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Bone Loss, Transistor Tech Top Tuesday Science as Cygnus Launch Announced
September 2, 2025
Bones and transistors were the main research topics aboard the International Space Station on Tuesday to explore how microgravity affects the human body and advanced technology.
Also, the next cargo mission packed with new science, supplies, and hardware for the Expedition 73 crew is targeted to lift off in mid-September.
NASA Flight Engineers Zena Cardman and Jonny Kim were back on space biology duties processing bone stem cell samples inside the Kibo laboratory module’s Life Science Glovebox throughout the day.
The duo took turns helping researchers explore how microgravity affects bone tissue to safeguard a crew member’s skeletal system and possibly treat aging conditions and bone diseases on Earth.
The samples will be stowed in science freezers and returned to Earth aboard the SpaceX Dragon cargo craft for retrieval and analysis.
Later, Cardman peered into standard medical imaging gear operated by Kim as doctors on the ground remotely examined her retinas in real-time looking for any space-caused issues.
NASA Flight Engineer Mike Fincke, on his fourth spaceflight, kicked off his shift unpacking more hardware from inside Dragon including stowage components for a station EXPRESS rack that supports a variety of microgravity experiments.
He also brushed up on his Canadarm2 robotic arm skills practicing maneuvers on a computer, documented his meals for the day, then processed his biological samples for stowage and future analysis.
Flight Engineer Kimiya Yui of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) also worked on Dragon cargo transfers assisting Fincke with the science stowage hardware removals.
Yui also began deconfiguring fiber manufacturing hardware from inside the Destiny laboratory module’s Microgravity Science Glovebox.
Next, the two-time space station resident began installing new experiment gear in an EXPRESS rack to observe how space radiation affects advanced transistor technology.
Station Commander Sergey Ryzhikov of Roscosmos began his inventorying parts that support the Zvezda service module’s treadmill.
He also joined Flight Engineer Alexey Zubritsky and tested communications gear inside the Progress 91 that will soon depart the orbiting lab after six-and-a-half months docked to Zvezda’s rear port.
Zubritsky also replaced protective shielding on research hardware designed to measure the internal and external neutron radiation environment the space station is exposed to.
Roscosmos Flight Engineer Oleg Platonov photographed Platonov during the radiation experiment operations then spent time inside the Nauka science module on servicing life support gear.
NASA, Northrop Grumman, and SpaceX are targeting the launch of the 23rd Cygnus cargo mission to resupply the orbital outpost for 5:49 p.m. EDT on Sept. 15.
Cygnus will launch atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida to deliver over 10,000 pounds of new science investigations, spacesuit hardware, crew supplies, and more to replenish the Expedition 73 crew.
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/spacestation/2025/09/02/bone-loss-transistor-tech-top-tuesday-science-as-cygnus-launch-announced/
Rock and Roll with NASA Challenge
Sep 03, 2025
The next era of lunar exploration demands a new kind of wheel – one that can sprint across razor-sharp regolith, shrug off extremely cold nights, and keep a rover rolling day after lunar day.
The Rock and Roll with NASA Challenge seeks that breakthrough. If you can imagine a lightweight, compliant wheel that stays tough at higher speeds while carrying lots of cargo, your ideas could set the pace for surface missions to follow.
For this phased Challenge, Phase 1 rewards the best concepts and analyses, Phase 2 funds prototypes, and Phase 3 puts the best wheels through a live obstacle course simulating the lunar terrain.
Along the way, you’ll receive feedback from NASA mobility engineers and the chance to see your hardware pushed to its limits.
In Phase 3, to prove concepts, NASA is using MicroChariot, a nimble, 45 kg test rover that will test the best designs from Phase 1 & Phase 2 at the Johnson Space Center Rockyard in Houston, Texas.
Whether you’re a student team, a garage inventor, or a seasoned aerospace firm, this is your opportunity to rewrite the playbook of planetary mobility and leave tread marks on the future of exploration.
Follow the challenge, assemble your crew, and roll out a solution that takes humanity back to the Moon.
Award: $155,000 in total prizes
Open Date: Phase 1 – August 28, 2025; Phase 2 – January 2026; Phase 3 – May 2026
Close Date: Phase 1 – November 4, 2025; Phase 2 – April 2026; Phase 3 – June 2026
For more information, visit: https://www.herox.com/NASARockandRoll
https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/stmd/prizes-challenges-crowdsourcing-program/center-of-excellence-for-collaborative-innovation-coeci/rock-and-roll-with-nasa-challenge/
Circular Star Trails
Sep 02, 2025
On July 26, 2025, NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers took this long-exposure photograph – taken over 31 minutes from a window inside the International Space Station’s Kibo laboratory module – capturing the circular arcs of star trails.
In its third decade of continuous human presence, the space station has a far-reaching impact as a microgravity lab hosting technology, demonstrations, and scientific investigations from a range of fields. T
he research done on the orbiting laboratory will inform long-duration missions like Artemis and future human expeditions to Mars.
https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/circular-star-trails/
https://www.nasa.gov/international-space-station/
https://x.com/astro_ayers
Juno Detected the Final Missing Auroral Signature from Jupiter’s Four Largest Moons
Sep 02, 2025
Jupiter hosts the brightest and most spectacular auroras in the Solar System. Near its poles, these shimmering lights offer a glimpse into how the planet interacts with the solar wind and moons swept by Jupiter’s magnetic field.
