Daily News update on – Science


July 16, 2024
NEWS
Space.com

NASA rolls giant Artemis 2 moon rocket core off the factory floor for astronaut mission (video)
NEW ORLEANS — The core stage of the first rocket to launch astronauts to the moon in over 50 years has left its manufacturing facility, and is bound for vehicle integration and assembly ahead of its launch next year. NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) …
Space.com

Asteroid Apophis will visit Earth in 2029, and this European satellite will be along for the ride
The European Space Agency is fast-tracking a new mission called Ramses, which will fly to near-Earth asteroid 99942 Apophis and join the space rock in 2029 when it comes very close to our planet — closer even than the region where geosynchronous satellites …
CNN

Why two missions are targeting the same cruise liner-size asteroid set to zoom by Earth
An artist’s impression depicts the newly announced European Space Agency’s Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety, or Ramses, spacecraft. The spacecraft is seen alongside satellites and the asteroid Apophis, which will closely approach Earth in 2029.
Space.com

Road trip! Tour the universe with these gorgeous images from NASA’s Chandra X-ray telescope
The new cosmic collection includes images of a cloud complex called Rho Ophiuchi, the Orion Nebula, a spiral galaxy named NGC 3627 and a galaxy cluster known as MACS J0416, according to a statement from the Chandra X-ray Observatory’s website.
Space.com

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket failure forces NASA to evaluate astronaut launch schedule for ISS
NASA is waiting to see if there will be “schedule impacts” for its next astronaut mission aboard SpaceX after a rocket failure last week, the agency said in a recent statement. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket had a rare anomaly during a Starlink satellite …
Space.com

Sun blasts out 2nd X-class flare this week, triggers more radio blackouts (video)
The sun continues firing off solar flares during what has been a period of intense activity. Sunspot AR3738 might be making its exit as it rotates out of our view on the sun’s western limb, but not before firing off a powerful X-class solar flare, …
Space.com

SpaceX test-fires Super Heavy Starship booster ahead of 5th flight (video)
Super Heavy is breathing fire once again. SpaceX ignited the engines on its Super Heavy booster yesterday (July 15), ahead of Starship’s next integrated flight test (IFT), expected in the next few weeks. IFT-5 will be fifth launch of Starship’s …
Florida Today

SpaceX asks FAA to allow Falcon 9 to return to flight as mishap investigation proceeds
SpaceX wants the Federal Aviation Administration to let its grounded Falcon 9 rocket fleet return to flight amid an ongoing public-safety investigation, letting the company resume its array of uncrewed commercial missions while engineers study what …
Reuters

Radar study puts spotlight on Saturn moon Titan’s hydrocarbon seas
Cassini’s radar observations are providing intriguing new details about the seas of liquid hydrocarbons on the surface of Titan, our solar system’s second-largest moon and a place of interest in the search for life beyond Earth.
Scientific American

Stars Hint at an Unusual Black Hole Lurking in Our Galaxy
By perusing two decades’ worth of pictures from the Hubble Space Telescope archives, astrophysicists have found what could be evidence of a nearby black hole at least 8,200 times as massive as the Sun. The object would be the second-largest black hole …