NASA’s Artemis 1 lunar mission finishes countdown test

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NASA’s first moonbound mission for the Artemis program is in final testing. The team executed its second launch countdown sequencing test Monday (Jan. 24), with no major issues reported, according to an agency blog post. “The test demonstrated the ground launch software and ground launch sequencer, which checks the health and status of the rocket … Read more

Virtual Telescope Project captures a view of the James Webb Space Telescope at its final destination

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A new image captures NASA’s distant James Webb Space Telescope in a sky full of stars. The Rome-based Virtual Telescope Project took the exposure over five minutes using its robotic telescope, a PlaneWave 17-inch, tracking Webb on a Paramount ME mount. The image captured Webb just as it was arriving at its destination at the … Read more

Did a taste for blood help humans grow big brains? Story isn’t so simple, study argues | Science

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When it comes to killing and eating other creatures, chimpanzees—our closest relatives—have nothing on us. Animal flesh makes up much more of the average human’s diet than a chimp’s. Many scientists have long suggested our blood lust ramped up about 2 million years ago, based on the number of butchery marks found at ancient archaeological … Read more

After reaching deep space haven, Webb telescope begins 5 months of fine-tuning | Science

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NASA’s flagship James Webb Space Telescope has arrived at its destination. After unfolding the carefully packed observatory during its monthlong journey, controllers today briefly fired Webb’s thrusters to put it into a “halo orbit” around L2, a gravitational balance point 1.5 million kilometers from Earth. Far from the heat and hubbub of low-Earth orbit, L2 … Read more

Taiwan’s science academy fined for biosafety lapses after lab worker contracts COVID-19 | Science

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TAIPEI, TAIWAN—Academia Sinica, Taiwan’s most prominent academic institution, has been ordered to pay a fine for biosafety lapses after a research assistant at its Genomics Research Center contracted COVID-19 on the job in late 2021. Health minister Chen Shih-chung, who also heads Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), announced during a 20 January press conference … Read more

Best Nikon cameras for 2022

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Nikon has been around for over 100 years, and as such has a decorated past filled with incredible cameras. And while traditionalists like to point to a few specific film cameras as the most iconic bodies Nikon has produced, nothing exceeds the intelligent complexity and sheer shooting power that it’s currently producing. There are a … Read more

U.S. prosecutors said an MIT scientist hid his China ties. Here’s why their case collapsed | Science

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For the past year, the U.S. government had argued that Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) engineering professor Gang Chen broke the law by failing to disclose his ties to China when applying for a grant from the Department of Energy (DOE). But last week, prosecutors abruptly reversed course and dropped all charges against him, telling … Read more

Mars’ suspected underground lake could be just volcanic rock, new study finds

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A suspected Martian underground lake is probably volcanic rock masquerading as water, according to a new study. In 2018, researchers found evidence that the Red Planet’s southern pole might have water beneath it. The possible water signature was first interpreted from radar observations made by Mars Express, a European Space Agency spacecraft. But a new … Read more

Be just like Boba Fett with Hasbro’s wicked Star Wars Nerf EE-3 Carbine Blaster

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The colorful assortment of awesome Nerf LMTD guns spans all spectrums of the pop culture galaxy with its special line of cross-promotional blasters spawned from mega movie and video game franchises like “Alien,” “Fortnite,” “Star Wars” and “Halo.”  For its latest temptation, Hasbro is again aiming at that stellar destination located far, far away with … Read more