california institute of technology
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The Soaring Highs and Stark Lows of Spaceflight in 2023
It’s time to look back at spaceflight in 2023, a real “two steps forward, one step back” kind of year, filled with highs, lows, and everything in between. The New Space Race is in full swing, and with both public and private entities pushing the limits of what’s possible, failures are an inevitability, as is…
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A Beacon in the Galaxy: Scientists Update Humanity’s Message to Aliens
An international team of scientists has formulated an updated, binary-coded message that could eventually be transmitted to aliens in our galaxy. It’s jam-packed with details, including the chemical makeup of humans, a map of Earth, and even our precise location in the Milky Way. What could possibly go wrong?
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Physicists Trap Ultracold Neutrons in a Bottle to See How Long They Live
An international team of researchers recently measured the lifetime of a neutron outside of an atomic nucleus with extraordinary precision. By their measurements, the neutron survived for 14.629 minutes, or 877.75 seconds, give or take a third of a second.
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NASA Details Next Steps After Mars Rover’s Attempt to Collect Rock Goes Awry
Scientists at NASA were pretty excited in early August when the Perseverance rover indicated that it had drilled its first sample of Martian rock. But as it turned out, the sample tube was empty, and the Perseverance team began a remote investigation to solve the mystery of the disappearing rock.