SCIENCE

A flock of pelicans flies over the Hula Valley in northern Israel during their winter migration from Europe to Africa

Nature Pays Price For War In Israel's North

In the Hula Valley, home to a unique migration sanctuary for birds, a flock of common cranes and their cacophony of calls fill the air -- but smoke billows in the distance and their sounds soon compete with the whir of Israeli military helicopters overhead.

World's First Wooden Satellite Launched Into Space

LignoSat, a satellite made from wood and developed by scientists at Kyoto University and Sumitomo Forestry, shown during a press conference in May, 2024
Scientists at Kyoto University expect the wooden material to burn up when the device re-enters the atmosphere -- potentially providing a way to avoid generating metal particles when a retired satellite returns to Earth.
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This handout image courtesy of Maxar Technologies taken on June 7, 2024 shows the Boeing Starliner spacecraft docked with the International Space Station's (ISS) forward port on the station's Harmony module

NASA Admits Tension With Boeing Over Space Rescue Plan

The US space agency is enlisting SpaceX to rescue the astronauts because of safety concerns with Boeing's Starliner capsule, which encountered thruster malfunctions and helium leaks on its way to the orbital outpost.
A final decision on whether to persist with Starliner -- seen here docked with the ISS -- is expected later this month, officials said

NASA Weighs SpaceX Rescue For Stranded Boeing Starliner Crew

A final decision on whether to persist with Boeing's troubled Starliner -- which experienced worrying propulsion issues as it flew up to the orbital platform in June -- is expected later this month, officials said Wednesday in a call with reporters.
NASA's Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) assembled inside the cleanroom at the agency's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas

NASA Cans Lunar Rover After Spending $450 Million Building It

The Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) was intended to explore the lunar south pole in search of ice and other resources, paving the way for planned crewed missions by American astronauts under the Artemis program later this decade.
A bee hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae) feeds at the House of Hummingbirds sanctuary in Palpite, Cuba

In Cuba, A Haven For The World's Tiniest Bird

The bee hummingbird, which measures just five to six centimeters (two inches) long, is only found in Cuba. Its losses have been huge, with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) saying it has disappeared from many areas due to deforestation.
Chang'e-6's lunar lander used a drill and robotic arm to scoop up samples on the far side of the Moon

China Lunar Probe Returns To Earth With Samples

The landing module of the Chang'e-6 spacecraft touched down at a predetermined site in Inner Mongolia at 2:07 pm (0607 GMT), the China National Space Administration said, hailing the mission a "complete success".
The Kenyan capital Nairobi has been badly hit by the heavy rains

Dozens Killed As Dam Bursts In Flood-hit Kenya

The disaster raises the total death toll over the March-May wet season in Kenya to more than 120 as heavier than usual rainfall pounds East Africa, compounded by the El Nino weather pattern.
A stellar black hole has been identified in the Milky Way

Astronomers Discover Largest Black Hole In Milky Way: Study

The black hole, named Gaia BH3, was discovered "by chance" from data collected by the European Space Agency's Gaia mission, an astronomer from the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) at the Observatoire de Paris, Pasquale Panuzzo, told AFP.
Map showing the areas where the shadow of the Moon will pass during the total solar eclipse in Mexico, US and Canada on April 8

Totality Insanity: Eclipse Frenzy Hits North America

The Moon's shadow will land on Mexico's Pacific coast at 2:07 pm ET (1807 GMT), then speed northeast across a 15-state swath of the United States and on to Canada, exiting the continent over Newfoundland just under an hour and a half later.
People gather as SpaceX Starship spacecraft prototype is transported from the launch site ahead of the SpaceX Starship third flight test from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas

SpaceX Poised For Third Launch Test Of Starship Megarocket

SpaceX plans on Thursday to attempt another launch of Starship, the world's most powerful rocket that is vital to NASA's plans for landing astronauts on the Moon later this decade -- and Elon Musk's hopes of eventually colonizing Mars.
NASA's thinking behind CLPS is to delegate the delivery of its lunar science hardware to the private sector, reducing costs to taxpayers as it prepares to return astronauts to the Moon under the flagship Artemis program later this decade

What To Know About The NASA-funded Commercial Moon Fleet

A first attempt under the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative ended in disappointing failure last month, but a second, led by Houston-based Intuitive Machines, will attempt on Thursday to return the United States to Moon for the first time in five decades.
Intuitive Machines, the Houston company leading mission "IM-1," hopes to become the first non-government entity to achieve a soft touchdown on the Moon and land the first US robot on the surface since the Apollo missions more than five decades ago

Private US Spaceship Takes Off For The Moon

Intuitive Machines, the Houston company leading mission "IM-1," hopes to become the first non-government entity to achieve a soft touchdown on the Moon, and to land the first US robot on the surface since the Apollo missions more than five decades ago.

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