Unlike Earth’s northern lights, the largest moons of Jupiter create their own auroral signatures in the planet’s atmosphere — a phenomenon that Earth’s Moon does not produce.
These moon-induced auroras, known as “satellite footprints,” reveal how each moon interacts with its local space environment.
Before NASA’s Juno mission, three of Jupiter’s four largest moons, known as Galilean moons — Io, Europa, and Ganymede — were shown to produce these distinct auroral signatures. But Callisto, the most distant of the Galilean moons, remained a mystery.
Despite multiple attempts using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, Callisto’s footprint had proven elusive, both because it is faint and because it most often lies atop the brighter main auroral oval, the region where auroras are displayed.
NASA’s Juno mission, orbiting Jupiter since 2016, offers unprecedented close-up views of these polar light shows. But to image Callisto’s footprint, the main auroral oval needs to move aside while the polar region is being imaged.
And to bring to bear Juno’s arsenal of instruments studying fields and particles, the spacecraft's trajectory must carry it across the magnetic field line linking Callisto and Jupiter.
These two events serendipitously occurred during Juno’s 22nd orbit of the giant planet, in September 2019, revealing Callisto’s auroral footprint and providing a sample of the particle population, electromagnetic waves, and magnetic fields associated with the interaction.
Jupiter’s magnetic field extends far beyond its major moons, carving out a vast region (magnetosphere) enveloped by, and buffeted by, the solar wind streaming from our Sun.
Just as solar storms on Earth push the northern lights to more southern latitudes, Jupiter’s auroras are also affected by our Sun’s activity.
In September 2019, a massive, high-density solar stream buffeted Jupiter’s magnetosphere, briefly revealing — as the auroral oval moved toward Jupiter’s equator — a faint but distinct signature associated with Callisto.
This discovery finally confirms that all four Galilean moons leave their mark on Jupiter’s atmosphere, and that Callisto’s footprints are sustained much like those of its siblings, completing the family portrait of the Galilean moon auroral signatures.
https://science.nasa.gov/missions/juno/juno-detected-the-final-missing-auroral-signature-from-jupiters-four-largest-moons/
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-62520-4
NASA's Planetary Radar Reveals Peanut Shape of Asteroid 1997 QK1
Sept. 2, 2025
Asteroid 1997 QK1 is shown to be an elongated, peanut-shaped near-Earth object in this series of 28 radar images obtained by the Deep Space Network's Goldstone Solar System Radar on Aug. 21, 2025.
The asteroid is about 660 feet (200 meters) long and completes one rotation every 4.8 hours. It passed closest to our planet on the day before these observations were made at a distance of about 1.9 million miles (3 million kilometers), or within eight times the distance between Earth and the Moon.
The 2025 flyby is the closest that 1997 QK1 has approached to Earth in more than 350 years. Prior to the recent Goldstone observations, very little was known about the asteroid.
These observations resolve surface features down to a resolution of about 25 feet (7.5 meters) and reveal that the object has two rounded lobes that are connected, with one lobe twice the size of the other.
Both lobes appear to have concavities that are tens of meters deep. Asteroid 1997 QK1 is likely a "contact binary," one of dozens of such objects imaged by Goldstone.
At least 15% of near-Earth asteroids larger than about 660 feet (200 meters) have a contact binary shape.
The asteroid is classified as potentially hazardous, but it does not pose a hazard to Earth for the foreseeable future.
These Goldstone measurements have greatly reduced the uncertainties in the asteroid's distance from Earth and in its future motion for many decades.
The Goldstone Solar System Radar Group is supported by NASA's Near-Earth Object Observations Program within the Planetary Defense Coordination Office at the agency's headquarters in Washington.
Managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Deep Space Network receives programmatic oversight from Space Communications and Navigation program office within the Space Operations Mission Directorate, also at NASA Headquarters.
More information about planetary radar and near-Earth objects can be found at:
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/asteroid-watch
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/pia26588-nasas-planetary-radar-reveals-peanut-shape-of-asteroid-1997-qk1/
Fireball in sky over Cayman likely old space station falling to Earth
3 September 2025
A fireball that streaked across the sky on Tuesday night, 2 Sept., was likely a defunct prototype space station falling to Earth, the local astronomical society reports.
Residents and visitors in Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac, as well as in Jamaica, flocked to social media to post videos and accounts of a bright object with a long reddish tail streaking across the sky around 7:45pm.
Many of those who witnessed the object surmised that it was likely a large meteor or space debris.
Tiyen Miller, of the Cayman Islands Astronomical Society, after carrying out some quick detective work of online astronomy charts following reports of the sightings, determined that the object was most likely the Genesis II, an experimental unmanned space station that was launched in 2007.
Miller said he was able to identify what the mysterious object in the sky was, by using charts estimating re-entry times and locations from Aerospace.org and other sources.
