1+ hour, 1+ min ago (242+ words) The Long March-2F rocket carrying Shenzhou-22 lifted off shortly after midday from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China, footage from state broadcaster CCTV showed. Recent Shenzhou missions have been used to crew China's Tiangong space station, exchanging teams of three astronauts every six months. Shenzhou-22 was originally slated for a crewed launch in 2026. But it was launched early after a suspected space debris strike to the Shenzhou-20 return capsule made it unsafe for re-entry to Earth, leaving its crew briefly stranded. The Shenzhou-20 team returned aboard Shenzhou-21 on November 14 -- nine days later than planned -- leaving their relief crew without a reliable return vehicle. The accelerated launch ensures Shenzhou-21 astronauts Zhang Lu, Wu Fei, and Zhang Hongzhang have a safe return option. The three were "working normally and in good condition", the China Manned Space Agency said Monday before…...

1+ hour, 1+ min ago (304+ words) The latest ACT measurements confirm the value of the Hubble constant - a critical parameter indicating the present rate of cosmic expansion - by observing distant cosmological epochs. This confirmed rate differs from estimates derived using nearby astronomical objects, reinforcing the ongoing "Hubble tension" and challenging the standard cosmological framework. ACT's expanded analyses decisively rule out many extended theoretical models proposed to address this tension. These independent tests, led by Erminia Calabrese of Cardiff University, demonstrate that about thirty alternative models do not fit the newly available data. Calabrese stated, "We assessed them completely independently. We weren't trying to knock them down, only to study them. And the result is clear: the new observations, at new scales and in polarization, have virtually removed the scope for this kind of exercise." The result is a streamlined theoretical landscape, directing future efforts toward new…...

1+ hour, 1+ min ago (607+ words) Projects selected for funding span a range of applications, from satellite refuelling and logistics to advanced 5G and optical communication systems. These initiatives are part of the UK's strategy to strengthen capabilities in satellite communications, positioning, navigation and timing, in-orbit servicing, space domain awareness, and the use of space data for Earth applications. The European satellite industry is projected to generate GBP 40 billion in revenue by 2033. The UK could secure up to GBP 800 million from just 2% of this market. Space Minister Liz Lloyd emphasized that "Space technology and especially satellites, are essential to our daily lives. From the sat nav in your car to your mobile phone, from weather forecasts to your online banking - space is where it all happens. By backing our UK sector, we're not only cementing our position as a European space leader - we're creating high-skilled jobs, attracting…...

1+ hour, 1+ min ago (484+ words) Aksoy, who joined UAlbany's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in 2017 and directs the Microwave Remote Sensing Laboratory, is leading the development of machine-learning algorithms for NOAA that can detect and remove radio frequency interference from its satellite measurements, improving the accuracy of weather forecasts and climate monitoring. Because this portion of the spectrum is finite, only so many users can operate on a specific frequency at a specific time. And because radio waves are foundational to wireless communications, which have experienced exponential growth in recent decades, a growing number of users are now competing for a limited number of radio frequencies. "There are plenty of interference sources, and they change from country to country and region to region because different countries may give different licenses to different users at different frequencies," Aksoy said. UAlbany's Mustafa Aksoy is leading the…...

1+ hour, 1+ min ago (229+ words) Paris, France (SPX) Nov 25, 2025 The ESA and JAXA BepiColombo mission is entering its final year of approach to Mercury, on track to reach orbit in November 2026 after launching in October 2018. The dual-spacecraft mission has already completed one flyby of Earth, two of Venus, and six of Mercury, collecting solar activity and magnetosphere data en route. Throughout its cruise, BepiColombo measured planetary magnetic envi BepiColombo nears Mercury orbital arrival after seven year journey Throughout its cruise, BepiColombo measured planetary magnetic environments, monitoring the Sun's influence on radio signals as well as Mercury's changing magnetic bubble. The mission has produced the first magnetic measurements from low over Mercury's southern hemisphere and reconstructed a magnetic field map. These are compared with data from the Earth flyby in 2020 and Venus in 2021. The spacecraft also sent back recordings that capture its passage past planets, including…...

