space

Star Catcher has raised $88 million to build the first space power grid. Their plan is to recharge satellites with lasers

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As the pace of space launches increases and missions beyond Earth become more abundant and varied, it is important to look for new ways to obtain energy so that these ships can travel to their destinations. Fuel is not infinite, so there comes a point where it runs out. Therefore, there are three main proposals. One is to resupply the ships directly in orbit. Another option is to resort to nuclear energy. In fact, There are already several agencies working on it. Finally, there is the option of solar energy. Unfortunately, this has some limitations, but the American company Star Catcher wants to solve them through the world’s first energy network located in space. A good economic injection. Star Catcher just announced which has received 65 million dollars in a series A financing round. With what they already had in their coffers, the company has 88 million dollars. Enough to date its first release to the end of this year. Different ways to “squeeze” the Sun. The solar energy we are used to is obtained through plates with photovoltaic cells installed directly on the Earth. However, there are already companies that want to bring it directly from the Sun, even at night. Its goal is to use mirrors that reflect sunlight at will anywhere on Earth, whatever the time and whether the weather is good or not. The problem is that these companies They are being criticized a lot for posing risks such as great light pollution. On the other hand, what Star Catcher wants to do is slightly different. They will also take solar energy directly into space, but they will not direct it to Earth, but to the spacecraft that need it. It will be like a kind of space solar power plant. Optical beaming. Star Catcher will be based on a phenomenon known as optical beaming. This consists of extracting solar energy and using it to power a multispectral optical laser, with which it will be redirected to satellites from which it can be distributed at will to the ships that need it. To do this, they hope to be able to put a constellation of 200 satellites into low Earth orbit. Previous records. Last year, this company broke the world record for wireless electricity transmission by delivering 1.1 kW of power to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Now, they want to transmit directly to space. It also has limitations. Although this company does not have the same limitations as those that want to redirect sunlight to Earth, it involves placing an immense number of satellites in orbit, with the risk that this entails. Many experts warn that, in the same way that could happen with Elon Musk’s Starlink constellation, this type of infrastructure increases the risk of Kessler syndrome. That is, it could happen that one or more fragments of space debris collide with them, deteriorating and launching pieces into space that would become more space debris, which in turn would collide with more satellites or more debris. Thus, a very dangerous domino effect would be generated for satellites, ships and space stations that are in space at that time. Even more risks. On the other hand, the launches of the ships that will place the satellites into orbit are also a great source of pollution. In fact, recently has been published a study that warns of the large amount of polluting substances that these types of launches leave in the upper layers of the atmosphere, where, otherwise, the pollution would be residual. In short, this company will bring us great advances, but it will have to maneuver carefully so as not to bring even more problems. Image | Star Catcher In Xataka | Starlink’s dominance in space begins to move: another company already has permission for a constellation of 4,000 satellites

The joint mission between Europe and China is already in space. The really important thing comes now

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Finally, despite the postponement last April, SMILE has been launched successfully. The mission that unites China and Europe To study how the solar winds interact with the Earth’s magnetosphere, it departed from the Kurú Space Port, in French Guiana, at 03:52 GMT (05:52, Spanish peninsular time). He has at least 3 years of work ahead of him, but before starting his work he must take some preliminary steps. Journey to final orbit. During the first 25 days of the mission, SMILE You must start your engines 11 times. This will allow it to gradually lengthen its orbit around the Earth’s poles, until reaching 121,000 km above the North Pole and 5,000 km above the South Pole. Once in its final orbit, around June 13, it will be time to tune up all its instruments. The final deployment. Remotely, from Earth, mission engineers will check that all SMILE instruments are working properly. For that, some must change their conformation. Specifically, it will be necessary to deploy the magnetometer arm and open the X-ray camera shutter and the UV camera cover. Each of these points is essential for the proper development of the mission. The first images. Once the experiments have been verified, SMILE will begin its work. The first images will be sent to Earth for analysis three months later. The mission. SMILE will study the interaction of solar activity with the shield that the Earth uses to protect itself from it. Although other missions have carried out similar tasks, it will be the first time that global images of this interaction have been taken, both in X-rays and ultraviolet. This will give us better knowledge than we currently have about solar storms and how they affect our planet. And not only They draw us beautiful auroras in the sky. They can also affect telecommunications, sometimes worryingly. It is important to understand them and know how to predict, as far as possible, the harmful effects they could cause. At least three years. The nominal duration of the mission will be 3 years. This means that it is designed to achieve your main objectives in this time. The economic investment of the European and Chinese space agencies has focused on guaranteeing this duration. However, that does not mean that within three years the ship will be deorbited or that all its instruments will be turned off. If it continues to function properly, its useful life could be greatly extended. The case of Cluster. Cluster it was a mission ESA whose objective was also to measure the Earth’s magnetic environment. In a way, it could be considered a predecessor of SMILE. It was launched in 2000 and remained active until 2024. However, Its nominal duration was initially 2 years. Once the retirement date arrived, it was found that Cluster was completely fit, so it was decided to invest in it for much longer. Maybe something similar will happen with SMILE. For now, we will have to go step by step. To begin with, it must reach its operational orbit. Once there, the magic begins. Or rather: science. Image | THAT In Xataka | The Webb and Hubble telescopes simultaneously observed Jupiter’s auroras. The problem is that they didn’t see the same thing