“It was quite satisfying to check all the published charts and identity it,” he said. “It’s basically a prototype module launched by a private company 18 years ago.”
The Genesis II was designed and built by an American firm called Bigelow Aerospace, and was launched into space on 28 June 2007 from the Kosmotras Space and Missile Complex in Yasny, Russia.
It was the second module sent into orbit by the company.
The craft measured about 15 feet in length and 6.2 feet in diameter at launch, expanding to 8 feet in diameter after expansion in orbit.
Its avionics system was designed to work for six months, but it continued to operate for more than two and a half years before it failed, and has been orbiting the planet as space debris ever since.
According to the Bigelow Aerospace website, members of the public, for the sum of US$295, could ship small items to the company to be included in the space station.
It received “all kinds of items, from ashes to pictures to business cards”, and photographed all the items on board the craft for its customers.
https://www.caymancompass.com/2025/09/03/fireball-in-sky-over-cayman-likely-old-space-station-falling-to-earth/
Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS will fly by Mars 1 month from now — and Europe's Red Planet orbiters will be ready
Septmber 3, 2025
The European Space Agency (ESA) is preparing for a unique opportunity to study the interstellar comet 3I/Atlas from what could be the best vantage point in the solar system.
Astronomers made the rare and extraordinary discovery of an interstellar object in our own solar system on July 1, 2025, sparking a scramble to study the mysterious visitor.
The object has since been named comet 3I/ATLAS, where 3I stands for "third interstellar," and designated C/2025 N1 (ATLAS).
As it turns out, it may be observations from Mars, not Earth, that give us our closest look at the comet.
3I/ATLAS will come as close as around 18.6 million miles (30 million kilometers) to Mars, while it will only come within 168 million miles (270 million km) of Earth. That means spacecraft orbiting Mars are in play.
Colin Frank Wilson, Project Scientist for ESA's Mars orbiters, confirmed that the agency is preparing to attempt observations of the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS during its passage through the solar system.
"We can confirm that we are planning to observe 3I/Atlas around the time of its closest approach to Mars," Wilson said.
"This is predicted to occur on 3 October 2025. On this date, the object will still be approximately 30 million kilometres from Mars."
ESA will employ both Mars Express and the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) spacecraft to make observations.
"We will attempt to obtain images of the object using the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) onboard Mars Express, and also with the Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System (CaSSIS) onboard TGO," Wilson explained.
The comet will be too distant for a real close-up look. However, if 3I/ATLAS is bright enough, HRSC may be able to hint at whether it's elongated, spherical or irregularly shaped.
The first discovered interstellar interloper, 1I/'Oumuamua, was unusually elongated and more asteroidal, while 2I/Borisov was more like a typical comet. CaSSIS, meanwhile, could provide insights into 3I/ATLAS' volatile activity and its composition.
"We will also attempt to measure the spectrum of the object, using the TGO's NOMAD and MEx's OMEGA and SPICAM spectrometers," Wilson said.
These payloads could tease out evidence of molecular signatures such as water vapor or organics in 3I/ATLAS' coma if it becomes active.
"However, we do not have great hopes that the signal will be bright enough for spectral characterization," Wilson said.
There are other spacecraft around Mars that could be repurposed to take advantage of the 3I/ATLAS close approach as well.
These include NASA's aging Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) orbiter and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO).
China also has its Tianwen-1 orbiter, which carries a high-resolution camera comparable to that of MRO.
Spacecraft studying worlds beyond Mars may be able to get a glimpse of 3I/ATLAS as well.
For example, ESA's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE), which launched in April 2023 and is scheduled to arrive in the Jovian system in July 2031, will give it a go.
"The JUICE spacecraft is also planning observations," Joern Helbert, head of ESA's Solar System Section, told Space.com.
"Due to thermal constraints on the spacecraft, they are limited to a period in November of this year, and four instruments are planned to be used."
And a submitted paper by T. Marshall Eubanks et al. notes that spacecraft including Europa Clipper, Hera and even the more distant Lucy probe may pass through 3I's cometary tail in the period after its closest approach to the sun, or perihelion.
ESA considered utilizing the Hera probe — which launched in October last year to visit the asteroids Didymos and Dimorphos, to study the aftermath of NASA's DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) mission — to look out for 3I/ATLAS.
However, the comet was considered to be too faint and poorly illuminated from Hera's location.
Closer to Earth, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) recently trained its scopes on 3I/ATLAS for the first time, yielding unexpected results.
https://www.space.com/astronomy/comets/interstellar-comet-3i-atlas-will-fly-by-mars-1-month-from-now-and-europes-red-planet-orbiters-will-be-ready
https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.15768
https://avi-loeb.medium.com/
https://www.space.com/astronomy/comets/i-watched-scientists-view-the-interstellar-comet-3i-atlas-in-real-time-heres-what-they-saw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5__AG5M5X8M
I watched scientists view the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS in real time. Here's what they saw
September 2, 2025
Few cosmic visitors have captured the fascination of astronomers quite like the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS.
Hurtling through our solar system from the depths of interstellar space, this icy wanderer is only the third known object of its kind, and where it came from remains a mystery.
