A satellite designed to inspect space junk just made it to orbit
Astroscale’s ADRAS-J spacecraft, a demonstration satellite that could inform future space junk cleanup efforts, is now in orbit after a successful launch from New Zealand on Sunday. The satellite was sent to space atop an Electron rocket from Rocket Lab. Its mission, which was selected by Japan’s space agency (JAXA)…
Intuitive Machines’ moon lander sent home its first images and they’re breathtaking
Intuitive Machines’ lunar lander is well on its way to the moon after launching without a hitch on Thursday, but it managed to snap a few incredible images of Earth while it was still close to home. The company shared the first batch of images from the IM-1 mission on…
NASA is looking for volunteers to live in its Mars simulation for a year
If extreme challenges are your cup of tea, NASA has the perfect opportunity for you. The space agency put out a call on Friday for volunteers to participate in its second yearlong simulated Mars mission, the Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA 2). For the duration of the mission,…
Intuitive Machines’ lunar lander begins its multi-day journey to the moon
Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus has started making its way to the moon and could make history as the first privately built lander to touch down on the lunar surface. The lander was ferried to space by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket using a booster that already had 17 flights under its…
Japan’s moon lander took this eerie photo before being enveloped by lunar night
Against all odds, Japan’s SLIM lander managed to turn back on more than a week after it plopped upside down onto the surface of the moon — but now, it’s gone dormant for the duration of the lunar night, and it may not be able to wake up again. The…
Neuralink’s brain chip has been implanted in a human, Elon Musk says
The first human patient has received a Neuralink brain implant, according to Elon Musk. The procedure was apparently successful, with Musk saying the individual “is recovering well” one day after the surgery. Neuralink, which aims to create brain-computer interfaces (BCI), began recruiting human patients for its first clinical trial last…
Meta will offer some of its data to third-party researchers through Center for Open Science partnership
Meta is teaming up with the Center for Open Science (COS) to start a pilot program that studies “topics related to well-being.” It looks like the program will dive into our social media data, but on a voluntary basis, as COS says it will use a “privacy-preserving” dataset provided by…
NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter has gone silent on Mars
NASA is trying to figure out how to reach its Ingenuity Mars helicopter after losing contact with the craft earlier this week. During its 72nd flight — a “quick pop-up” to an altitude of about 40 feet — NASA says Ingenuity stopped communicating with the Perseverance rover before it was…
Take a look at the full asteroid Bennu sample in all its glory
Who doesn’t love showing off their collection of cool rocks? NASA was finally able to get into the asteroid Bennu sample container last week after struggling with it for a couple of months, and now, it’s sharing a look at what’s inside. The space agency published a high-resolution image of…
Japan’s SLIM lunar lander made it to the moon, but it’ll likely die within hours
Japan has become the fifth country to successfully land on the moon after confirming today that its SLIM lander survived its descent to the surface — but its mission is likely to be short lived. JAXA, the Japanese space agency, says the spacecraft is having problems with its solar cell…