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Intuitive Machines Secures Funding For In-Space Nuclear Technology Development

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Intuitive Machines, a company sister to X-energy, has secured funding to advance its in-space nuclear technology . This development builds upon a previous $9. 5 million award from the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). The company aims to overcome the limitations of solar power, which is currently the primary energy source for space missions. The harsh environments of space, such as the lunar night, pose significant challenges to solar power. Temperatures can drop to -129 degrees Celsius (-200 degrees Fahrenheit), making supplemental power systems necessary. These systems, including radioisotope thermoelectric generators or battery banks, add bulk, weight, and complexity to missions. Intuitive Machines is working on a Stirling-based power conversion system, which converts heat from a radioisotope source into electricity. The system has successfully completed a preliminary design review. With the new funding, the company will prepare the system for flight, marking a critical step...
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SpaceX Unveils Ambitious Starship Plans Amid NASA's Artemis Mission Uncertainty

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Information column from Digital Trends: SpaceX has unveiled its ambitious plans for the Starship program, a crucial component in NASA's Artemis missions aimed at establishing a permanent human presence on the moon and beyond. In a detailed statement released on its website, the company responded to NASA's recent decision to reopen bids for the crewed Artemis III mission to the moon. This move by NASA was prompted by concerns over SpaceX's delayed development of its Starship rocket, which is slated to return astronauts to the moon in Artemis III, currently scheduled for 2027. The Starship, with its upper stage known as the Ship, is pivotal to NASA's Artemis program, according to SpaceX. The company asserts that the Starship will not only facilitate the Artemis missions but also pave the way for humanity's first steps on Mars. In an effort to retain its contract, SpaceX has proposed a simplified plan for the Artemis III mission, though details remain under wraps. ...
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Blue Origin Emerges As Contender For NASA's Artemis 3 Lunar Lander Amid SpaceX Delays

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NASA's Artemis 3 mission, aimed at returning humans to the lunar surface, is facing a critical juncture. The agency is reassessing its lunar lander options due to significant delays plaguing SpaceX's Starship Human Landing System (HLS). Amidst this uncertainty, Blue Origin, led by Jeff Bezos, has emerged as a leading contender to provide a lander for the mission. Blue Origin's progress on its Blue Moon Mark 1 (MK1) and Blue Moon Mark 2 (MK2) landers was recently highlighted by Jacqueline Cortese, the company's Senior Director of Civil Space, at the American Astronautical Society's 2025 von Braun Space Exploration Symposium. According to Cortese, Blue Origin is poised to launch an MK1 demonstration mission before the end of the year. This cargo lander is designed to ferry up to 3 tons of payload to the lunar surface and serves as a stepping stone to the MK2 crew lander. The MK2 lander could potentially replace SpaceX's Starship HLS as the Artemis 3 lander if ...
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SpaceX Launches Starlink 10-37 Mission, Deploying 28 Satellites Into Orbit

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On a day when the skies seemed to hold promise, SpaceX embarked on its Starlink 10-37 mission, launching a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 40 in Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on October 29. The liftoff occurred at 12:35 p. m., marking the 90th launch of the year from Florida, and bringing the state closer to shattering last year's record of 93 launches. The trajectory of the rocket was northeast, with the ultimate goal of deploying 28 Starlink internet satellites into orbit. According to reports from Niners Wire, the launch was contingent upon favorable sea conditions, which, unfortunately, were forecasted to be rough. Despite the challenges posed by the weather, the 45th Weather Squadron predicted a low risk for launch conditions at the Cape, but a moderate risk for booster recovery conditions. As a result, the booster was scheduled to land on a SpaceX drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean, thereby avoiding any sonic booms that might have disturbed residents in Brevard Coun...
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Ancient Asteroid Impact Crater Discovered Beneath Atlantic Ocean

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Beneath the Atlantic Ocean's surface, a hidden world of ancient destruction lies shrouded in darkness. Researchers from Heriot-Watt University have unearthed striking images of a 5-mile wide asteroid impact crater, concealed deep beneath the ocean floor. This Nadir Crater, measuring approximately 9 km in diameter, was formed around 66 million years ago when an asteroid collided with Earth, marking the end of the Cretaceous period. The timing of this event coincides with the Chicxulub impact in Mexico, a colossal crater linked to the extinction of the dinosaurs. Scientists have meticulously reconstructed the aftermath of the Nadir impact: the crater initially formed as a deep bowl, molten rock surged upward from below, a vast zone of fractured rock spread outward for thousands of square kilometers, and an enormous tsunami, towering over 800 meters high, swept across the Atlantic. The discovery was made by Dr. Uisdean Nicholson of Heriot-Watt University, who first identified the ...
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Unveiling The Secrets Of Exoplanetary Atmospheres: An Interdisciplinary Quest

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The field of exoplanetary science has undergone significant transformations since the discovery of the first exoplanet 30 years ago. Thousands of these celestial bodies, orbiting stars beyond the Sun, have been unveiled, showcasing an astonishing diversity. They range from extreme lava planets with vaporized rock atmospheres to ocean worlds, with some potentially resembling Earth. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), launched in 2021, has been instrumental in revolutionizing the understanding of exoplanetary atmospheres. By capturing unprecedented details of clouds and haze, scientists have gained new insights into the complex processes governing these distant worlds. Researchers are now studying the dynamics of winds and turbulence, which transport compounds on exoplanets, and observing chemical reactions that defy Earthly comparisons. As scientists continue to probe the atmospheres of these alien worlds, they are faced with a daunting challenge: interpreting the complex data g...
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Did Astronomers Photograph UFOs Orbiting Earth In The 1950s?

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error code: 500 ← → Topic session: Astronomer Beatriz Villarroel, affiliated with the Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics in Sweden, has recently published two peer-reviewed papers that have sparked curiosity and controversy regarding unidentified flying objects (UFOs). The papers, published in Scientific Reports (Villarroel et al., 2022) and the Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (Villarroel et al., 2022), explore the possibility of artificial objects in space based on data collected from the Palomar Observatory in California between 1949 and 1958. The Palomar Observatory, located in San Diego County, California, is a renowned astronomical research facility that has been in operation since 1948. The observatory is home to the 200-inch Hale Telescope, one of the largest telescopes in the world, as well as the 1. 2-meter Palomar Schmidt telescope, later renamed the Samuel Oschin Telescope (Oschin, 1982). The Palomar Sky Survey, conducted from 1949 to 1958...
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