Since its discovery on July 1, 2025, by the Deep Random Survey remote telescope in Chile, part of the ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) project, scientists have raced to point telescopes toward the visitor as experts and the public are eager for a closer look.
Even NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope recently caught glimpses of this icy comet as it continues moving toward our sun.
So, when I heard that the Gemini South Observatory in Chile was hosting a live webcast event — as part of the Shadow the Scientists (StS) initiative, which works to bring the public into the fold of real-time research — I knew I had to join.
From the moment the livestream session began, I and other participants were thrown into the control room at Gemini South as astronomers began calibrating the telescope.
The team planned to use the GMOS (Gemini Multi-Object Spectrographs) as well as the new Gemini High-resolution Optical SpecTrograph (GHOST) instrument to measure the chemical composition of 3I/ATLAS.
Astronomer Karen Meech from the Institute for Astronomy of the University of Hawai'i reminded the audience just how rare opportunities like this are:
"Interstellar objects are building blocks of other solar systems that got kicked completely out of their home star just by chance passing through ours.
Whenever you get one of these — and we've only had three — everyone wants to use as much telescope time as possible to see if they're similar or different to the bodies in our solar system."
Other experts added to Meech's point, saying that they had to ask the director of the Gemini South Observatory if they could take this specific time away from other observers in order to host the event. You can watch a recording of the event at the link below.
While Meech set the stage, the telescope team in Chile prepared the giant 26-foot (8-meter) mirror for its delicate work. Inside the control room, the science operations specialists gave us a window into the process:
"We are taking calibrations, tuning the telescope and checking the sky conditions … Tonight it's very dry, with steady winds, perfect for good seeing."
The comet stuck with me, as it was only recently that the area had been dusted with snow.
While the Gemini South Observatory wasn't as badly hit with precipitation, lower down, its neighbor, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) facility on the Chajnantor Plateau, had enough snow that it temporarily suspended all science operations.
Thankfully, the snow had melted by the time of the live event, allowing for everything to proceed as smoothly as possible.
As the calibrations continued for an hour, Meech answered questions and hyped the audience up for when the comet could be spotted: "We just don't know what we're going to see tonight, and that's exciting."
Before Gemini South began looking, both Hubble and JWST had already taken an early look. Hubble estimated the comet's nucleus, or core, to be less than 1.86 miles (3 kilometers) across, buried under a halo of dust and gas.
JWST, meanwhile, struggled to see the nucleus because of that halo, revealing that 3I/ATLAS seems to be unusually rich in carbon dioxide.
That makes it different from its predecessor 2I/Borisov, the second interstellar comet ever detected, which had far more carbon monoxide.
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Meech and the others at Gemini South hoped to see if they could confirm that 3I/ATLAS does in fact have lots of carbon dioxide, or dry ice, which would burn off as the comet got closer to the sun.
Meech explained that the comet's closest approach to the sun will be in October, but it will be impossible to spot as the comet moves behind the sun at that time.
She mentioned that NASA scientists are currently discussing whether existing spacecraft could be temporarily repurposed to observe 3I/ATLAS on the other side of the sun, removing this blind spot.
Even if this isn't the case, observations can resume in November when 3I/ATLAS re-emerges from behind the sun, and, depending on its activity and chemical composition, the comet could appear even brighter as it burns off more gas and dust.
But even if 3I/ATLAS does indeed brighten up, the window for scientists to study it will still be limited.
"Once these objects get too faint to see, they will never be seen again," Meech said.
"They are just passing through our solar system. Even 1I/'Oumuamua is still within our solar system. It is out in the vicinity of the Kuiper Belt now."
'Oumuamua is the first interstellar object ever spotted in our solar system. Astronomers detected it back in 2017.
As the telescope began turning toward 3I/ATLAS, a hush fell over the experts as everyone watched the shared screen of the scientists in the Gemini South control room.
Meech had explained earlier that the first chemical they hoped to see using the GMOS was cyanide, as it interacts with sunlight.
Then came the first image, a bright, blurry smudge. There was a collective gasp as we all saw it, and the event chat was full of surprise and excitement.
"You're looking at a building block of someone else's home," Meech said. However, she added, "it's impossible to backtrack the comet based on its trajectory, as everything else is also moving around it."
The first images showed a faint but distant glow of a developing tail, confirmation that this visitor was behaving more like a "classic" comet than the odd, elongated ‘Oumuamua, which Meech had also studied.
"This is the raw image," she said. "I bet you once this image is further calibrated, this will have a longer tail."
Along with taking the spectra, the scientists measured the comet's brightness, comparing 3I/ATLAS's reflected sunlight to their reference points.
This resulted in an estimated color and luminosity, suggesting that 3I/ATLAS is faint but steadily active, releasing gas and dust even at its current considerable distance from the sun.
Before the experts could dive any further in, the hosts of the event decided that two hours was enough time for one night.
With the spectra captured and brightness measured and plenty of questions unanswered, the session wrapped on a note of anticipation, with many of us wishing we could return to the control room at Gemini South Observatory.
Thankfully, the Shadow the Scientists Initiative is planning another public viewing event after 3I/ATLAS re-emerges from the sun, this time using the Gemini North Observatory, which I for one am excited to join.
