On Tuesday, a capsule carrying soil from the far side of the moon will parachute into the desert in China’s Inner Mongolia region. The sample, taken by the China National Space Administration’s Chang’e-6 lander, is expected to be the latest in a series of near-perfect executions of Chinese lunar exploration missions since 2007. Here’s what … Read more
HELSINKI – China’s Chang’e-6 spacecraft is on its way to Earth to deliver samples collected from the far side of the Moon. The Chang’e-6 service module is likely to fire its engines for a trans-Earth injection around June 21. The spacecraft is now in the final leg of its complex, 53-day journey that includes a … Read more
Safety in Space 24/06/2024 5516 view 12 like Two large asteroids will safely pass Earth this week, a rare occurrence timed to commemorate this year’s Asteroid Day. None of them pose any danger to our planet, but one of them was discovered just a week ago, underscoring the need to continue improving our ability to … Read more
Is humanity prepared to face an asteroid with a 72% chance of hitting Earth in 14 years? Scientists and experts say there is work to be done. When NASA presented the hypothetical scenario, drawn up by the Planetary Defense Coordination Office, to a group of nearly 100 government representatives, they discovered that their plan to … Read more
Astronomers are witnessing a spectacle never before seen in the cosmos: the awakening of a supermassive black hole at the center of a distant galaxy. In late 2019, a team of astronomers spotted an unusual galaxy called SDSS1335+0728, 300 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo. A sudden bump in the galaxy’s brightness was automatically … Read more
Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com. Why do some planets have moons and some don’t? – Siddharth, 6, Texas On Earth, you can look up at night and see the Moon shining brightly from hundreds of … Read more