To prepare for the next mission to Mars in 2020, NASA has taken to the lava fields of Iceland to get its new robotic space explorer ready for the job. With its black basalt sand, wind-swept dunes and craggy peaks, the Lambahraun lava…
There may be life on the moon after all: virtually indestructible beings that can withstand extreme radiation, sizzling heat, the coldest temperatures of the universe, and decades without food. These terrifying-sounding creatures aren’t…
The Milky Way gobbled up a galaxy one quarter of its mass 10 billion years ago in a “violent collision” that didn’t fully settle for eons, astronomers said in new research published Monday. Previous studies had suggested that our home…
African governments, including South Africa’s, are investing in elaborate space programmes, and some interesting results are beginning to emerge “Africa’s space industry is undergoing a renaissance,” says Temidayo Oniosun, Founder of…
NASA plans to allow tourists to visit the International Space Station (ISS) from 2020. According to Nasa‚ ISS will support the growth of commercial space activities in low-Earth orbit. Private spaceflight will allow Nasa to turn its…
As Earth grew ever smaller below his spacecraft, Apollo 10 commander Tom Stafford made an unusual request to mission control. The year was 1969, and his vessel was the first to be equipped with a color camera, which was beaming live…
It has been a decade in the making‚ and now the MeerKAT radio telescope has been unveiled. This is a major leap forward not just for South Africa but for global astronomy and our understanding of the beginnings of the universe. MeerKAT…
A meteorite that was part of a fireball which streaked across the sky in June has been recovered in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve in Botswana. Scientists from Wits University and colleagues from Botswana and other countries made…
“It is an experience that you are only going to see once in your life and only comes your way once.” That is how a dairy farmer from the North West described the two to three seconds in which he saw a meteorite crash down to Earth on…