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Pole Shift Auroral Anomaly Yesterday | S0 News Sep.3.2025
Sep 3, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTHjuyuPvdM
https://www.space.com/astronomy/astronomers-discover-a-forbidden-pulsar-fleeing-a-supernova-in-a-seemingly-empty-region-of-the-milky-way
https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2025/09/aa55640-25/aa55640-25.html
Astronomers discover a 'forbidden' pulsar fleeing a supernova in a seemingly empty region of the Milky Way
September 3, 2025
Astronomers have discovered an extraordinary celestial system containing a runaway pulsar fleeing the scene of a massive stellar supernova explosion.
What makes this system even more spectacular is the fact that it should be "forbidden" in the empty region of the Milky Way in which it was found.
The system, given the name "Calvera" after the villain in the 1960 Western "The Magnificent Seven," exists around 6,500 light-years above the densely populated plane of the Milky Way.
In this region, stellar populations are sparse, and stars with the necessary mass needed to go supernova and to birth a neutron star at the heart of a pulsar should be vanishingly rare.
That means that the discovery of Calvera, given its name because it exists at the fringes and operates outside the norm like its namesake antagonist, could change our view of massive star formation as well as our picture of the outer region of the Milky Way.
"Massive stars — that is, at least eight times more massive than the sun — form almost exclusively in the galactic plane, where the gas density is highest and favors star birth," team leader Emanuele Greco of the Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF) said in a statement.
"Finding their remnants at such distances from the plane is extremely rare.
Our analysis has allowed us to more precisely estimate the distance, age, and even the characteristics of the possible progenitor star that gave rise to both the Calvera pulsar and its supernova remnant."
The explosive story of Calvera
Astronomers first became fascinated with Calvera in 2022 when it was spotted by the Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR) radio telescope, a network of antennas across 8 European countries.
Calvera was detected as an extended structure with an almost perfectly circular shape.
This led to it being identified as the wreckage of a supernova, which was curious because these explosive stellar death throes usually occur within the thick disk of stars across the central plane of our galaxy.
Pulsars are neutron stars, stellar remnants created when massive stars collapse at the end of their lives.
They can spin as fast as 700 times per second. Astronomers had already identified a pulsar (also called Calvera) in this region thanks to its intense X-ray emission.
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Looking at the trajectory of this pulsar, astronomers determined that it appears to be racing away from the center of the supernova explosion.
That suggests the supernova wreckage in the form of an expanding shell of gas and dust, and the runaway pulsar are connected, the result of the explosive death of a massive star thousands of years ago.
The team behind this research wanted to get a better picture of the cosmic history of the Calvera system, so they examined X-ray data regarding the system collected by the European Space Agency (ESA) spacecraft XMM-Newton.
The researchers combined this with data from other telescopes across the electromagnetic spectrum.
The characteristics of the supernova's hot gas, combined with the motion of the pulsar, allowed the team to determine the age of the system and its distance more precisely.
This revealed that the supernova explosion erupted between 10,000 and 20,000 years ago and that Calvera is between 13,000 and 16,500 light-years away.
This further solidified the connection between the supernova wreckage and the runaway pulsar.
The research is even more interesting because of how different this region of the Milky Way is from the galactic plane, where supernovas usually rage.
This is interesting because it is thought that the gamma-ray emissions of supernovas are caused by a high density of particles, particularly protons.
However, this investigation of Calvera shows that the mechanism that launches gamma-rays from supernovas can also occur in low-density conditions such as those found at the outskirts of the Milky Way.
"Thanks to space telescopes like XMM-Newton and Fermi/LAT, and ground-based instruments like the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo, we can analyze supernova remnants and pulsars in different bands of the electromagnetic spectrum," Greco said.
"In the case of Calvera, we have shown that even in rarefied environments, plasma emission at millions of degrees can occur if the shock wave from the explosion encounters local clumps.
These clumps, in turn, reveal something about the evolutionary history of the star that exploded."
"Our study shows that even the quietest and seemingly empty regions of the galaxy can harbor extreme processes," Greco concluded.
"Not only have we precisely constrained the physical properties of the Calvera system, but we have also demonstrated that, locally, it is possible to find densities sufficient to generate X-ray and gamma-ray emissions even very far from the galactic plane.
"This discovery invites us to look with new eyes at the peripheries of the Milky Way."
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Perseid meteors shine with the Milky Way over an ancient Egyptian temple in breathtaking photo
September 3, 2025
Photographer Osama Fathi has captured a stunning view of Perseid meteors crossing the bright ribbon of the Milky Way over the ruins of an ancient settlement in Egypt dedicated to the worship of the crocodile god Soknopaios.
The image was captured from the Soknopaiou Nesos archaeological site to the north of Qarun Lake in northeastern Egypt on the night of Aug. 12, as the 2025 Perseid meteor shower hit its peak.
Sadly, the light of a waning gibbous moon washed out all but the brightest shooting stars this year, though photographers were still able to capture stunning compositions featuring the most brilliant members of the annual shower.
"Despite the presence of the moon this night, we managed to capture a few bright meteors of the Perseid shower above the ancient ruins of Soknopaiou Nesos, known today as Dimeh es-Seba, in the Faiyum Oasis of Egypt," said Fathi in an email to Space.com.
