Modern humans moved into cave one year after Neanderthals abandoned it

About 10,000 years before modern humans colonised Europe, a small group of them moved into a cave in southern France that had just been abandoned by Neanderthals – but they only stayed there for about 40 years Humans 9 February 2022 By Michael Marshall Excavations at the entrance of Grotte Mandrin Slimak-Metz A small group … Read more

UAE’s Hope spacecraft marks 1 year in orbit around Mars

It’s been a full year since the United Arab Emirates made history when its first-ever interplanetary mission slipped into orbit around Mars. The Emirates Mars Mission, also called Hope, launched in July 2020, arrived at the Red Planet seven months later and successfully entered orbit around Mars on Feb. 9, 2021. After a few months … Read more

NASA Just Announced Where ISS Will Plunge to Its Death in Early 2031

NASA says it plans to plunge the vestiges of the International Space Station (ISS) into a remote part of the Pacific Ocean known as Point Nemo in early 2031, after passing the baton to commercial space stations.   In an updated transition report just delivered to Congress, the space agency detailed the endgame for the space station, which … Read more

China’s Tianwen 1 Mars orbiter takes amazing video selfie for lunar New Year

China’s Tianwen 1 Mars orbiter is once again delivering stunning imagery, with a new video released to celebrate the lunar New Year. The 38-second clip shows shadows and sunlight moving across the body of Tianwen 1, with the sunlight causing insulation to move slightly due to thermal expansion. Mars then appears below the spacecraft, with … Read more

Countries Back Away from Pledge to Update Climate Goals This Year

One decision that came out of last year’s climate negotiations gained more attention than others for the pressure it puts on nations to cut planet-warming pollution faster. Rather than wait until 2025 to submit new plans for reducing emissions, each country would need to update their targets this year, according to the final pact sealed … Read more

Chinese astronauts celebrate lunar new year on Tiangong space station, a first

Festive red adorns China’s Tiangong space station in new footage celebrating the lunar new year in orbit. The Shenzhou 13 astronauts are the first to celebrate the holiday in orbit, according to the China National Space Administration, and were given ample supplies to do so. “They have decorated the space station core module with traditional … Read more

Methane Pollution Just Reached New Heights, And The Sources May Not Be What You Think

Methane recently reached 1,900 parts per billion (ppb) of Earth’s atmosphere according to measurements taken by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the US. This compares with about 700 ppb before the industrial revolution.   Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, but lasts around nine years in the air. Including the knock-on effects … Read more

Most COVID-19 ICU Survivors Still Experience Symptoms a Year After Admission

Efforts to bring the COVID-19 pandemic under control while still returning to some sort of normal life are delicately balanced – and new research suggests more attention needs to be paid to the long-term effects of the virus for those patients who required placement in intensive care units (ICUs).   An analysis of 246 patients … Read more

The first Vulcan rocket will launch ashes of Star Trek actors into space this year

The debut Vulcan Centaur rocket launch will, logically, host the ashes and DNA of “Star Trek” fans and actors — including some people involved in the franchise. As United Launch Alliance prepares to launch Vulcan to replace some older standbys in its fleet, the first flight will call back to the more famous planet of … Read more