1+ hour, 1+ min ago (783+ words) The flares triggered R3 (strong) radio blackouts across Africa and Europe, with several coronal mass ejections (CMEs) fueling a major geomagnetic storm and aurora at unusually low latitudes. The cluster of explosive events originated from a single active region on the Sun, AR4274. "It's somewhat unusual to see four X-class flares in just a few days from the same region," said Bin Chen, NJIT-CSTR professor of physics and director of the Expanded Owens Valley Solar Array (EOVSA). "An X1.7 flare on Nov. 9, an X1.2 on Nov. 10, an X5.1 on Nov. 11 and an X4.0 on Nov. 14 - that's a very productive stretch. What really stood out were the ripple effects right here on Earth." Though the flares occurred during nighttime in California - out of view of NJIT's Big Bear Solar Observatory - the center's radio telescopes at the Owens Valley site in the Eastern Sierra recorded the flares' aftermath…...

1+ hour, 1+ min ago (134+ words) The team built an electrode using metallic crystals capable of efficiently producing hydrogen from water. These crystals, grown in liquid metals such as Gallium, are being investigated for potential uses in quantum computing and hydrogen extraction technologies. The study involved dissolving platinum beads in Gallium or a Gallium-indium solution at 500 degrees Celsius, following which the mixture was cooled to initiate crystal formation. X-ray tomography allowed mapping of the crystal growth process, demonstrating how tiny rods rapidly formed within the alloy as it cooled. Imaging resolution currently limits the level of detail obtained, but improvements in tomography are expected to provide deeper insights into metallic crystal growth in the future. Research Report: Observing growth of metallic crystals inside liquid metal solvents Related Links University of Sydney Space Technology News - Applications and Research...

1+ hour, 1+ min ago (362+ words) London, UK (SPX) Nov 25, 2025 Rock samples collected from beneath the Atlantic Ocean reveal that lava rubble accumulating on the seafloor can store carbon dioxide for tens of millions of years. Research led by the University of Southampton involved analyzing lava cores extracted during the International Ocean Discovery Program's Expedition 390/393. The study focused on breccias, rocks created from eroded seafloor mountains a Ancient deep ocean rocks shown to be long-term carbon storage reservoirs Dr Rosalind Coggon, Royal Society Research Fellow at the University of Southampton, said, "We've known for a long time that erosion on the slopes of underwater mountains produces large volumes of volcanic rubble, known as breccia - much like scree slopes on continental mountains. However, our drilling efforts recovered the first cores of this material after it has spent tens of millions of years being rafted across the seafloor…...

1+ hour, 1+ min ago (226+ words) The agency confirmed on Monday that the Long March 2F launch vehicle, which will carry Shenzhou XXII, has completed propellant injection. All members of the Shenzhou XXI crew remain in good health aboard the Tiangong space station. Officials released no further specifics on the immediate objectives for Shenzhou XXII. Zhou Yaqiang, representing the agency's general technical bureau, stated that the mission will deliver a full load of supplies, including equipment and provisions needed to support operations on Tiangong. Shenzhou XXII was initially planned to transport its assigned crew to the station in April 2026. However, since the Shenzhou XX astronauts returned to Earth using the Shenzhou XXI spacecraft, the newly prepared spacecraft now serves as a contingency vehicle for the station's crew. Inspections detected small cracks on the return capsule's viewport window of Shenzhou XX, which authorities attribute to a space debris impact....

1+ hour, 1+ min ago (533+ words) "Not all of these satellites are known to have oceans, but we know that some do," said Max Rudolph, associate professor of earth and planetary sciences at the University of California, Davis and lead author on the paper. "We're interested in the processes that shape their evolution over millions of years and this allows us to think about what the surface expression of an ocean world would be." From mountains to earthquakes, Earth's surface geology is powered by the movement and melting of rock deep inside the planet. On icy moons, geology is driven by the action of water and ice. These worlds are heated by tidal forces from the planet they orbit. The moons orbiting a planet can interact, leading to periods of higher and lower heating. Higher heating can melt and thin the ice layer; when heating decreases,…...