Fathi's image captures a swarm of bright Perseid meteors streaking across the dense dust lanes and glowing heart of the Milky Way, framed by the ancient stones and truncated columns of ancient Soknopaiou Nesos.
"This settlement, founded in the 3rd century BCE during the great Ptolemaic land reclamation of the Faiyum, was once a powerful religious center," continued Fathi.
"It hosted a grand temple dedicated to Soknopaios, the oracular crocodile god with a falcon's head, from whom the town derived its name."
The scene is a composite of multiple images taken using a Nikon Z6 camera in conjunction with a Nikkor 14-24 mm wide-angle lens.
The sky and Milky Way were captured over a 25 second exposure, while the meteors required a shorter exposure and high ISO of 8000.
https://www.space.com/stargazing/perseid-meteors-shine-with-milky-way-over-ancient-egyptian-temple-photo-aug-2025
Bipartisan Colorado lawmakers condemn Space Command relocation
09/02/25 5:36 PM ET
The bipartisan Colorado congressional delegation issued a joint statement on Tuesday condemning President Trump’s decision to relocate the U.S. Space Command’s headquarters from their state to Alabama.
“Today’s decision to move U.S Space Command’s headquarters out of Colorado and to Alabama will directly harm our state and the nation.
We are united in fighting to reverse this decision. Bottom line-moving Space Command headquarters weakens our national security at the worst possible time,” they wrote in their statement.
The Democratic and Republican lawmakers argued that the relocation would provide a strategic advantage to China, Russia and Iran and set “our space defense apparatus back years.”
They also said the move would waste billions of taxpayer dollars.
“Being prepared for any threats should be the nation’s top priority; a crucial part of that is keeping in place what is already fully operational.
Moving Space Command would not result in any additional operational capabilities than what we have up and running in Colorado Springs now,” they wrote.
“Colorado Springs is the appropriate home for U.S. Space Command, and we will take the necessary action to keep it there.”
The lawmakers also warned of the consequences to the local economy and to staffing at the Space Command, which, they said, now rely on “a large number” of civilian businesses and workers in the area.
“Those people will not simply move with the Command at the military’s whim. Many of them will leave the industry altogether, creating a disruption in the workforce that will take our national defense systems decades to recreate,” they wrote.
Trump on Tuesday announced the Command’s headquarters would move to Alabama, ending a nearly five-year battle over its permanent location.
The decision reverses a Biden administration choice to keep Space Command at its temporary headquarters in Colorado after Trump, during his first term, decided to move it to Alabama.
The decision, made in Trump’s final days in the White House, was decried by critics as last-minute favoritism for the heavily red state.
Space Command – which provides warning of missile launches, defends satellites, and enables satellite-based navigation and troop communication – is seen as a significant prize by both Alabama and Colorado.
Elected officials from both sides have insisted their state would be the better location and for years have aggressively lobbied for the right to house the command.
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5482484-bipartisan-colorado-lawmakers-condemn-space-command-relocation/
https://x.com/SenatorHick/status/1962963069031637187
Alabama local, state, federal leaders prepared ‘from day one’ for U.S. Space Command development
September 3, 2025
From Dr. Wernher von Braun and his rocket team to the space program’s growth to the Base Realignment And Closure moves to the most recent FBI expansion on Redstone Arsenal, Huntsville has a long history of welcoming major military-related moves.
With Tuesday’s announcement of the U.S. Space Command moving its headquarters here, the Huntsville, Madison County and Limestone County area is well-prepared.
“City, county, state, and federal partners have worked side by side to prepare for this opportunity,” said Madison County Commission Chairman Mac McCutcheon. “Now, we’re ready to welcome Space Command and help facilitate its long-term success.”
Huntsville’s history of relocating major federal agencies to Redstone – including Army Materiel Command, Army Aviation and key FBI operations – validates its capability to manage this transition.
With 65 federal agencies already based there, the region offers unmatched experience and mission support.
“Our community has a proven track record of supporting the Department of Defense when they have moved key functions and stood up new operations,” said Chip Cherry, CEO of the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce.
“We will use that experience to support the personnel associated with Space Command and their families as they relocate to the Huntsville region.”
Huntsville has invested heavily to ensure mission readiness, including:
$400+ million in completed transportation improvements, with $250+ million in active construction projects
$600 million in K–12 school enhancements to support growing families
$200+ million in healthcare expansions, including upgrades at Huntsville Hospital
Over $150 million invested in quality-of-life improvements: recreation and community complexes, parks and greenways
Key Redstone-related projects include:
Completed: Zierdt Road improvements; widening Research Park Boulevard
Under construction: I-565 widening to I-65; Martin Road widening (Gate 7 to Huntsville International Airport)
In design: Resolute Way (connecting I-565 to Gate 9/Redstone Gateway Park); Arsenal East Connector (linking I-565 to proposed Redstone Gate near Triana Blvd)
“These investments reflect years of long-range planning to prepare our city for future growth,” Huntsville Mayor Battle said. They demonstrate Huntsville’s commitment to being mission-ready from day one.”
