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For the first time in nearly half a century, Russia has launched a spacecraft that is headed to the moon. On Friday morning at a spaceport in the far eastern part of Russia, a rocket lifted Luna-25, a robotic lander of moderate size, to Earth orbit. The Soyuz rocket began its flight under cloudy skies at the Vostochny launchpad. About 10 minutes into the flight, the spacecraft and a space tug propulsion unit separated from the rocket’s third stage. In about an hour, the space tug will push Luna-25 on a course to the moon.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Luna Organizations: Soyuz Locations: Russia, Ukraine

☆ LK-99 Is the Superconductor of the Summer
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Kenneth Chang | More About Kenneth Chang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When Sinéad Griffin of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California had some new findings to share about a seemingly magical material that has made users of Twitter go gaga, she did not have to do much to gain a lot of attention. The unusual material, named LK-99, has been presented to the world as a superconductor that would carry electricity at room temperatures with zero resistance. On Twitter — or X, as Elon Musk has renamed it — “LK-99” has been a trending topic in recent days, and enthusiasts have hailed what they believe to be a long-sought holy grail of physics, one that would transform everyday life with new technologies to solve climate change and make levitating trains commonplace. On Monday evening, Dr. Griffin let the social media world know of her findings in a short post that contained only a link to her preliminary paper and an animated GIF of President Barack Obama dropping a microphone at the White House Correspondents Dinner in 2016.

Persons: Sinéad Griffin, Lawrence, gaga, Elon Musk, Griffin, Barack Obama Organizations: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Twitter, Elon, White Locations: California

☆ NASA Seeks a Nuclear-Powered Rocket to Get to Mars in Half the Time
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Kenneth Chang | More About Kenneth Chang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

A Number That Sums It Up: 3 to 4 months to MarsWhat if a spacecraft could get to Mars in half the time it currently takes? Every 26 months or so, Mars and Earth are close enough for a shorter journey between the worlds. “The technical capabilities, including early safety protocols, remain viable today,” Tabitha Dodson, the DRACO project manager, said in a news briefing on Wednesday. A key difference between NERVA and DRACO is that NERVA used weapons-grade uranium for its reactors, while DRACO will use a less-enriched form of uranium. The demonstration spacecraft would most likely orbit at an altitude between 435 and 1,240 miles, Dr. Dodson said.

Persons: Agency —, NERVA, ” Tabitha Dodson, DRACO, ” Dr, Dodson, Kirk Shireman, Lockheed Martin Organizations: DARPA, Orion, NASA, Air Force, Research, Agency, Rover, Lockheed

☆ A Looming Retraction Casts a Shadow Over a Field of Physics
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Kenneth Chang | More About Kenneth Chang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A major physics journal is retracting a two-year-old scientific paper that described the transformations of a chemical compound as it was squeezed between two pieces of diamond. Such an esoteric finding — and retraction — would not typically garner much attention. But one of the leaders of this research is Ranga P. Dias, a professor in the physics and mechanical engineering departments at the University of Rochester in New York who made a much bigger scientific splash earlier this year, touting the discovery of a room-temperature superconductor. At the same time, accusations of research misconduct have swirled around Dr. Dias, and his superconductor findings remain largely unconfirmed. The retracted paper does not involve superconductivity but rather describes how a relatively mundane material, manganese sulfide, shifts its behavior from an insulator to a metal and then back to an insulator under increasing pressure.

Persons: Ranga P, Dias Organizations: University of Rochester Locations: New York

India’s first attempt at putting a robotic spacecraft on the surface of the moon three years ago ended in a crash and a crater. The mission, called Chandrayaan-3, comes amid a renewed interest in exploring the moon, but in the past decade, only China has succeeded in landing a spacecraft there in one piece. Chandrayaan-3 is the first of as many as six missions that could successfully land on the moon in the months ahead. The Indian Space Research Organization — India’s equivalent of NASA — will begin broadcasting coverage of the flight on its YouTube channel at 4:30 a.m.What is Chandrayaan-3? After the rocket carrying Chandrayaan-3 lifts off, a propulsion module will push the spacecraft out of Earth’s orbit and then allow the mission to enter orbit around the moon.

