Heating and cooling space habitats isn't easy -- one engineering team is developing a lighter, more efficient solution

You can’t bring your AC to space, unfortunately, but innovative flow boiling and condensation research might lead to lighter, more efficient heating and cooling on spacecraft.

Issam Mudawar, Betty Ruth and Milton B. Hollander Family Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University • conversation
Sept. 14, 2023 ~8 min

Possible hints of life found on distant planet – how excited should we be?

The results are intriguing, but analysing the atmospheres of exoplanets is no easy task.

Ian Whittaker, Senior Lecturer in Physics, Nottingham Trent University • conversation
Sept. 13, 2023 ~7 min


Powerful black holes might grow up in bustling galactic neighborhoods

An astronomer and ‘black hole historian’ explains how the parts of the universe black holes grow in might influence how quickly they become bright, supermassive objects.

Jaclyn Champagne, JASPER Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Arizona • conversation
Sept. 11, 2023 ~8 min

Space junk in Earth orbit and on the Moon will increase with future missions − but nobody's in charge of cleaning it up

Treaties meant to ensure sustainability in space don’t currently regulate private companies, and not every country has signed on to an agreement for sustainable space exploration.

Chris Impey, University Distinguished Professor of Astronomy, University of Arizona • conversation
Aug. 31, 2023 ~8 min

India's Chandrayaan-3 landed on the south pole of the Moon − a space policy expert explains what this means for India and the global race to the Moon

India became the first country to land near the south pole of the Moon, a notoriously difficult achievement that also marks them as the fourth country to land on the Moon.

Mariel Borowitz, Associate Professor of International Affairs, Georgia Institute of Technology • conversation
Aug. 24, 2023 ~7 min

Caroline Herschel was England's first female professional astronomer, but still lacks name recognition two centuries later

Astronomer Caroline Herschel’s work discovering and cataloging astronomical objects in the 18th century is still used in the field today, but she didn’t always get her due credit.

Kris Pardo, Assistant professor of Physics and Astronomy, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences • conversation
Aug. 21, 2023 ~8 min

Chandrayaan-3: India hopes to land a rover on the Moon for the first time

The Indian spacecraft could lay the ground for future missions with astronauts, and even for lunar bases.

Ian Whittaker, Senior Lecturer in Physics, Nottingham Trent University • conversation
Aug. 21, 2023 ~7 min

Caroline Herschel was the first female astronomer, but she still lacks name recognition two centuries later

Astronomer Caroline Herschel’s work discovering and cataloging astronomical objects in the 18th century is still used in the field today, but she didn’t always get her due credit.

Kris Pardo, Assistant professor of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southern California • conversation
Aug. 21, 2023 ~7 min


NASA's Psyche mission to a metal world may reveal the mysteries of Earth's interior

Liftoff to the distant asteroid is scheduled for Oct. 5, 2023 – the beginning of a six-year journey to one of the most unusual objects in the solar system.

Jim Bell, Professor of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University • conversation
Aug. 17, 2023 ~6 min

New data reveal US space economy's output is shrinking – an economist explains in 3 charts

With commercial space tourism on the rise and NASA planning to return to the Moon, you might think the US space economy is booming – but the data paints a more complex picture.

Jay L. Zagorsky, Clinical Associate Professor of Markets, Public Policy and Law, Boston University • conversation
Aug. 16, 2023 ~8 min

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