Harvesting space resources will raise living standards worldwide, without further damaging Earth. So how can those resources be tapped in a way that will produce a return on investment? That question may…
Like all relationships, our association with the moon has had its ups and downs. In this series we’ve talked about the nature of the satellite and how we think it was formed - in a giant collision that…
What do we know about how the moon was created?
EPA/Ali Ali
The more we learn about the formation and evolution of our solar system, the more we realise it was far from a sedate, gentle process. Everywhere we look we find evidence the final stages of planetary…
The moon in total lunar eclipse as seen over Sydney in 2011.
AAP/Sydney Observatory
The moon. Our nearest neighbour. The main source of the ocean’s tides, and a beacon that drives the lives of animals across the globe. And also, to date, the only object beyond Earth on which humans have…
How is the spin of black holes measured, and what can it tell us about our universe?
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
Astronomers have measured the spin of a black hole buried in the heart of a galaxy located 56 million light years away, and discovered it was spinning quickly – about as quickly as it could go. That was…
Observations from NASA’s Van Allen Probes have revealed that a third radiation belt can sometimes appear above Earth.
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
NASA revealed this morning (AEST) that its Van Allen Probes have discovered a third, previously unknown, radiation belt around Earth. The belt appears to be transient, depending strongly on solar activity…
Scientists need a material that behaves like moon soil to conduct experiments that may one day lead to lunar mining.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/almekinders
Australian researchers have developed a substance that looks and behaves like soil from the moon’s surface and can be mixed with polymers to create ‘lunar concrete’, a finding that may help advance plans…
The chances of the weekends two asteroid events being related are next to zero.
NASA/JPL-Caltech
One of the most exciting things about science is the detective work, and never was this more the case than Friday. Within an hour or so of the event, almost everyone had seen the dramatic footage of the…
When it comes to asteroids, alert but not alarmed may be the best approach.
NASA
An asteroid named 2012 DA14 will come within 27,700 kilometres of Earth early on Saturday morning Australian time (around 6:30am AEDT). At this distance the asteroid will pass within the orbits of several…
Space missions have a long tradition of Christmas celebration.
Wikimedia Commons
Christmas - whether you’re religious or not - is a time when people gather their families together to reinforce the bonds that make us human. In the era of modern telecommunications, distance no longer…
Unless something is done about space junk, it might become too unsafe to have satellites in Low-Earth Orbit.
ESA
At some point in the next few months, Australia will get its first ever national space policy. The release of the report, following consultation by experts in the space industry, will be a defining moment…
Just as the sun set (temporarily) on Woomera in 1980, the current era of Australia’s space endeavours is coming to close.
Australian Science Media Centre
At some point in the next few months, Australia will get its first national space policy. This document will help mark a new era in Australia’s contribution to space-related endeavours, not least how we…
Australia relies on foreign-owned satellites to deliver a range of critical services.
A draft of Australia’s first national space policy was recently considered by federal cabinet and is currently undergoing a consultation process with experts within the space sector. The document, which…
It’s not everyday you get to chat with a spacecraft that’s nearing the edge of the solar system.
NASA
Interviewing a spacecraft isn’t something one does every day. It certainly wasn’t an option back in the late 1970s, when Voyager 1 and 2 set off on a mission like no other before or since: to visit some…
All going well, Baumgartner will become the first person to break the speed of sound in free-fall.
AAP Image/Red Bull
UPDATE: After adverse weather conditions delayed earlier launch attempts, Felix Baumgartner has finally made his historic skydive. Red Bull Stratos reports that Baumgartner climbed to an altitude of over…
When Curiosity lands on Mars next Monday, expect the social media buzz to be out of this world.
NASA/JPL-Caltech
Social media is the new frontier for space exploration, shaping an age of innovative public participation in space missions. While online communities are a-Twitter about NBC’s poor Olympic coverage, there’s…
Asteroid impacts make for impressive images and movies, but how realistic is the threat?
NASA
How many times have you read a headline about our impending doom due to a “Deep Impact”-style annihilation? In a way it’s not surprising – we have an insatiable appetite for disaster stories, a hunger…
There’ll be a human colony on the red planet by 2023 if Mars One has its way.
Mars One
Private space venture company Mars One announced earlier this month that it intends to send people on a one-way colonisation mission to Mars in 2023, largely funded by sales of the mission’s media rights…
The 8km-high volcano, Maat Mons, is only one of the reasons to head back to Venus.
NASA/JPL
Last week the world stopped to watch as the black disc of Venus inched its way across the face of the sun. But beyond the transits that capture our attention roughly twice per century, Venus has always…