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NASA has picked Boeing and Elon Musk’s SpaceX as the main contractors to build rocket-and-capsule launch systems to return Americans to the orbiting research lab (Photo: AP)

Boeing tests space taxi, one of three parachutes does not open

The tested CST-100 Starliner crew capsule however performed 'acceptably' overall, being developed to ferry astronauts to & from the ISS.

05 Nov 2019 11:26 AM

The spaceplane, roughly the size of a small bus and sharing many design features with NASA’s Space Shuttle, was sent into orbit in 2017 atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. (Photo: SpaceNews)

Secretive military spaceplane lands in Florida after record-long orbital flight

The unpiloted X-37B, touched down on an airstrip at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at 3:51 a.m. ET after spending 780 days orbiting Earth

30 Oct 2019 1:26 PM

A lake that at the time was Africa’s largest - twice the area of today’s Lake Victoria - gave rise to the ancient wetlands covering the Greater Zambezi River Basin that includes northern Botswana into Namibia to the west and Zimbabwe to the east.

Humankind's ancestral 'homeland' pinpointed in Botswana

It has been long established that Homo sapiens originated somewhere in Africa before later spreading worldwide.

30 Oct 2019 1:21 PM

The device is essentially a large, specialised battery that absorbs carbon dioxide from the air (or another gas stream) passing over its electrodes as it is being charged up.

Research develops new way to remove carbon dioxide from air

The technique is described in a new paper in the journal Energy and Environmental Science by MIT postdoc Sahag Voskian.

29 Oct 2019 10:53 AM

Scientists have eyed lunar water as a key resource for enabling long-duration astronaut missions on the moon, though its form and exact amount are unknown.

NASA plans to send water-hunting robot to moon surface in 2022

The VIPER robot will drive for miles (km) on the dusty lunar surface to get a closer look at underground pockets of ice.

26 Oct 2019 1:52 PM

This chemical, Opabactin, is also known as "OP," which is gamer slang for "overpowered," referring to the best character or weapon in a game."

Here's how plants can remain green throughout the year

It mimics abscisic acid, or ABA, the natural hormone produced by plants in response to drought stress.

26 Oct 2019 11:53 AM

The fossilsdate from the first million years after the calamity and show that the surviving terrestrial mammalian and plant lineages rebounded with aplomb. (Photo: AFP)

Post-apocalyptic fossils show rise of mammals after dinosaur demise

With dinosaurs no longer eating them, mammals made quick evolutionary strides.

25 Oct 2019 10:26 AM

More accurate and reliable short-term forecasts are necessary so that people can be evacuated from the seismic impact zone. (Photo: ANI)

Researchers close to developing short-term earthquake forecast system

This data can help experts develop short-term earthquake forecast methods.

25 Oct 2019 9:26 AM

The release of the flight schedule by China Rocket Co, a unit of state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, comes two months after the firm’s first reusable rocket, the 23-tonne Smart Dragon-1, delivered three satellites into orbit. (Photo: NASASpaceFlight.com)

China's next commercial rockets to make test flights in 2020, 2021

The Smart Dragon-2, weighing about 60 tonnes and with a total length of 21 meters, will be capable of sending 500 kg payloads into orbit

22 Oct 2019 9:20 AM

Scientists developed a new method to analyze the elements in rocks from asteroids or rocky planet fragments that orbited six white dwarf stars. (Photo: ANI)

There might be Earth-like planets in the universe

They are Earth-like and Mars-like in terms of their oxidized iron.

22 Oct 2019 8:41 AM

NASA aims to return to the moon with crewed missions by 2024 under the program dubbed Artemis. (Photo: NASA)

US astronauts embark on the first all-female spacewalk

Christina Koch and Jessica Meir accomplished the much-anticipated milestone for NASA.

19 Oct 2019 9:44 AM

Currently, there are three main energy storage options: batteries, electrochemical capacitors and dielectric capacitors.

Answer to renewable energy lies in the art of croissant making

By pressing and folding a polymer film capacitor they were able to store 30 times more energy.

19 Oct 2019 9:14 AM

Antiheroes and morally ambiguous characters like Walter White were more complicated for people to rate on likability. (Photo: ANI)

People admire superheroes for these reasons

People best liked the heroes they rated as most moral, and least liked villains they rated as most immoral.

14 Oct 2019 8:04 AM

This study suggests that we are often ignoring our physical environment. (Photo: ANI)

Home designs speak about one's personality

Being in a certain location dramatically constrains or facilitates certain emotional experience.

14 Oct 2019 7:35 AM

NASA and SpaceX had previously aimed to launch the Crew Dragon on an initial test flight carrying two astronauts to the International Space Station in 2019 (Photo: AFP)

NASA aims for first manned SpaceX mission in first-quarter 2020

If all goes well, SpaceX’s new Crew Dragon astronaut capsule will be ready for its first manned flight into orbit by first quarter of 2020

12 Oct 2019 2:52 PM

By scanning the fragments where characters are visible, they hope to create a machine-learning algorithm that will decipher what is written on the scrolls. (Representational photo: Pixabay)

Light brighter than the sun to virtually decipher ancient scrolls

The items were examined at the Diamond Light Source facility in Oxfordshire, home to Britain’s synchrotron.

03 Oct 2019 7:42 AM

Young women slept more than young men, and the former also went to sleep earlier.

Sleep varies by age, geographical location, gender

The shortest sleep was observed in Asian countries.

30 Sep 2019 7:41 PM

Working with Procter & Gamble in Newcastle, the team measured the release of plastic microfibres from polyester clothing for a range of cycles and water volumes.

Washing clothes in machines releases microfibres that ultimately reach oceans

800,000 more fibres were released in a delicate wash than a standard cycle.

30 Sep 2019 7:37 PM

A three-legged prototype of the rocket named Starhopper has test launched in the village twice since July. (AP Photo/Jack Plunkett, File)

Elon Musk unveils new Mars rocket prototype, expects missions in months

Starship is the top half of Musk’s colossal interplanetary rocket system that stands 387 feet tall.

30 Sep 2019 7:45 AM

Astronomers used an international network of telescopes to detect the phenomenon. (Representational photo: AP)

A black hole rips apart an unfortunate star

The star, roughly the same size as our sun, was eventually sucked into oblivion in a rare cosmic occurrence.

30 Sep 2019 7:38 AM

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Anita Katyal