Japan's space ambitions have been on full display. A private Japanese company has been trying to make history by successfully landing a robotic spacecraft on the moon. This isn't their first attempt, but the outcome is still up in the air. The company, based in Tokyo, is part of a new wave of private enterprises. These companies are looking to make a profit by sendi...
The moon has always been a big deal, and recently, two spacecraft set off from Florida to make their mark on the lunar surface. One of them, Blue Ghost, made it there in just a few months and even managed to land upright, which was a big win. The other spacecraft, Resilience, is taking the scenic route. It's been cruising through space for months, learning and adapti...
The Moon's magnetic field is almost nonexistent, unlike Earth's. This difference could have big effects on plants, especially when it comes to growing food on the Moon. Researchers decided to look into how this weak magnetic field affects wheat seedlings, a key crop for future space farming. They set up a controlled experiment. Wheat seedlings were grown in simulate...
A lunar mission, backed by NASA, is facing a setback due to an engine change. The project, involving a lunar lander built by ispace U. S. , was initially set to launch in 2026. However, the switch to a new engine, called VoidRunner, has pushed the launch date to 2027. The original plan involved using an engine from Agile Space Industries, the A2200. This engine was ...
The moon is back in the spotlight, with new efforts pushing for regular exploration and discovery. These missions, driven by private companies, are all about landing safely and delivering important scientific tools. The goal is to answer big questions about our lunar neighbor. These missions are part of a broader push to make space exploration more affordable and acc...
Lunar Lake is the name of a unique set of laptop chips from Intel. These chips are special because they have memory built right into the CPU package. This is a first for Intel and might not be seen again in future laptop chips. Lunar Lake chips also include a neural processing unit that meets Microsoft's Copilot+ standards. Plus, they feature Intel's top-performing i...
The journey to the moon is not always smooth. Intuitive Machines, a company based in Houston, is not letting a recent setback stop its ambitious plans. The company's latest moon lander, IM-2 Athena, had a rough landing near the lunar south pole. It tipped over and ended up on its side. But Intuitive Machines is already looking ahead to its next mission: IM-4, schedul...
The moon's far side, the one that never shows its face to Earth, is quite different from the side we see. It has more craters, a thicker crust, and fewer of those dark, smooth areas called maria. These differences might not just be skin deep. They could tell a story about how the moon came to be and changed over billions of years. Chinese scientists recently studied...
The moon is a dusty place. This dust, called regolith, is a big problem. It can harm equipment and even human health. But NASA has a new tool to fight it. They call it the Electrodynamic Dust Shield, or EDS. This technology uses electric fields to push away lunar dust. It recently had a successful test run on the moon's surface. The EDS flew to the moon on a private...
The Lunar New Year is a big deal in Taiwan. It's the longest and most important family holiday of the year. This makes it a unique time to look at how suicide risks change during this period. It's not just about the Lunar New Year, though. The Christmas holidays also show changes in suicide risk. This suggests that how connected people feel to their community plays a...