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Space Scientists Discover a Never-Before-Seen Mechanism Fueling Huge Planetary Aurorae on Saturn

Infrared image of Saturn showing an aurora at its southern pole, captured by the Cassini spacecraft. Credit: NASA/JPL/ASI/University of Arizona/University of Leicester Saturn’s high-altitude winds generate an extraordinary aurorae. Leicester space scientists have discovered a never-before-seen mechanism fuelling huge planetary aurorae at Saturn. Saturn is unique among planets observed to date in that some of its aurorae are generated by swirling winds within its own atmosphere, and not just from the planet’s surrounding magnetosphere. At all other observed planets, including Earth, aurorae are only formed by powerful currents that flow into the planet’s atmosphere from the surrounding magnetosphere. These are…

Expedition 66 begins 2022 aboard the International Space Station

Lead image: View from the Russian Orbital Segment in January 2022 looking towards the US Orbital Segment — credit: NASA The start of 2022 saw no let-up for the Expedition 66 crew aboard the International Space Station, who are continuing their busy schedule of maintenance, science, and operations aboard their outpost in low Earth orbit. January saw the installation of new external experiments, a spacewalk by the two Russian crewmembers, the departure of a Cargo Dragon spacecraft, and the deployment of five small satellites. The International Space Station (ISS) crew currently consists of Roscosmos cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov – the mission…

Astronomers Watch a Star Die and Then Explode as a Supernova – For the Very First Time

An artist’s rendition of a red supergiant star transitioning into a Type II supernova, emitting a violent eruption of radiation and gas on its dying breath before collapsing and exploding. Credit: W. M. Keck Observatory/Adam Makarenko It’s another first for astronomy. For the first time, a team of astronomers have imaged in real-time as a red supergiant star reached the end of its life. They watched as the star convulsed in its death throes before finally exploding as a supernova. And their observations contradict previous thinking into how red supergiants behave before they blow up. A team of astronomers watched…

NASA Spinoffs Help Clean Pollution, Fight Coronavirus, Grow Food & More

The interior of the Biomass Production Chamber at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida replicated the closed growing environment astronauts will use in space or on other planets to grow fresh crops. As the first controlled environment vertical farm in the United States, the chamber helped NASA provide critical data for the indoor farming industry. Credit: NASA NASA’s mission of exploration requires new technologies, software, and research – which show up in daily life. The agency’s Spinoff 2022 publication tells the stories of companies, start-ups, and entrepreneurs transforming these innovations into cutting-edge products and services that boost the economy, protect…

Human Spinal Cord Implants: Breakthrough May Enable People With Paralysis To Walk Again

Prof. Tal Dvir. Credit: Sagol Center for Regenerative Biotechnology In world-first, Tel Aviv University researchers engineer human spinal cord implants for treating paralysis. The researchers from Sagol Center for Regenerative Biotechnology engineered functional human spinal cord tissues, from human materials and cells, and implanted them in lab models that featured chronic paralysis, successfully restoring walking abilities in 80% of tests. The technology behind the breakthrough uses patient tissue samples, transforming it into a functioning spinal cord implant via a process that mimics the development of the spinal cord in human embryos. The researchers: “Our goal for the next few years…