MTM Wrap (10/5/25)
61 days to go until The 2025 Trekzone Fan Film Awards are here, and we have reached an important milestone plus more news and thoughts. MTM Wrap (10/5/25)
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.
Kanyini Releases Its First Images As A Dirtier Space Station Might Aid Astronaut Health
It’s the end of the third week of March 2025. Here’s the science and space headlines from the week that was… Kanyini phones home, shows us the awesome power of...
A Dirtier Space Station Could Be Key To Healthier Astronauts
Astronauts often experience immune dysfunction, skin rashes, and other inflammatory conditions while travelling in space, and international researchers believe these issues are likely due to the overly sterile nature of the International Space Station.
Kanyini’s First Satellite Images Showcase Its Home of South Australia
Australia’s first state government funded satellite, Kanyini, has delivered its first images from space, marking a significant milestone for the space mission. Mission Director Peter Nikoloff is back on the...
Is The Core of Mars Solid? New Data Analysis Says No…
Data from NASA's InSight mission suggest Mars has a liquid core similar to Earth's, but European scientists say the core may be solid, at least below a certain temperature.
Miniature Lasers Could Be The Next Tool Sent To Mars To Find Evidence Of Life In Rocks
Scientists have successfully used lasers to identify microbe fossils in rocks from Earth, which are like the rocks found on Mars, opening up the possibility of searching for fossils on the Red Planet.
Highest-Energy Cosmic Neutrino Makes A Splash In The Mediterranean
International scientists, including an Australian, say they've found evidence of the highest-energy neutrino detected to date. The result suggests the particle came from beyond our Milky Way, they say, although its precise origin remains mysterious.
The First Satellite Images From Kanyini Released
Australia's first state government funded satellite, Kanyini, has delivered its first images from space, marking a significant milestone for the space mission.
World’s Oldest Impact Crater Found – Rewriting Earth’s Ancient History
Curtin University researchers have discovered the world's oldest known meteorite impact crater, which could significantly redefine our understanding of the origins of life and how our planet was shaped.
Identifying A New Exoplanet Candidate
The discovery of new exoplanets can help scientists understand how planets form and evolve.
Water Might Be Older Than We First Thought
International researchers suggest that water might have formed a mere 100-200 million years after the Big Bang, far earlier than previously thought, and it might have been a key part of the formation of our universe's first galaxies.
Photographer Captures Dazzling Images Inside The Main Ring of the Australian Synchrotron
An accomplished international photographer, Charles Brooks, has captured dazzling new images of one component of the main ring at the Australian Synchrotron and provided an inside view of the electron's path when it is used. A synchrotron engineer converted radio waves produced in the vacuum chamber into sound files.
Varda Space Industries W-2 Returns To South Australia
The Varda Space Industries W-2 capsule safely returned to Earth at Southern Launch's Koonibba Test Range completing a dual-purpose mission with payloads from the United States Air Force and NASA at the end of February.
Marsquake Data Sheds New Light on One of the Solar System’s Biggest Mysteries
New analysis of marsquakes, which are similar to earthquakes, could offer clues into how Mars has evolved over billions of years, according to new research from The Australian National University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The Slowest Rotating ‘Cosmic Lighthouse’ Yet Discovered
Distant neutron stars typically spin a full 360 degrees within seconds. However, a new type of 'radio transient object' - so called as they are detected in radio waves - has emerged that rotate much more slowly. In the time it takes this cosmic lighthouse to rotate you could watch Interstellar twice before it completes a full spin.
Mapping Ripples In A Cosmic Ocean
An international study led by Australian astronomers has created the most detailed maps of gravitational waves across the universe to date in three new research papers. The study also produced the largest ever galactic-scale gravitational wave detector and found further evidence of a "background" of these invisible yet incredibly fast ripples in space that can help unlock some major mysteries of the universe.
How Saturn’s Rings Might Be Keeping A Youthful Appearance
Even though Saturn's rings appear clean and young, they may be as old as the planet itself according to international researchers. It was previously thought that impacts with small rocky debris travelling through space - called micrometeoroids - would dirty and darken the rings over time, but in 2004 the Cassini spacecraft revealed the rings to be clean and bright suggesting that they are not very old.
Gilmour Space Announces “No Earlier Than” March 15 For Eris 1
Australia’s first sovereign orbital rocket designed and built has finally cleared all regulatory hurdles, and now sits poised on the launchpad in Bowen as it waits out the mandatory notification...
A Junior Exoplanet Could Reveal Planet Formation Secrets
International researchers have found a giant planet transiting a very young star, in research that indicates this could be the youngest transiting planet found to date.
New Marsquake Data Could Help Solve One Of Our Solar System’s ‘Biggest Mysteries’
New analysis of marsquakes, which are similar to earthquakes, could offer clues into how Mars has evolved over billions of years, according to new research from The Australian National University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Astronomers may have discovered the answer to a mysterious stellar event
Researchers from the Curtin node of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research say they have made a record-breaking astrophysical discovery while simultaneously uncovering a possible explanation for the rare and extreme event known as long-period radio transients.
What We Know About Uranus May Be Flawed
The Voyager 2 flyby of Uranus in 1986 may have occurred during a rare intense wind event, according to international researchers who say this means our scientific understanding of the planet may be flawed.
Astronauts Work Slower In Space – Research Finds
Astronauts perform tasks slower in space, but a new study involving 25 professional astronauts has found no evidence of brain damage once they returned to Earth.
The Moon looks pretty good for its age
Overseas researchers report new evidence suggesting the Moon is older than we previously thought thanks to a 'remelting' of the Moon's surface around 4.35 billion years ago that may have masked a far older history.
Ancient Hot Water on Mars Suggests A Habitable Past
New Curtin University-led research has uncovered what may be the oldest direct evidence of ancient hot water activity on Mars, revealing the planet may have been habitable at some point in its past.
Two New Stars Found Dancing Near The Milky Way’s Supermassive Black Hole
Two new stars have been found dancing near the Milky Way's supermassive black hole, according to international researchers, who say the binary star system was predicted to be there but has escaped detection until now.
Red Monster Galaxies Found in the Early Universe
A new paper published in Nature has revealed an international team has identified three ultra-massive galaxies – nearly as massive as the Milky Way – already in place within the first billion years after the Big Bang.
Southern Launch and South Australia Ready to Welcome Varda’s W2 Mission
There's a pioneering effort to replace the risks associated with in orbit manufacturing of drugs that's about to touch down in South Australia after a second round of production in orbit.
Varda’s W2 Mission Lifts Off; Set To Return To South Australia
There's a pioneering effort to replace the risks associated with in orbit manufacturing of drugs that's about to touch down in South Australia after a second round of production in orbit.
NASA Plans Two Future Artemis Cargo Landers
NASA announced late last year it intends to award Blue Origin and SpaceX additional work under their existing contracts to develop landers that will deliver large pieces of equipment and infrastructure to the lunar surface. They expect to assign demonstration missions to these current human landing system providers to mature designs following the design certification reviews.
Firefly Sparkle Galaxy Shines A Light On How Early Galaxies Formed
Detailed observations of a low-mass galaxy known as Firefly Sparkle that formed when the Universe was around 600 million years old provides insights into early galaxy formation, according to international researchers.
NASA to Explore Two Landing Options for Returning Samples from Mars
To maximize chances of successfully bringing the first Martian rock and sediment samples to Earth for the benefit of humanity, NASA has announced a new approach to its Mars Sample Return Program.