State Rep. Rex Reynolds (R-Huntsville) will represent future SPACECOM constituents in Alabama House District 21, which covers territory spanning from downtown Huntsville, all the way Northeast to New Market.
Reynolds, Mayor Battle, Chairman McCutcheon, and other officials were together at City Hall on Tuesday to coordinate as the announcement came down from Washington, D.C.
“We, as Legislators, look forward to welcoming Space Command to Huntsville and stand ready to provide the necessary resources to ensure the transition is successful,” Reynolds wrote on Tuesday.
While the thousands of coming jobs will be on Redstone, the move will also have a tremendous economic ripple effect throughout the metro area.
“As the fastest-growing county in Alabama, Limestone County is perfectly positioned to support this expansion, offering quality workforce development, excellent infrastructure, and the community support these service members and their families deserve,” said Beth Shockney, president and CEO of the Limestone County Economic Development Association.
“Our region has successfully executed similar major relocations before, and that experience will serve us well as we welcome Space Command to the Tennessee Valley.”
https://yellowhammernews.com/alabama-local-state-federal-leaders-prepared-from-day-one-for-u-s-space-command-development/
https://www.facebook.com/Dist21/posts/1214690270464858
Space Force to accept Air Force Reserve volunteers for part-time positions
Sept. 2, 2025
Air Force Reservists in space-related career fields interested in volunteering to join the U.S. Space Force as Guardians serving in a part-time capacity can apply from Sept. 3 to Oct. 10.
This transfer option is part of the Space Force Personnel Management Act, which was signed into law as part of the Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act.
The first phase of PMA, which selected Air Force Reservists for full time Space Force roles, was completed June 2025.
When fully implemented, PMA will enable the Space Force to create a new model of service that integrates active-component Guardians and Air Force Reservists serving in space-focused career fields into a unified service that offers both full- and part-time service options.
This new construct will permit the Space Force to forego the use of Reserve component forces to fill steady-state, full-time requirements and will maximize talent alignment to service needs.
“This part-time opportunity is an important next step toward fully integrating the talent we need into a single component, best equipped to ensure readiness and achieve our nation’s warfighting missions,” said Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman.
Air Force Reserve eligibility includes:
· Air Force Reserve Officers who hold the following Core IDs: 13S; 17X; 14N; 6X.
· Air Force Reserve Enlisted Airmen who hold the following Control Air Force Specialty Codes: 1C6X1; 1N0; 1N1; 1N2; 1N3; 1N4; 1N8; 1D7X1; 1D7X2; 1D7X3.
· Eligibility outside of 13S and 1C6 must have space experience. The Transfer Board will review duty history to ensure at least one prior assignment in a space organization is reflected.
· Eligible service members must be fully trained in the career field in which they are applying.
Selected Airmen must transfer in their current career field, with the following exceptions:
Officers selected from the 61X, 64P, and 65X career fields will re-core to 62E or 63A Space Force Specialty Codes. Enlisted E-8s and E-9s selected for transfer will re-core to the 5Z800 or 5Z900 SFSCs.
“The Space Force is about to integrate some of the most professional space operators,” said Chief of the Air Force Reserve and Air Force Reserve Command Commander Lt. Gen. John Healy.
“I have no doubt they will be key to advancing security in the space domain.”
In time, the Air Force Reserve, like the Air Force, will no longer maintain space operations as career fields, meaning Reservists with 13S and 1C6 specialties must volunteer to transfer to the Space Force or re-train under a different Air Force Specialty Code.
Officers selected for transfer to part time duty positions incur a minimum three-year service commitment.
Enlisted Airmen must enlist in the Space Force for a minimum of three years, maximum six years.
Air Force Reservists who transfer into the Space Force with 15-18 years satisfactory service will be allowed to remain in a part-time work role until they qualify for retirement.
Once retirement eligible, the member must participate in the Guardian Assignment Timeline for a full time or part time work role.
These members may elect to participate in the GAT at any time for a full-time work role prior to retirement.
Interested Air Force Reservists can apply via MyVector (Common Access Card-required) and can access additional application details and requirements on the Space Force Transfer page.
It is important to note that the Air Force Reservist to part-time Space Force transfer opportunity is distinct and separate from the Air National Guard to full-time Space Force transfer opportunity.
https://www.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/4290878/space-force-to-accept-air-force-reserve-volunteers-for-part-time-positions/
SpaceX Starlink Launches
Starlink Mission
September 3, 2025
On Wednesday, September 3 at 7:56 a.m. ET, Falcon 9 launched 28 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
This was the 14th flight for the Falcon 9 first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched Crew-8, Polaris Dawn, CRS-31, Astranis:
From One to Many, IM-2, Commercial GTO-1, and now eight Starlink missions. After stage separation, the first stage landed on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship, which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
https://www.spacex.com/launches/sl-10-22
Starlink Mission
September 4, 2025
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 is targeting the launch of 28 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
A live webcast of this mission will begin about five minutes prior to liftoff, which you can watch here and on X @SpaceX. You can also watch the webcast on the new X TV app.