space as a new factory

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Two pharmaceutical companies have teamed up to launch an ambitious plan to synthesize drugs in space. It’s not an expensive hobby. It is more than proven that some medications They have added advantages if they crystallize under microgravity conditions. Until now, the few companies that had done so had worked alone or with the sole support of agencies such as NASA, but the fact that two of them are associated without the need for the space agency to intervene marks what could be the beginning of an era. Better to join forces. The two companies in question are Varda Space Industries and United Therapeutics Corporation. The first, founded by former SpaceX employees, has been synthesizing medicines in space since 2023. The second has never traveled beyond Earth, but it is a biotechnology company with enough potential for the union to be much stronger. The initial objective will be the crystallization in microgravity of drugs for rare lung diseases. However, in the future drugs could be produced for many other pathologies. It all started in 2019. In 2019, the companies Merck Sharp & Dome Corp. (MSD), in collaboration with the National Laboratory of the International Space Station (ISS), carried out experiments crystallization with the drug pembrolizumab (Keytruda). It is an anti-cancer drug that, as is common in chemotherapy, is administered by intravenous infusion, in a process that can last hours. By crystallizing it in space, a more stable form was obtained that allowed its administration in a single injection, making the treatment much more comfortable for patients. a matter of time. It has been seen that, when crystallized under microgravity conditions, many molecules assemble more slowly and constantly. The results are much more stable molecules that, once used as a drug, have a wide variety of advantages. For example, they dissolve better, do not require as much cold for storage, cause fewer side effects, and have a longer shelf life. Varda’s experience. The Varda company began its space pharmacology project in 2023. That year it launched the first of a series of unmanned capsules with chemical reactors into space. In these reactors, molecules crystallize and, after a few weeks or months of work, are returned to Earth. That first capsule was the W-1. W-6 is currently carrying out its mission and is expected to launch at least three more this year. Furthermore, after the merger with another pharmaceutical company, Varda is confident of being able to scale to 7 launches in 2027. Also for research. Molecules that crystallize in space give rise to larger crystals. This also makes your research easier. Therefore, with this type of project the aim is not only to obtain drugs. It is also expected to obtain candidate molecules to become medicines, to be analyzed more thoroughly by scientists on Earth. This is just the beginning. In the future, space travel will be much more widespread. The reuse of rockets will allow many more launches in less time, space tourism will become increasingly common and many public and private investigations can be carried out in orbit. If sufficient investment is achieved, the infrastructure to obtain drugs in space will become increasingly simpler. And, of course, the benefits for patients will also increase. Image | Varda/Magnific In Xataka | We knew that Mars has gravity. Now we have just discovered the unexpected effect it has on the Earth’s climate

Europe and China are at risk in the race for the first gravitational wave observatory in space

