Tag: space
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Dark Energy and the Runaway Universe
Mishita takes us through a century of astronomy discoveries and how a “mistake” from Einstein may have been hiding a clue for decades
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Edinburgh Science Festival 2025
When?: Saturday 5th April – Sunday 20th April What is it?: Last weekend marked the start of the Edinburgh Science Festival 2025! The event runs over Easter every year and includes lectures, shows and activities all around the city, designed to celebrated Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM). This year, the festival is running from…
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Space Junk – a serious threat to our space missions
In 2009, a Russian and an American satellite in orbit collided with each other creating lots of debris in the process. In recent years, space junk has increased significantly, endangering future space missions. Space junk or space debris is defined as machinery or debris left by humans in space. These could range from dead satellites…
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Bacterial prospectors take on the final frontier
Bacteria currently used as catalysts in earthbound mining processes could one day be used to extract critical elements in space and further the human settlement of other planets. Researchers at the University of Edinburgh struck gold with their discovery in a recent study published in the journal Nature Communications. Led by Charles Cockell, Professor of…
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Cosmic ghost hunting: CNO neutrinos from the Sun detected for the first time
An international collaboration of particle physicists has announced the detection of solar neutrinos originating from the secondary fusion cycle powering the Sun. This is a world-first that could shine a light on the otherwise unseen solar core and further our understanding of stellar evolution. The Borexino Collaboration, using the eponymous Borexino detector at the Gran…
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How does space affect the body?
From microgravity to radiation, space is an extreme environment. Kate Summerson examines the impact this can have on the human body. As we know, NASA plans to increase the length of space travel, making deep space more accessible than ever before. To achieve this, NASA has been increasing its efforts to understand how longer term…
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Bacteria in space: why biological life support systems are the future of space travel
One of the greatest challenges limiting our ability to send astronauts on long-haul missions is the need for constant resupply of essential materials from Earth. Any manned spaceflight needs to carry enough food, water and oxygen to sustain a crew for the duration of the mission, but there is only so much weight a single…
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Secrets of the water bear
Tardigrades (also known as water bears or moss piglets) are among the most resilient animals on the planet. They are termed “extremotolerant”, as while they are not true extremophiles – organisms, usually unicellular, which are adapted to thrive in extreme conditions – these incredible micro-animals are found in the most intense conditions our planet has…
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NASA’s First Nigerien Scientist
Fadij Maina (29) has become the first scientist from Niger, as well as the first African scientist, to work for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Maina earned her PhD in Hydrology in 2016, and joined the US space agency at the end of last month. She will be using mathematical models and data…
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NASA rover ‘Perseverance’ sets off in search of life on Mars
Launched on 30 July, NASA’s Mars 2020 mission is sending the Mars rover ‘Perseverance’ to search for traces of ancient life and study samples of rock and soil in a crater that once held a lake nine times the size of Loch Ness. It was launched at 07:50 local time from Cape Canaveral Air Force…