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Every time SpaceX’s Starship system bounces off the launch pad, it releases an unmistakable roar that heralds the most powerful rocket ever built over South Texas.
Its 33 engines power the spacecraft that could eventually carry NASA astronauts to the lunar surface on a supersonic journey into space.
However, the first two test flights ended in explosions in 2023.
SpaceX doesn’t view these fiery setbacks as failures. Instead, the company uses flight tests to gather important data and make improvements before the next vehicle takes off.
And this week, another Starship soared into the Texas skies from the Starbase facility, and the team was hoping the third time would be the charm.
defying gravity
Starship’s eventful third test flight reached several milestones before ending prematurely and possibly breaking up.
The spacecraft was expected to land in the Indian Ocean at the end of its hour-long flight, but SpaceX lost Starship’s signal shortly after the vehicle re-entered Earth’s atmosphere.
During the live view of the entrance, a bright red halo could be seen around the Starship, indicating the scorching heat the heat shield was encountering.
But Starship’s third flight flew longer and higher than previous tests.
The spacecraft reached orbital speeds and performed capability tests that will be needed for future flights.
Long time ago
People have been adorning themselves for thousands of years, but for the first time researchers have figured out how Stone Age people wore their piercings.
When researchers excavated at Boncuklu Tarla, an archaeological site in southeastern Turkey, they found facial piercing ornaments placed near the ears and mouth of remains inside graves.
Specific tooth wear patterns revealed that people buried at the site likely had piercings, similar to an ornament known as a labret, under their lower lips.
fantasy creatures
In the world of amphibians, axolotls somehow manage to stay young forever.
“They maintain their youthful appearance throughout their lives. Professor Dr. from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine. “They are, at least outwardly, teenagers until they die,” Randal Voss said.
These cute, aquatic salamanders resemble cheerful Muppets with their wide eyes and frilled gills.
Unlike other amphibians such as frogs, axolotls never make a landing move. While axolotls are taking the internet by storm, poor water quality in their home at Lake Xochimilco in Mexico has left them critically endangered. Now conservationists are revealing their creativity to protect these extraordinary creatures.
All Over the Universe
Since November, NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft has been experiencing a communications problem that caused one of its computers to send signals but not send usable data to the mission team on Earth.
But engineers hope that a “nudge” they sent to the aging probe and the surprising response they just received from Voyager 1 could help them better understand the problem and troubleshoot it from almost 25 billion miles away.
Voyager 1, launched together with its twin Voyager 2 in 1977, is currently the furthest spacecraft from Earth.
Like the Voyager probes and their iconic Golden Records, NASA’s upcoming Europa Clipper mission will carry 2.6 million names, an original poem, and a meaningful work of art to Jupiter’s oceanic moon.
wild kingdom
The last total solar eclipse over the United States was in 2017. During the historic event, scientists noticed animals exhibiting strange behavior when the sky suddenly darkened over the Riverbanks Zoo and Garden in Columbia, South Carolina.
Gorillas prepared for sleep, Galapagos tortoises began mating, and giraffes clustered and set off at a gallop.
As the total solar eclipse on April 8 approaches, researchers are preparing to watch for increased activity in nocturnal creatures and anxious or sleep-motivated patterns in other creatures as the moon’s shadow blocks the sun’s bright light from view for several minutes.
Scientists are also inviting the public to join in the fun by helping collect sights and sounds of unusual animal behavior.
discoveries
Take a closer look at these illuminating stories:
—James Webb The Space Telescope has helped astronomers find icy molecules that could potentially be used to form habitable planets, perhaps creating a cosmic margarita around two young stars.
— Archaeologists have unearthed the ornate tomb of a religious leader nicknamed the “Lord of Flutes” who was buried 1,200 years ago in Panama alongside gold objects and several dozen of his fellow victims.
— New research based on brain tests suggests that watching cute puppy videos or interacting with dogs may strengthen brain waves associated with rest and relaxation.
— The unexpected appearance of an Arctic walrus and the strange night sighting of a starling in Scarborough, England, are just some of the winners of the 2024 British Wildlife Photography Awards.
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