Satellites are often a bespoke effort, requiring a range of specific needs and logistics plans to meet project requirements. To simplify some of these challenges, a few years ago a team of researchers and engineers working together between the European Space Agency (ESA), France’s CNES, the UK Space Agency and Airbus, introduced OneSat, a standardized … Read more
A new stellar image from the European Southern Observatory (ESO) offers some clues about how planets as huge as the gas giant Jupiter could form. The researchers used ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) and an international astronomical facility called the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to detect large dust clumps located close to a young … Read more
Before a spacecraft lands on Mars, or before futuristic cargo planes fly over our cities, they must be designed and rigorously tested in wind tunnels. Even passenger planes, like the Boeing 747 jets used by major airlines, are subject to such tests. These facilities allow engineers to “fly” aircraft and spacecraft within a few feet … Read more
ARE A fan of a good Wikipedia spiral? Do you love to crush the competition at trivia night? Are you determined to be the most interesting person at every party you go to? Then you’re going to love The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week. in this hit popular science podcast, our hosts share the … Read more
For the first time in nearly 40 years, New Zealand’s rare and critically endangered kākāpō will return to the country’s mainland. The kākāpō are large flightless parrots that used to be widespread in New Zealand, before being hunted to near extinction. The birds last lived on the New Zealand mainland in the 1980s. The last … Read more
Metals are not known to “heal” on their own; once broken, the materials are supposed to stay broken unless reformed by external forces. But new research into metallic properties indicates that’s not always the case. In fact, some metals seem to naturally repair themselves, a discovery that could one day change engineering designs here on … Read more
The global spice trade has been linking global economies and shaping the world for at least 4,000 years. Seasonings and herbs we take for granted today were once so valuable that a long-held theory believes that Roman soldiers were sometimes paid in salt, even giving rise to the word “wages.” [Related: For decades, turmeric’s ultra-golden … Read more
This article originally appeared on hakai Magazine, an online publication on science and society in coastal ecosystems. Read more stories like this at hakaimagazine.com. During Japan’s sweltering summers, nothing hits the spot like a frozen orange. The popular candy, known as reito mikanIt tastes great when made at home. But it tastes even better when … Read more
in the series I made a huge mistakePopSci explores mishaps and misunderstandings, in all their shame and glory. With those two ominous notes, a 25-foot-long mechanical great white shark named Bruce and the menacing slogan “you’ll never go in the water again.” jaws he practically invented the summer blockbuster. It became the first movie to … Read more
Deep below our feet, almost anywhere on the planet, are spaghetti-like parasitic puppeteers known as horsehair worms or Gordian nematodes. These cunning, slimy beings lack three main systems: excretory, circulatory, or respiratory. To compensate, they invade crickets, grasshoppers, and other invertebrates, taking advantage of their neurological circuitry and eventually brainwashing them. Once inside a body, … Read more