Science

  NASA plans to return to the moon in the next decade, and it won’t just be for a quick visit this time. The agency wants to establish a long-term human presence on and in space around the moon, but that’s going to require new technologies. The NASA Innovative Advanced …

  Scientists have long believed the formation of a quasar in a galaxy would spell the end of star formation there. A new analysis from Allison Kirkpatrick, assistant professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Kansas, suggests that may not be the case. Kirkpatrick found that some galaxies …

The South Pole-Aitken basin — the largest crater in the Solar System — is a gigantic impact structure on the far side of the Moon. Data from NASA’s lunar spacecraft point to the existence of a large excess of mass — about 2.18*1018 kg — in the lunar mantle under …

A team of biologists from the Universities of Guelph and Toronto has discovered that a species of carnivorous plant called the northern pitcher plant (Sarracenia purpurea) in Ontario’s Algonquin Park wetlands consume not just bugs but also young spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum). A northern pitcher plant with a trapped salamander. …

A research team led by University of Rochester physicists has conceived an idea for a superconducting quantum refrigerator, which would cool atoms to nearly absolute zero temperatures. The superconducting quantum refrigerator is similar to a conventional refrigerator, in that it moves a material between hot and cold reservoirs. However, instead …

Scientists studying the moon have made an unexpected discovery. While we have good data on the surface topography, there’s still a lot we don’t know about what lies beneath the craggy craters and dunes. A large crater in the southern polar region appears to contain a large deposit of dense …

A species of dragonfish called Aristostomias scintillans is a voracious predator of the deep sea with an arsenal of tools to hunt prey. It has proportionately enormous jaws capable of a special mechanism of opening and closure referred to as loosejaw. In contrast to its dark pigmented skin, the species …

As space agencies look to expand their presence in space, the value of reusable vehicles keeps increasing. SpaceX has seen great success with its Dragon and Falcon 9 combo, for example. The European Space Agency (ESA) has decided to move forward with its Space Rider project, an uncrewed, reusable orbital …

NASA is just over a year away from the launch of the Mars 2020 rover, and all systems are go for the rover’s flying passenger. After completing its flight test early this year, the Mars Helicopter Scout (MHS) is undergoing final preparation and could join the rover this summer. If …

Sloths once roamed the Americas, ranging from cat-sized animals that lived in trees all the way up to giant ground sloths. The only species we know today, however, are the two- and three-fingered sloths. They seem remarkably similar, but new molecular (DNA and protein) studies estimate they last shared a …