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A new satellite propulsion concept could allow spacecraft to harvest trace atmospheric particles as propellant, potentially extending missions without conventional fuel reserves. If the technology matures, it could reshape the economics of low-Earth orbit operations and reduce the climate and debris footprint tied to frequent satellite replacement.
Google is preparing to launch and test its AI chip in space in an early step toward Project Suncatcher, its effort to explore whether machine learning hardware can operate reliably in orbit. The company says the mission will help it study hardware survival, cooling, and satellite interconnectivity under the harsh conditions of low-Earth orbit, with a next milestone targeted for 2027.
The glaciers atop Papua's Sudirman Range, long revered as "eternal snow" despite sitting near the equator, are on the brink of disappearing entirely. Scientists say the loss is both a stark marker of global warming and the erasure of a culturally sacred landscape for Indigenous Papuans.
NASA has selected PRIMA, a far-infrared space telescope mission, as the first project in its new mission class, signaling a push to deliver major science at lower cost and in less time than traditional flagship observatories. The mission is designed to survey the cool universe and could open a new window on star formation, dust, and the hidden processes shaping galaxies.
Scientists have turned one of history's most famous disasters into a new scientific benchmark, using the exact date of Mount Vesuvius' eruption in AD 79 to sharpen how volcanic events are dated across Earth's history. The breakthrough could improve the timing of ancient eruptions, strengthen climate reconstructions, and help researchers better align geological records with human history.
Astronomers have reported the first-ever detection of radio emissions traced directly to an exoplanet, a breakthrough that could open a new way to study distant worlds and their magnetic environments. The signal, identified by Harvard researchers and highlighted across major science outlets, is being framed not as evidence of alien life but as a historic step in understanding how planets outside our solar system behave.
Scientists have identified a long-suspected but elusive force inside Earth that appears to be changing how long a day lasts over multidecadal timescales. The finding points to a gravitational battle between the planet's deep interior and its outer layers, offering a new explanation for subtle shifts in Earth's rotation that are too small to notice in daily life but important for precision timing, navigation and climate-linked Earth system research.
A lunar orbiter has detected a newly formed crater on the Moon, a rare event scientists describe as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to study how impacts expose material from beneath the surface. The discovery could help researchers better understand the Moon's shallow subsurface and inform future plans for lunar bases and infrastructure.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth attended the inaugural meeting of the presidential commission examining the creation of a U.S. Space Academy, signaling that the administration is treating the proposal as a national security and force-development issue. The gathering at NASA headquarters in Washington marked the first formal step in a process that could reshape how the United States trains future military and space professionals.
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