Category Astronomy/Space

A study puts a sequence to the events which gave rise to our Galaxy. The universe 13,000 million years ago was very different from the universe we know today. It is understood that stars were forming at a very rapid rate, forming the first dwarf galaxies, whose mergers gave rise to the more massive present-day galaxies, including our own. However the exact chain of the events which produced the Milky Way was not known until now.

Exact measurements of position, brightness and distance for around a million stars of our galaxy within 6,500 light years of the sun, obtained with the Gaia space telescope, have allowed a team from the IAC to reveal some of its early stages...

Building a lunar base would be one of the next logical steps in our exploration of the solar system, but the survival of a future crew depends on access to a reliable source of energy. An ESA Discovery & Preparation study explored how lunar regolith—the dust, soil and rock on the moon’s surface—could be used to store heat and provide electricity for future astronauts, rovers and landers.

Humans would have little difficulty reaching the moon’s surface with today’s technology, but it is expensive—sometimes even impossible—to take all the materials we would need with us, especially if we want to stay for more than a couple of days...

Nutraceuticals that preserve muscle in reduced gravity will support long-term space mis...

The first direct ...