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Terrestrial gravitational wave detectors, such as the famous LIGO, have made very interesting discoveries in the last decade. However, there is a great consensus that it would be very useful to detect this cosmic phenomenon directly from space. For this reason, some space agencies are already getting to work to launch their own projects. One of them is the Taiji mission, of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, with which, in fact, a great step forward has just been taken. Everything ready for Taiji 2. The Taiji mission consists of three phases. The first was already launched in 2019. For the second, a piece called the full-function interferometer optical core had to be tested. The tests carried out on Earth have gone perfectlyso it is considered that the second phase could be launched as soon as possible. In fact, its launch It was initially scheduled in 2024but it has been suffering delays. Luckily, it seems that now all the pieces are ready. Three ships in total. The Taiji mission is made up of three ships, strategically placed in space millions of kilometers away. They will all be connected to each other through laser interferometry, so that slight changes in these distances that could be associated with gravitational waves can be detected. The first phase of the mission, in which the interferometry system was analyzed, was launched in 2019. It is expected to send the second part as soon as possible, in which the first two ships will be put into space. As for the third, in principle the established calendar places its launch in the 2030s. Better in space than on Earth. Gravitational waves are waves produced in space-time as a result of a catastrophic event. These types of events could be, for example, the merger of neutron stars or the collision of black holes. When this occurs, space-time experiences a disturbance similar to that produced when a stone is thrown into a pond. Those are gravitational waves. The terrestrial observatories, like LIGOthey can detect them, but they have a small limitation. And there could be confusion with seismic noise and other terrestrial interference. In space, that problem disappears. Taiji to the rescue. According to the tests that have been carried out on Earth and the analyzes of the interferometry system that have already been carried out in space with Taiji-1, this mission is capable of greatly reducing interference. Furthermore, the optical core that has just been tested is capable of detecting disturbances on the order of picometers. That is, on Earth you can discern displacements equivalent to one ten-thousandth of the diameter of a human hair. Although those distances would change under spatial conditions, it is still highly accurate. Therefore, it is expected to detect even gravitational waves caused by intermediate mass black holes. Other similar missions. The European Space Agency It also has its own mission aimed at detecting gravitational waves in space. This is LISAa project with which it is planned to do something similar: launch three ships connected by laser interferometry into space. In this case, the launch of all ships is scheduled for 2035, so China could have some advantage. Of course, until the complete triangle is in space, the mission cannot be considered completed. Perhaps Europe will be able to overtake the Asian country. Image | NOIRLab In Xataka | What happens if you fall into a black hole, explained simply in an overwhelming NASA simulation

having babies in space

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China has just sent a very special shipment to the Tiangong, one that aims to find out the answer to whether humans will be able to reproduce in space. Because the great powers have embarked on adventure to colonize the Moon or Marsbut there is a fundamental question which is whether a human embryo can develop in zero gravity. The Chinese Academy of Sciences hopes the answer “is yes.” And that’s why they have sent a curious ‘Noah’s Ark’ to their space station. In short. This May 11, the State Laboratory of Stem Cells and Reproductive Biology post the ship Tianzhou-10 with a cell with embryos of zebrafish, mice and artificial humans. These human embryos are derived from stem cells that are now on their way to the Chinese Tiangong station. This is a facility that the Asian giant has plans to expand to be the great space laboratory once the International Space Station is dismantled, and this is a first step to see if humans can reproduce and develop in zero gravity. artificial humans. Before entering into the objectives, it is advisable to clarify what “artificial humans” is. As Chinese authorities point out, these human embryos are not complete organisms that can become babies. Simply put, these are structures made from stem cells that mimic the very early phases of human development. What has been sent to the Tiangong corresponds approximately to days 14 to 21 after fertilization, a crucial window because it is during which all organs begin to form and in which any anomaly can have a significant impact on human development. For five days, the station’s astronauts will monitor the status of the embryos. They will then freeze them and send them to Earth for analysis. Aim. It is not the first time that embryos have been sent to space. A few months ago we already said that China had sent a mouse so that it would have babies in the station that would later be analyzed to see if they came with any alteration. Nine were born and six survived, resulting in tremendous success because there were so many things that could go wrong. The goal is to see if we can survive away from the protection of the Earth’s atmosphere, and there are more things outside of zero gravity that could be an evolutionary barrier. For example, cosmic radiation, a shower of high-energy particles passing through us, can cause breaks in DNA, with unexpected and fatal consequences. On Earth, the atmosphere protects us, but without that shield, the exposure is much greater. What was deduced from the mouse research is that the cellular repair mechanisms of mammals are capable of compensating for this damage, at least in short-duration flights. That is why this mission is so special because they will spend a longer time in orbit and, furthermore, it is the first time that such a large sample system has been sent with lower vertebrates up to models of human embryos. Those responsible for the project point out that it is the first attempt in history to answer the question of whether humans can reproduce in space and, thanks to the data, work will be possible to develop technologies that mitigate possible adverse effects. Pawned. China is very focused on studying these effects of microgravity and cosmic radiation on embryonic development and, apart from this experiment or that of the mouse, it already sent 6,000 mouse embryos on the SJ-10 satellite in 2016, demonstrating that mammals can complete the first phases of embryonic development. And in 2023, Japanese scientists They sent frozen mouse embryos to the ISS, where they were thawed and where it was concluded that these conditions did not significantly affect the formation of blastocysts. With foot on board. The Tianzhou-10 carries another load to carry out experiments such as ultra-thin solar cells or greenhouse gas sensors, but evidently the issue of embryos draws much more attention. And what it shows is that China is going full throttle in this new space race. A race in which space is being militarized, but also in which a new playing field is being defined for get unlimited energy that being able to send the Earth through laser ‘cannons’ and even the possibility of turn the moon into a mine space. In Xataka | Europe has grown tired of being NASA’s “supporting actor.” And that is why it is starting to work with China