Persons: India’s, NASA — Organizations: Indian Space Research, NASA, YouTube Locations: China

☆ Scientists Have Found a Hot Spot on the Moon’s Far Side
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Kenneth Chang | More About Kenneth Chang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The rocks beneath an ancient volcano on the moon’s far side remain surprisingly warm, scientists have revealed using data from orbiting Chinese spacecraft. They point to a large slab of granite that solidified from magma in the geological plumbing beneath what is known as the Compton-Belkovich Volcanic Complex. “I would say we’re putting the nail in the coffin of this really is a volcanic feature,” said Matthew Siegler, a scientist at the Planetary Science Institute, headquartered in Tucson, Ariz., and who led the research. “But then what’s interesting is, it’s a very Earth-like volcanic feature.”The findings, which appeared last week in the journal Nature, help explain what happened long ago beneath an odd part of the moon. The study also highlights the scientific potential of data gathered by China’s space program, and how researchers in the United States have to circumvent obstacles to use that data.

Persons: Compton, ”, Matthew Siegler Organizations: Planetary Science Institute Locations: Tucson, Ariz, United States

☆ Neutrinos Build a Ghostly Map of the Milky Way
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Kenneth Chang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

From ghostlike particles, astrophysicists have pieced together a new map of the galaxy we live in. For now, that map of the Milky Way is blurry and incomplete. “This is the first time we’ve seen our own galaxy in anything other than light,” said Naoko Kurahashi Neilson, a professor of physics at Drexel University in Philadelphia who came up with the idea that a new view of the galaxy could be gleaned from particles known as neutrinos. Dr. Kurahashi Neilson and the more than 350 other scientists who collaborate on analyzing data from a neutrino detector at the South Pole reported their findings in a paper published on Thursday in the journal Science. “This is at last really the beginning of neutrino astronomy,” said John G. Learned, a physicist at the University of Hawaii who was not involved with the research.

Persons: ”, Naoko Kurahashi Neilson, Kurahashi Neilson, John G Organizations: Drexel University, University of Hawaii Locations: Philadelphia

☆ New Study Bolsters Room-Temperature Superconductor Claim
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Kenneth Chang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

A magical material that could effortlessly conduct electricity at room temperatures would likely transform civilization, reclaiming energy otherwise lost to electrical resistance and opening possibilities for novel technologies. Yet a claim of such a room-temperature superconductor published in March in the prestigious journal Nature, drew doubts, even suspicion by some that the results had been fabricated. But now, a group of researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago reports that it has verified a critical measurement: the apparent vanishing of electrical resistance. This result does not prove that the material is a room-temperature superconductor, but it may motivate other scientists to take a closer look.

Organizations: Nature, University of Illinois Chicago

☆ Quantum Computing Advance Begins New Era, IBM Says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Kenneth Chang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Quantum computers today are small in computational scope — the chip inside your smartphone contains billions of transistors while the most powerful quantum computer contains a few hundred of the quantum equivalent of a transistor. They are also unreliable. If you run the same calculation over and over, they will most likely churn out different answers each time. “What IBM showed here is really an amazingly important step in that direction of making progress towards serious quantum algorithmic design,” said Dorit Aharonov, a professor of computer science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem who was not involved with the research. While researchers at Google in 2019 claimed that they had achieved “quantum supremacy” — a task performed much more quickly on a quantum computer than a conventional one — IBM’s researchers say they have achieved something new and more useful, albeit more modestly named.

Persons: ”, Dorit Aharonov Organizations: IBM, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Google

☆ How Solar Wind Flows From the Sun Like Water From a Shower Head
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Kenneth Chang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

High-speed particles spew out of the sun like water from a shower head, scientists reported on Wednesday. Data from the Parker Space Probe, a NASA spacecraft that launched in 2018 and is now swooping in to gather readings of the sun’s outer atmosphere, or corona, is providing clues about how the sun generates the solar wind — a million-miles-per-hour stream of electrons, protons and other charged particles rushing outward into the solar system. The solar wind research ties into a mystery that has long perplexed scientists: Why is the corona, where temperatures soar to millions of degrees, so much hotter than the surface of the sun, which is a relatively cool 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit? The Parker probe is named after Eugene N. Parker, a University of Chicago astrophysicist who first predicted the existence of the solar wind in 1958.

Persons: Parker, Eugene N Organizations: Parker, Probe, NASA, University of Chicago

☆ The United Arab Emirates Is Heading for the Asteroid Belt
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Kenneth Chang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Building off the success of its Hope spacecraft, which is still circling and studying Mars, the United Arab Emirates announced on Monday plans for an ambitious follow-up mission: a grand tour of the asteroid belt. “The asteroid belt mission was the right amount of challenge,” said Sarah al-Amiri, chairwoman of the United Arab Emirates Space Agency. “Interesting science relevant to the science community, good opportunities for collaboration.”The spacecraft, named MBR Explorer after Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, is scheduled to launch in 2028. In February 2030, the spacecraft will arrive at Westerwald, a 1.4-mile-wide asteroid, zipping past at 20,000 miles per hour on its way to visit six more objects in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. “We would get a more detailed look at the surface of the asteroid,” said Hoor al-Mazmi, the science lead for the mission.

