Handy robot can crawl and pick up objects
Like something out of the Addams Family, scientists have created a detachable robotic hand that can crawl and grab objects.
Trekzone The Journal
The Journal
Since 2003 Trekzone has been home to many iterations, including purely a Star Trek reference site, then our Star Trek fan film series in the 2010’s. But now, in the 2020’s the newly named Journal will present the latest science and space news.
Studying how microgravity impacts the evolutionary arms race between bacteria and phages
Near-weightless conditions can mutate genes and change the physical structure of bacteria and phages, altering regular interactions, according to US scientists.
Artemis II wet dress rehearsal does its job – finds problems to fix
The first crewed mission to lunar orbit in 54 years will have to wait at least another month following anomalies detected during the pre-flight wet dress rehearsal last week.
SKAO’s Telescope in South Africa ‘comes alive’ with ‘first fringes’ milestone
SKA-Mid, like its counterpart SKA-Low in Australia, is an array where many individual antennas are connected by optical fibre to act like one much larger telescope, equivalent in size to the distance between its furthest antennas. "Fringes" are obtained when signals received by two or more antennas are combined successfully.
Jupiter’s moon Europa may not have the deep-sea tectonic activity required for life after all
In a blow for fans of life on other planets, Jupiter's moon Europa may not have the deep-sea tectonic activity required for life on the deep seafloor, according to international researchers.
W5 Returns to South Australia with a spectacular light show
Varda Space Industries W-5 capsule has returned to Earth. The third capsule to land at the Koonibba Test Range in under twelve months has our friends at Southern Launch over the moon...
Remembering The Final Flights of Challenger and Columbia
40 years ago on January 28 the destruction of space shuttle Challenger would rock the American space agency to it's core. Seventeen years later, shuttle Columbia was destroyed on reentry. Fourteen astronauts slipped the surly bonds of Earth to touch the face of God.
Artemis II : Humanity’s First Crewed Lunar Mission in 54 Years
Humanity is returning to the moon with the first crewed mission since Apollo 17 fifty four years earlier.
Moss could survive in the deadly vacuum of space for 15 years
Moss could survive in space for up to 15 years, according to international researchers, who sent moss spore samples to the International Space Station, where they survived in the vacuum of space for nine months before returning to Earth.
Australian team discovers why quantum computers have memory problems over time
Macquarie University researchers have fully mapped how noise spreads through quantum computers over time to show that glitches link together across different moments, creating a form of 'memory' that undermines calculations.
Offshore windfarms enhance function of coastal waters and diversity of aquatic life
A study conducted by researchers from Murdoch University in Australia and Dalian Ocean University in China has found that offshore windfarms can improve marine ecosystems and diversify aquatic food chains.
Love space photos? Satellites in orbit might start ruining the pictures
Approximately 96% of the images from some space observatories in low Earth orbit could be tainted over the next decade due to light contamination from satellites, according to an analysis published in Nature. The findings suggest that light pollution from satellites orbiting Earth needs to be minimized for successful astronomical research.
Cosmic glass found only in Australia reveals ancient asteroid impact
Curtin University researchers have helped uncover evidence of a mysterious giant asteroid impact, hidden not in a crater but in tiny pieces of glass found only in Australia.
Apep’s sting: unlocking the mysteries of dying stars’ deadly embrace
Using the James Webb Space Telescope and data from Chile's Very Large Telescope, an international astronomy team has uncovered extraordinary images of a rare stellar system called Apep, showing four distinct dust shells spiralling outward from three massive stars locked in a cosmic dance.
It’s possible to beam up quantum signals to a satellite
Quantum satellites currently beam entangled particles of light from space down to different ground stations for ultra-secure communications. New research shows it is also possible to send these signals upward, something once thought unfeasible.
An Antarctic glacier retreated 8km in just two months in 2022
The Hektoria Glacier on the Antarctic Peninsula retreated by at least 8 kilometres in 2 months, a rate nearly 10 times faster than previously measured for a grounded glacier, according to a study published in Nature Geoscience and reported by the Australian Science Media Exchange.
Could the future of our satellites be tiny and solar powered?
Tiny, solar-powered floating devices that could support instruments in the high atmosphere are described in research published in Nature. The devices could be used for climate monitoring and Mars exploration, without the need for conventional fuel to maintain their altitude.
Trying to find Earth 2.0? Perhaps a rectangular mirror is the answer
In a newly published article, Professor Heidi Newberg from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute postulates on the differences between rectangular and circular mirrors.
‘Rosetta stone’ of code allows scientists to run core quantum computing operations
To build a large-scale quantum computer that works, scientists and engineers need to overcome the spontaneous errors that quantum bits, or qubits, create as they operate.
Space-based solar panels could help the net-zero transition
It may sound futuristic, but international researchers say space-based solar panels could allow us to harvest energy from the sun almost every moment of the day.
An exploding star reveals what old stars look like before they go supernova
An exploding star has given researchers a rare chance to find out what the inside of old stars looks like, according to an international study.
The future of space travel may rely on getting electricity from salty ice
Salty ice can generate an electric charge 1,000 times greater than regular ice when strained, according to research published in Nature Materials.
NASA To Return ISS Crew Early Due To Medical Issue
NASA is bringing Crew 11 home from the International Space Station after an undisclosed medical issue. ISS Commander Mike Fincke said the entire crew are "stable, safe and well cared" for with the decision to return home a month early "the right call, even if it's a bit bittersweet"
Could ancient Martian mudstones bring us closer to finding life on Mars?
Martian mudstones from the Jezero crater contain features that improve our understanding of chemical processes on Mars, according to new findings from NASA's Perseverance rover, published in Nature.
New research reveals how the cosmic landscape impacts the galaxy lifecycle
The Deep Extragalactic Visible Legacy Survey, DEVILS, has released its initial data and a series of recent publications explaining how a galaxy's location in the Universe can significantly influence its evolution.
A greener future for Earth through space exploration research
Next year humans are set to return to the Moon for the first time in 55 years with the Artemis III mission, and while the astronauts may spend less than 10 days on the lunar surface, scientists around the world are already preparing the next steps: how to live, grow food, and thrive beyond Earth.
Mars-quakes provide insight into the secrets of the planet’s inner core
Evidence for a solid inner core in Mars, detected by NASA's InSight mission, is presented in a study published in Nature. It furthers our understanding of the properties and evolution of both Mars and similar planetary bodies.
Dwarf galaxies linked by massive intergalactic gas bridge
Researchers from The University of Western Australia node at the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research have uncovered an immense structure, which spans an astonishing 185,000 light-years between galaxies NGC 4532 and DDO 137, located 53 million light-years from Earth.
Asteroid Ryugu’s parent may have contained more water than we thought
Fluids may have flowed within the parent body of the near-Earth asteroid Ryugu more than one billion years after it formed, according to research published in Nature.
Rocket test proves bacteria survive space launch and re-entry unharmed
A world-first study has proven microbes essential for human health can survive the extreme forces of space launch.
Ancient Universe “warmed up” before it “lit up”
Astronomers hunting for evidence of the light from the first stars and galaxies have found that the Universe was warm, rather than cold, before it "lit up".
New technology takes kilos off early universe’s supermassive black holes
One of the most powerful black holes in the universe is belching out gas at speeds of up to 10,000 kilometres per second, making its estimated mass more than 10 times lower than first thought.