A Road Trip with Commander Chris

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A Blaze of Glory: SpaceX's Starship Goes the Distance in 10th Flight Test August 29, 2025
After a string of setbacks, SpaceX executed the most successful flight test of its Starship launch system to date, featuring a first-of-its-kind payload deployment and a thrilling Indian Ocean splashdown.
Parabolic Flights to Test Electrolyzer for Future Moon and Mars Missions August 29, 2025
What can parabolic flights teach scientists and engineers about electrolyzers and how the latter can help advance human missions to the Moon and Mars? This is the goal of a recent grant awarded to the Mars Atmospheric Reactor for Synthesis of Consumables (MARS-C) project, which is sponsored by the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and The […]
Mystery Objects in the Distant Universe Challenge Galaxy Formation Ideas August 29, 2025
The early Universe continues to spring surprises on astronomers. In a recent study of dim, distant objects, astronomers at the University of Missouri found at least 300 of them that look way too bright. That means they're forming stars much earlier than expected, or something else is going on. Whatever it is could affect our […]
The Great Filter Part 3: This is the End August 29, 2025
What about the middle stages? The march from single-celled organisms doing their single-celled thing to intelligent creatures that can wield tools and leave feedback reviews about them?
GJ 1132 b Doesn't Have An Atmosphere, According To New JWST Data August 29, 2025
Astronomers sometimes find conflicting data when trying to answer a question. This is a normal part of the scientific process, and it simply means that more data is needed to prove or disprove the theory they are trying to test. One prominent example of conflicting data in recent exoplanet research was that of planet GJ […]