Two companies have teamed up to put their own space garbage truck into orbit

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As the space race advancesso does the generation of debris, which includes everything from fragments of parts to discarded phases of rockets or complete ships that lost their orbit. This space debris accumulates, generating more and more risks. It is clear that it must be managed in some way, but all the hypotheses proposed have been left in the air. Now, however, two private companies have proposed the development of a kind of space garbage truck, which can lead the process to become operational and repeatable. Just like that truck that passes by your window every morning, they also hope to achieve frequency and efficiency with their waste removal service. The truck and the garbage can. The two companies that have proposed this service are the American Portal Space System and the Australian Paladin Space. The first has developed Starbust, a maneuverable and resupply ship that works like a garbage truck. The operator or garbage dump would be Paladin’s contribution, a payload called Triton. This is responsible for both obtaining images of space debris and classifying and collecting the debris. While the experimental proposals that have been made so far would collect one or very few objects, this combo would collect many more in a single mission. A regular service. Both companies have assured that they are working at a good pace, so they hope to make a first launch at the end of 2026. If all goes well, they would begin doing more regular missions from 2027. It would be a repeatable and well-organized service, which would try to keep at bay the space debris debris that, logically, will continue to be generated. More and more space junk. It is currently estimated that there are more than 130 million pieces of space debris in low Earth orbit. It is a figure that may possibly increase, due to something known as Kessler syndrome. The term refers to a kind of domino effect whereby, if a piece of space debris hits a satellite, for example, even more debris will be generated, which will continue to collide with each other, increasing in number more and more rapidly. The risks. Space debris is dangerous for many reasons, all of them largely related to impacts. To begin with, they can affect artificial objects that are also in orbit, such as satellites. Furthermore, if the impact occurs on manned facilities, such as the International Space Station, or spacecraft, the lives of the astronauts would be put at risk. And we cannot leave aside the risk posed by space debris when it deorbits and returns to Earth. Normally, most of the pieces disintegrate when crossing the atmosphere and do not even reach the Earth’s surface. However, debris may remain capable of causing material or personal damage. In fact, in 2022 a study was published which pointed out that, in the subsequent 10 years, the risk of a piece of space debris falling on a human being is 10%. It is worth launching as many cosmic garbage trucks into space as possible. We will avoid many problems if they work as expected. Cover image | Paladin Space In Xataka | SpaceX has made sending things to space very cheap. The problem is that now space is full of things

The success of Artemis II has lit China’s space fire. Now, your space station will be twice as big

