galaxy. This is located some 28 million light-years away from the Milky Way. This new result is based on transits, where the passage of a planet in front of a star blocks some of the star’s light and yields … Continue reading Signs of first planet found outside our galaxy

Starving microorganisms that were able to eat a nail in just three days could help clean up waste left over from mining. The metal-eating bacteria currently being tested in Chile could also provide a by-product that helps extract copper, making the mining of the metal more environmentally friendly.A Chilean researcher hopes that a metal eating bacteria that ate a nail in three days in her lab could be used to clean up mining waste. Chilean biotechnologist Nadac Reales has been working with extremophiles, organisms that are capable of living in conditions of extreme temperature, acidity, alkalinity, or chemical concentration, in … Continue reading Metal-Eating bacteria that can eat a nail in three days found in the Andes