☆ Japanese Moon Lander Crashed Because It Was Still Three Miles Up, Not on the Ground
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Kenneth Chang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

The Beresheet lander, from an Israeli nonprofit named SpaceIL, launched to the moon in 2019, but it crashed. The Indian Space Research Organization attempted to land a lunar spacecraft the same year, too, and that vehicle, Vikram, also crashed. Only China has landed robotic spacecraft on the moon recently, with three successes in three attempts over the past decade. Ispace had obtained insurance for the lander, and the financial impacts on the company would be small, Mr. Hakamada said. The Indian space agency also announced this week that Chandrayaan-3, a follow-up to its moon landing attempt in 2019, could launch as early as July 12.

Persons: ”, Ryo Ujiie, “, Vikram, Takeshi Hakamada, ” Mr, Hakamada, Ispace Organizations: Draper Laboratory of Cambridge, NASA, Lunar Reconnaissance, Indian Space Research Organization, Technology, Pittsburgh, Houston Locations: China

☆ SpaceX Rocket Struggled to Self-Destruct as It Spun Out of Control
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Kenneth Chang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

During its brief first flight more than a week ago, the gigantic Starship rocket made by SpaceX generated an unanticipated “rock tornado” at launch, and multiple engines failed as it headed upward before it somersaulted out of control. An automated self-destruct command did not immediately destroy Starship. Instead, 40 seconds passed before the rocket finally exploded. Despite all that went wrong, Mr. Musk deemed the launch of Starship a success. “Obviously not a complete success,” he said, “but still nonetheless successful.”He said that the goal of the test flight was “to learn a lot, and we learned a lot,” and that more test flights were planned for this year.

☆ Second ‘Impossible’ Ring Found Around Distant Dwarf Planet
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Kenneth Chang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Like the first ring around Quaoar, announced by a team of astronomers in February, the second ring lies beyond what is known as the Roche limit. Thus, a ring within the Roche limit would tend to remain a ring, while a ring of debris outside the Roche limit would usually coalesce into a moon. For Quaoar, the Roche limit is calculated to be 1,100 miles. The second ring, at a distance of 1,500 miles from the center of Quaoar, is closer than the ring announced in February, which has a radius of about 2,500 miles. The observations also revealed the second ring.

☆ Japanese Company’s Spacecraft Is Lost During Moon Landing Attempt
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Kenneth Chang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A Japanese company has lost contact with a small robotic spacecraft it was sending to the moon, a signal that it may have crashed into the lunar surface. After firing its main engine, the Hakuto-R Mission 1 lander built by Ispace of Japan dropped out of lunar orbit. About an hour later, at 12:40 p.m. Eastern time, the lander, about 7.5 feet tall, was expected to land in Atlas Crater, a 54-mile-wide feature in the northeast quadrant of the near side of the moon. But after the time of touchdown, no signal was received from the spacecraft. “At this moment, we have not been able to confirm successful landing on the lunar surface,” said Takeshi Hakamada, the chief executive of Ispace, a half-hour after the scheduled landing time.

☆ SpaceX’s Starship ‘Learning Experience’ Ends in Explosion
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Kenneth Chang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

SpaceX’s Starship rocket exploded above the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday, minutes after lifting off from a launchpad in South Texas. There were no people aboard the spacecraft, the most powerful ever to launch. While it failed to reach orbit, it was not a fruitless failure for the private spaceflight company. Before the launch, Elon Musk, the company’s founder, had tamped down expectations, saying it might take several tries before Starship succeeds at this test flight. The brief flight produced reams of data for engineers to understand how the vehicle performed.

☆ Bellyflops, Booms and Big Rockets: A Recap of SpaceX’s Starship Tests
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Kenneth Chang | Josephine Sedgwick | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

SpaceX’s next-generation Starship rocket not only is huge but also designed to be fully reusable. That means when it returns to Earth, it has to survive re-entry and land softly, vertically and in one piece. Look back at the test launches — some more successful than others — that prepared SpaceX for its latest, most ambitious flight. It all started with a few small jumps …

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