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All powers have embarked on the new space race and Artemis II It has been the lighthouse that demonstrates the interest that continues to arouse in sending humans outside our borders. Aside from rockets, in low orbit humanity has one of the most exclusive laboratories in the universe: the International Space Station. While the long-standing facility awaits dismantling, China has just sent a message with its Tiangong space station. Soon, it will be twice as big. Ambition. When China was left out of the International Space Station project, it got to work on its own facility. The Tiangong It began to take shape in the 2000s and launched its central module into low orbit in 2021. Other modules have been added designed for Chinese astronauts to investigate in an environment that, until now, was forbidden to them. Since then, it has become a symbol of the ambition of the Chinese space program. Also of the speed at which they are completing goalswith round trip rocket tests and plans for build, together with Russia, a lunar station. Despite everything, he has a problem. It is considerably smaller than the ISS and has a mass of just 100 tons, a pressurized volume of 340 m3 with the capacity to house a crew of three astronauts. Expanding the Tiangong. The ISS can support a crew of seven astronauts, has triple the pressurized volume capacity and a mass of more than 420 tons. If China wants to get involved in space research, it had to do something, and its response has come in the form of a project to expand the Tiangong. How has informed state television CCTV, the station will go from being a ‘T’-shaped structure with three modules to a cross-shaped one with six modules. Its mass will be approximately 180 tons and, although it will remain smaller than the ISS, it will have the capacity to equal the astronauts on a permanent mission: six. If the plans are fulfilled, the three current modules will be joined by a fourth that will have multiple docking ports that will give rise to future laboratory units, increasing the potential to six modules. At the moment, there is no date for this expansion, but it is estimated that work will begin around 2027 and will be a Long March 5B the rocket that will transport what is necessary. Since its T-shaped module was completed, astronauts have performed more than 260 experiments and 26 spacewalks. Exclusiveness. China spent 2025 launching rockets, culminating in a month of December in which they broke all their launch records in a stress test for your multiple mission points. With plans to expand their space station, they show that they are committed to this new era of research and exploration, being something that arrives just when the International Space Station remains in question. Tiangong has remained an exclusive laboratory for Chinese researchers, but if it suddenly becomes the only station in low orbit, China is the one that has the access key so that foreign astronauts can carry out their work in those special conditions. On April 22, the Chinese Manned Space Flight Agency already commented that two Pakistan Air Force pilots would be trained as reserve astronauts and one would travel to Tiangong. He will be the first non-Chinese astronaut to do so, although there are already other astronauts from Hong Kong and Macau who will perform the same process. It is something that responds to China’s intention to promote cooperation projects with the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, but without forgetting that the Tiangong is Chinese and, as we say, they have the keys to the doors… and the right of admission. Scrap. While the Asian giant announces the good news around its station, on the other side of the world a dismantling process of the ISS is still scheduled for 2031. The plan is that NASA use a vehicle exclusive to SpaceX to guide the ISS to a space cemetery somewhere in the Pacific. In recent months there has been a lot of discussion about whether it is a better idea to dismantle it, turn it into scrap metal or use it as a portbut at this point, the plan continues its course and it is possible that, sooner rather than later, Tiangong will remain the only manned space station in low Earth orbit. In Xataka | Europe has grown tired of being NASA’s “supporting actor.” And that is why it is starting to work with China

The three hantavirus deaths on a cruise ship suggest something problematic for something else: the colonization of space

