Ingenuity Mars Helicopter down but definitely not out

Last January, the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter made its final flight with a landing that damaged at least one of its rotor blades and left it permanently grounded. But while it can no longer fly, it will continue to operate as a stationary Martian weather station. Ingenuity landed on Mars on February 18, 2021, under the belly of the … Read more

Dubai deluge likely made worse by warming world, scientists find

A powerful rainstorm that wreaked havoc on the desert nation of the United Arab Emirates last week was likely made more intense because of climate change, a team of international scientists has found. The World Weather Attribution (WWA) group, composed of researchers from around the globe, said rain storms like the one that struck last … Read more

No planet comes close to the life-giving properties of planet Earth — at least not yet

With the discovery of more than 5,600 planets orbiting other stars and images from robots we have sent to all the planets in our solar system, it is becoming abundantly clear that Earth is unique among worlds. Almost all of the exoplanets scientists have discovered since the 1990s fall into four main types: gas giants like Jupiter … Read more

How cloud seeding can make it rain or prevent extreme weather

Cloud seeding has been named by some media reports as a possible contributor to record-setting rain and flooding in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Here’s a closer look at what cloud seeding is, how it’s used and whether it could have made the flooding worse. What is cloud seeding? It’s the process of making tiny drops … Read more

NASA pauses Mars sample return plan until a cheaper, faster one can be developed

NASA’s plan to bring samples from Mars back to Earth is on hold until there’s a faster, cheaper way, space agency officials said Monday. Retrieving Mars soil and rocks has been on NASA’s to-do list for decades, but the date kept moving forward, as costs ballooned. A recent independent review put the total cost at … Read more

Engineers attempt to fix a computer glitch on Voyager 1

Last November, the Voyager 1 spacecraft began sending gibberish radio signals back to Earth. Engineers have now identified the problem, but trying to repair a 46-year-old device on a craft 24 billion kilometres from Earth is not easy. Voyager 1 and its twin Voyager 2 were both launched in 1977 on a reconnaissance mission to … Read more

NASA unveils probe bound for Jupiter’s possibly life-sustaining moon

NEW DELHI: US space scientists on Thursday revealed Nasa‘s upcoming mission to explore one of Jupiter‘s icy moons in search of extraterrestrial life. The spacecraft, named Clipper, is scheduled to launch in October towards Europa, a moon with potential for life. Bob Pappalardo, the project scientist, emphasized Nasa’s quest to uncover the existence of life … Read more

Canada-China relations committee questions witnesses on Winnipeg lab intelligence breach

Federal Health Minister Mark Holland suggested on Monday that there are gaps in the early stages of screening scientists at secret-level facilities such as the National Microbiology Lab (NML) in Winnipeg.  Holland told the House of Commons special committee on Canada-China relations there is a “responsibility of those individuals to disclose their engagements and affiliations.”  He … Read more

This secret location known as ‘Jurassic Mile’ contains incredible 150-million-year-old dinosaur fossils

Anthony Morgan, host of Secrets of the Jurassic Dinosaurs, visited the Jurassic Mile, a treasure trove of fossilized bones, plants and footprints dating back 150 million years. Credit: Ideacom International Inc. (Ideacom International Inc. ) Roberto Verdecchia is one of the directors of Secrets of the Jurassic Dinosaurs Deep in the Wyoming badlands lies a small … Read more

Now that bird flu is spreading among cows, scientists worry where H5N1 will jump next

On March 25, American officials published an urgent announcement: Dairy cows in Texas, Kansas, and New Mexico were falling sick. The cows had low appetites, and produced less milk than normal. Some farms also discovered wild bird carcasses on their grounds. Tests on a cow throat swab and raw milk samples all confirmed an unusual finding: … Read more