NASA/JPL-Caltech/USGS
Mars has been a popular destination since space exploration began – and there are plenty of people who’d love to go there.
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When most of us left school there were still 9 planets – but we’ve come a long way since Pluto’s demotion. Here’s what’s next on the space agenda.
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Astronomers are hot on the search for new exoplanets – planets that lie beyond our Solar System – which might show potential for sustaining life.
John Raoux
We know going back to the Moon is expensive. Here’s how we could use metals extracted from Moon dirt to save millions of dollars.
Binar-1 being deployed from the ISS with Earth and ISS solar panels in full view.
JAXA
In Western Australia, the first of a series of little satellites just burned up in the sky – exactly as planned.
CSIRO
Listening for events like black hole collisions is important in astronomy research – and the technology is only getting better.
The colliding cluster Abell 3266 as seen across the electromagnetic spectrum, using data from ASKAP and the ATCA (red/orange/yellow colours), XMM-Newton (blue) and the Dark Energy Survey (background map).
Christopher Riseley (Università di Bologna)
One of the objects is a ‘fossil’ radio source – a leftover from the death of a supermassive black hole that once shot out huge jets of plasma.
kevinmgill/flickr
The unusual planetary system has a host star orbited by two giants. One has an incredible odd route around its star. And the other (unlike our own gas giants) is hellishly hot.
NASA/JWST
Why is the universe 13.8 billion years old, but 93 billion light-years across? It’s all about how light travels through the cosmos.
Sand blown by wind into ripples within Victoria Crater at Meridiani Planum on Mars, as photographed by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on October 3, 2006.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/Cornell/Ohio State University
There are many bodies in the solar system we can’t easily access. But observations of their winds and sediments reveal a surprising amount.
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There’s a lot of technological progress required before off-Earth mining operations can be considered feasible.
Artist’s impression of the PSR J0523-7125 in the Large Magellanic Cloud.
Carl Knox, ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav)
The pulsar PSR J0523-7125 is more than ten times brighter than any other radio pulsar outside the Milky Way.
Department of Defence / LAC Sam Price
The future of Australia’s space efforts will hinge on coordination between defence, industry and universities.
NASA
The telescopes primary mirror segments are now working together to provide a single, sharp image.
SpaceX
There has never been a dedicated mission sent to the “ice giants”, Uranus and Neptune. But there may be one on the horizon.
NASA
The students produced 33 experiment vials, which were boarded on the SpaceX Crew Dragon 24 and launched in December.
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How will they bring the structure back safely? And where will the surviving components crash?
NASA
The zircon crystal was found in the NWA 7034 meteorite, dubbed ‘Black Beauty’ – uncovered from the desert of northwest Africa.
Artist visualisation.
A mysterious repeating signal from our galactic backyard is a reminder the universe is full of unexpected surprises, if only we should look.
Satellite images are critical for security, communication, agriculture and other essential services.
Satellite image (c) 2020 Maxar Technologies.
An expert says Nigeria’s capacity to access space support for development and security will be affected if its satellite goes down.