A team of Argentinian astronomers, peering up in the night’s sky from the Astronomical Observatory of Córdoba has found a new, young lithium-rich giant star that they designated KIC 9821622. And they can’t explain where that lithium comes from.
I know you don’t like it, but the truth is science is politicized since, ultimately, serious research depends on funding. That doesn’t mean, though, that politicians aren’t sympathetic or that they do not understand the importance of science. Some seem to do, anyway. But perhaps the most vulnerable area of science to politics, however, is space exploration. Year after year, it seems like NASA’s budget keep thinning. Although NASA is still the most resourceful space agency in the world and despite some amazing achievements (Curiosity rover on Mars or New Horizon’s flyby past Pluto, just to name a few), things could be a lot better. Arguably, if NASA kept its stellar budget during the Apollo era, we would’ve likely been on Mars by now, maybe even with a permanent outpost.
![Screenshot from the video game Blackspace - “a defensive action / strategy game that takes place in the not too distant future, when asteroid mining has become common [and you need to] defend yourself from incoming enemies who loot and destroy."](https://web.archive.org/web/20151208090405im_/http://cdn.zmescience.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/blackspace.jpg)
Officially, US citizens are now entitled to any resources they mine off the moon, asteroid or any celestial body outside Earth.
Astronomers describe that the present-day tilt of the Moon is likely a result of collision-free encounters of the early Moon with small planetary bodies.
Jeff Bezos just announced a historical feat: Blue Origin, his space company, successfully launched its New Shepard rocket to 329,839 feet — or sub-orbital space — then safely landed the used rocket just a feet away from the launch pad. This is the first time a controlled landing was demonstrated for a rocket, beating Elon Musk’s similar efforts to safely land his Falcon 9 rocket. This monumental milestone suggests reusable rockets will shortly become a reality, revolutionizing space flight in the process.
The larger of the two Martian Moons, Phobos, may break apart and become a ring around the Red Planet, a new study found.
For the first time, we are about to grow flowers above the atmosphere.
NASA released a stunningly colorful new image of the dwarf planet Pluto, the latest in a series of images that steadily trickle down from the New Horizons probe since it left the solar system this July. And it’s not only eye candy either; the features this picture reveals has left the smart guys at the agency scratching their heads.
If everything goes according to plan, we’ll be going to Mars in the mid 2030s – using these suits.
Attraction to someone can tear you apart, metaphorically, but if you’re the Martian moon Phobos, attraction can tear you apart – literally.
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