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What happened on the Argentine cruise ship in which three people died from hantavirus is very sad and, of course, must be investigated. However, many news stories are being read in which it is used to bring to mind bitter pandemic memories and generate an unnecessary stir. The risk for the general population is extremely low, as many experts have been quick to assure. However, it does show how dangerous it can be to let a pathogen circulate in a closed, moving place, like a boat. We can even go a step further now that the space race is in fashion: what would happen if something like this happened on a spaceship? It couldn’t happen. Typically, hantavirus It is transmitted by rodentslike rats and mice. Generally, infection in humans occurs through inhalation of contaminated particles (usually dust) with their feces or urine. This means that, in most cases, the contagion is a zoonosis. The virus passes from an animal to a human. That in space would be impossible. Spaceships are monitored under a magnifying glass, it would be impossible for a mouse to enter without being seen. It is true that there is a specific type of hantavirus, the Andes virus, in which cases have been documented due to human-to-human contact. However, according to has explained to Science Media Center the researcher at the MRC-University of Glasgow Viral Research Center Liam Brierley, contact must be very very close. Contact on spaceships, where a few people must spend a lot of time together in a very small space, would be very close. But don’t panic. Sterility and quarantines. Each of the modules that make up the spacecraft are assembled in white roomsunder strict sterile conditions. Thus, microorganisms, pathogenic or not, are prevented from traveling into space attached to their surfaces. Regarding astronauts, they undergo all kinds of medical examinations to verify that they are not infected with any pathogen. Also, before traveling to space They must spend time in quarantine. This prevents the incubation of something that cannot be detected in medical examinations at the time of starting the journey. It wasn’t always like this. In reality, quarantines began to be implemented after the astronauts of the Apollo 7, 8 and 9 missions had to deal with a cold in space. Although none of them became seriously ill, they did report that the symptoms were especially bothersome in this very different environment. Therefore, it was decided to take even more measures to prevent something like this from happening. The Apollo 7 crew had to deal with a cold. Not all microorganisms stay on land. It is impossible to strip a human being of all the microorganisms that live in his body. The microbiota is the set of microorganisms that are naturally found in our body. Many of them are beneficial for us, as they protect us from pathogens or help us carry out processes such as digestion. All these microorganisms always travel with us, so it is impossible to separate ourselves from them. And even if you could, it would be dangerous to do so. Others that cannot be avoided. Nor can latent viruses be avoided, like shingles. Once a person passes the infection, these remain asleep in the organism. They may never come forward again or they may do so, usually at a time when the immune system is weakened. It has been seen that reactivations of this type of virus are quite common in space and the truth is that it is not rare, since it affects the immune system at many levels. Three basic pillars. Microgravity, cosmic radiation and the stress of being in such an inhospitable place are the three main reasons why the immune system is affected by space travel. Everything in its place. Microorganisms that are completely harmless in a person’s microbiota can be harmful to another individual, either because they are immunosuppressed or because their defenses are not well trained against that organism. enemy. It is something that, for example, happens with many microorganisms on the skin. It should also be taken into account that there are microorganisms that are harmless in some organs, but harmful in others. It occurs, for example, when bacteria from the digestive system pass into the urinary system. Be careful which direction you wipe when going to the bathroom. We cannot get rid of our microbiota. And thank goodness. Malted pathogens. We have already seen that it is very difficult for pathogenic microorganisms to travel to space. But it may be the case that an apparently innocuous microorganism appears where it should not. Or it may no longer be harmless due to spatial conditions. It is known that cosmic radiation, extreme temperature conditions or microgravity can influence the genes expressed by a microorganism. For example, in pathogenic bacteria, such as Salmonella typhimuriumit has been observed that in space They express a genetic pattern very different from the one they use on Earth. Besides, they become more virulent when they are off the planet. We do not know if some apparently innocuous microorganisms could also develop certain virulence due to this change of environment. An eye on the future. For something like this to happen today would be very strange. However, there are two scenarios in the future in which, perhaps, one of these situations could occur. On the one hand, microorganisms are deliberately introduced into the ships. For example, there could be microorganisms that transform lunar regolith into arable soil. It would be necessary to see if it is worth taking the risk of putting them on a spaceship. On the other hand, in the future space travel will be much more the order of the day. Then there may not be as many controls as there are now or, out of so many, some may fail. Just as globalization has led some pathogens to travel faster around the world, it would not be unusual for something similar to happen in space. We’re speculating, but it’s worth thinking … Read more

A Falcon 9 has been roaming through space for more than a year. An astronomer believes it will crash into the Moon in summer

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An upper stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 has been orbiting uncontrollably for more than a year and astronomers indicate that it will end up crashing on the Moon next August. Although at first it may seem serious, the truth is that it does not represent any danger to us. However, that does not mean that the event has once again revived the debate on the space junk and what may happen in the future if the Moon ends up being inhabited. What is going to happen and when. On August 5, at 8:44 a.m. (Spanish peninsular time), an upper stage of a Falcon 9 rocket will collide with the lunar surface at approximately 8,700 km/h, which is equivalent to about seven times the speed of sound. The prediction It was published by Bill Grayprofessional astronomer and developer of Project Pluto software, a widely used tool for tracking near-Earth objects. According to Gray, the impact will occur in the surroundings of Einstein crater, on the edge of the visible side of the Moon from Earth. Where does this piece of rocket come from? The stage in question, cataloged as 2025-010D, is the upper part of the Falcon 9 that launched two private lunar landers on January 15, 2025: the Blue Ghost from Firefly Aerospace and the Hakuto-R from the Japanese company ispace. The first achieved the first completely successful commercial lunar landing in history, touching down at Mare Crisium on March 2, 2025. The second lost contact with Earth during the descent maneuver and crashed. Meanwhile, the rocket’s upper stage continued to orbit. With more than 1,000 observations accumulated since launch, Gray assures There is no doubt: it is this piece of the Falcon 9. Why can’t it be seen from Earth. Although the Moon will be visible to much of the Western Hemisphere at the time of impact, Gray warns that the flash will almost certainly be too faint to detect with ground-based telescopes. The researcher himself remembers what happened with the LCROSS mission from NASA in 2009, when a Centaur stage deliberately impacted the lunar south pole to study the ground and yet no flash could be observed from Earth. The scientific value, if any, will come from further study of the fresh crater left by the impact. No danger, but with a warning. The stage measures 13.8 meters long and 3.7 meters in diameter. Since the Moon does not have an atmosphere, the device will reach the surface intact. There is no risk to lunar infrastructure, rovers or ships in orbit. Still, Gray account which “does highlight a certain lack of care in the way in which remnants of space hardware are disposed of,” he writes in his report. There is a relatively simple technical solution, and that is that with a little more planning and some extra fuel, companies that launch rockets could send these stages to heliocentric orbits (around the Sun), where they would pose no threat to either the Earth or the Moon. Now it matters more. Both the US and China plan to multiply the pace of their lunar missions during the second half of this decade, with the aim of installing semi-permanent bases near the south pole of the Moon. The United States aims for annual missions with Artemis IV and V from 2028; China wants have your own taikonauts stepping on lunar soil before 2030. More missions means more rockets, more unreused upper stages, and therefore more space junk orbiting near the Moon. If there were people or infrastructure on the surface then, things would get serious. It’s not the first time it happens. Gray stumbled upon another rocket stage a few years ago. In 2022, he predicted that a piece of rocket would hit the Moon on March 4 of that year, getting the time right within seconds and the location within just a few kilometers. Gray had initially identified the object as another stage from a Falcon 9, but it turned out to be a booster from the Chinese Chang’e 5-T1 rocket. This time, however, continuous monitoring since launch rules out any doubts. Cover image | SpaceX and NASA In Xataka | We have found something that astronomers have been searching for decades: the precise edge of the Milky Way

Metajets, the luminous ‘Wingardium Leviosa’ that promises to take ships into space without the need for fuel

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A team of scientists from Texas A&M University has managed to lift and direct tiny objects without touching them. And no, he didn’t do it with a spell. Wingardium leviosabut with laser technology that could power the spaceships of the future. Metajets to fly without fuel. The new propulsion tool designed by these scientists uses something known as metajetswhich is based on the combination of laser beams and metasurfaces. The latter are surfaces that contain small nanoscale irregularities that direct light in many possible directions. When light hits the smooth surface of a mirror, it just bounces back. On metasurfaces, when encountering all those little mountains invisible to the human eye, it can deviate in multiple ways. On the other hand, when light hits a surface, the photons push it slightly. The authors of this study they compare it with tennis balls bouncing on a wall. When using a lot of balls, that push can be tangible. Therefore, by shining a laser on a surface, a movement can be produced that is also directed in the desired direction thanks to those tiny pillars. The more light the better. Something interesting about metajets is that to obtain greater thrust you do not necessarily need a larger device. It would be enough to increase the power of the light. Therefore, although at the moment the experiments have been carried out with devices the size of a human hair, these researchers consider that in the future they could be scaled enough to send ships into space without the need for fuel. Climb and turn. With these experiments it has been possible to both raise the device and make it rotate in the desired direction. It is a good start for that dreamed space future. Much shorter trips. With current technologies, If we wanted to travel to the Alpha Centauri star systemthe closest to our solar system, it would take hundreds of thousands of years. Instead, these scientists calculate that, using metajets, the figure would be reduced to only a couple of decades. In astronomical terms, that’s pretty little. Beyond space. In reality, the ability to move objects without contact or fuel could have many applications here on Earth as well. For example, metajets would be useful in precision manufacturing, microrobotics and advanced detection systems. There is still much to do. Logically, having demonstrated the effectiveness of metajets in a tiny device is only a first step. There is a lot of science and a lot of time left before we can scale enough to reach space. However, as Machado said, the path is made by walking, and this has already begun to be drawn. The next step will be to test the metajets in a laboratory under microgravity conditions. Thus, we would see how they will work in space. If this goes well, little by little we would try to scale it to a larger size. Other technologies that are also being investigated may possibly arrive sooner, such as the use of engines based on nuclear energy. However, metajets are also a very interesting option for future space travel. I’m sure we’ll hear about them again in the future. Image | Harry Potter, skateboarder (Wikimedia Commons) In Xataka | How many times have we gone to the Moon and why have only 11 military aviators and one geologist set foot on it in all of history?

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