This is the 27th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched CRS-24, Eutelsat HOTBIRD 13F, OneWeb 1, SES-18 and SES-19, and 22 Starlink mission.
Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the Just Read the Instructions droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
https://www.spacex.com/launches/sl-10-57
Putin’s visit to China and the SCO summit: As it happened
3 Sep, 2025 10:53
Moscow and Kiev maintain “direct contact,” and the Kremlin is open to continued negotiations to resolve the conflict, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.
In an interview with the Indonesian newspaper Kompas released on Wednesday, Lavrov confirmed that Moscow’s top priority remains settling the crisis via peaceful means, adding that it is taking concrete steps to achieve that goal.
Lavrov recalled that Moscow initiated the resumption of direct Russia-Ukraine talks this spring, resulting in three rounds of direct negotiations in Istanbul, Türkiye.
He noted that the sides reached “certain progress,” including prisoner exchanges and the repatriation of the bodies of dead soldiers.
“Each side presented its perspective on the prerequisites for ending the conflict. The heads of the delegations remain in direct contact.
We expect the negotiations to continue,” Lavrov added, without providing details regarding when the next round of talks could be expected, or what issues would be on the agenda.
The foreign minister also noted that Russia and Ukraine had held talks early on in the conflict, which led to preliminary agreements on ending the hostilities, “but then the Kiev regime, following the advice of its Western handlers, walked away from a peace treaty, choosing instead to continue the war.”
Moscow earlier accused then-UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson of derailing the peace process by advising Kiev to keep fighting. Johnson has denied the claim.
Lavrov stressed, however, that a durable peace between Moscow and Kiev “is impossible without eradicating the underlying causes of the conflict,” most notably the threats posed to Russia’s security by “NATO’s expansion and attempts to drag Ukraine into this aggressive military bloc.”
“These threats must be eliminated, and a new system of security guarantees for Russia and Ukraine must be formed,” the minister said.
Moscow earlier did not rule out Western security guarantees for Kiev, but on condition that they should not be “one-sided” and aimed at containing Russia.
Russia has, in particular, opposed the deployment of Western troops to Ukraine under any pretext, arguing that this would be tantamount to moving NATO’s bases towards its borders.
https://www.rt.com/russia/624026-russia-ukraine-direct-contact-lavrov/
Putin ready to host Zelensky in Moscow
3 Sep, 2025 14:04
Russian President Vladimir Putin has reiterated his readiness to host Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky in Moscow. Holding meetings for the sake of meetings is a “path to nowhere,” however, and such talks must be meaningful, he stressed.
The Russian president was speaking to gathered media on Wednesday at the Diaoyutai Residence in Beijing, China, marking the end of a 4-day visit - his longest trip abroad since 2012 - to China, that included the SCO summit, bilateral talks and a military parade on Tiananmen Square.
“It’s a path to nowhere, to just meet, let’s put it carefully, the de-facto head of the [Ukrainian] administration.
It’s possible, I’ve never refused to, if such a meeting is well-prepared and would lead to some potential positive results,” Putin stated, in response to a question on whether he planned to meet Zelensky.
US President Donald Trump asked the Russian president to hold such a meeting during their summit in Alaska last month, Putin added. “If Zelensky is ready, he can come to Moscow, and such a meeting will take place,” he said.
At the same time, Putin reiterated concerns about the legitimacy of the Ukrainian leader and whether meeting him would actually be “meaningful.” Zelensky’s presidential term has long run out, and no legal mechanism to extend it exists in Ukraine, he said.
In an interview with the Indonesian newspaper Kompas released on Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov confirmed that Moscow’s top priority remains settling the crisis via peaceful means, adding that it is taking concrete steps to achieve that goal.
Lavrov recalled that Moscow initiated the resumption of direct Russia-Ukraine talks this spring, resulting in three rounds of direct negotiations in Istanbul, Türkiye.
He noted that the sides reached “certain progress,” including prisoner exchanges and the repatriation of the bodies of dead soldiers.
https://www.rt.com/russia/624061-putin-zelensky-moscow-meeting/
Trump announces call with Putin
3 Sep, 2025 17:31
US President Donald Trump has said he plans to hold a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the coming days to discuss steps toward resolving the Ukraine conflict.
The two leaders held a summit in Alaska last month, which they described as extremely productive, although no breakthrough was announced.
Speaking to reporters in Washington on Wednesday, Trump said “I’m going to be speaking with [Putin] him very shortly, and I’ll have a clearer picture of what we’re going to do.”
“We’ve already taken strong action, as you know, and in other ways as well. I’ll be talking to him in the coming days, and we’ll see what comes out of it,” he added.
The summit, held on August 15 in Anchorage, was the first in-person meeting between Putin and Trump since the US president began his new term earlier this year.
The three-hour talks marked a diplomatic breakthrough, though they produced neither a ceasefire nor a formal peace deal.
Trump later met with Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky and several European leaders, urging direct talks between Putin and Zelensky. He warned he could impose sanctions and tariffs on both Moscow and Kiev if no progress is made in resolving hostilities.
Asked on Wednesday if he had a message for Putin, Trump replied: “I have no message to President Putin. He knows where I stand, and he’ll make his decision one way or the other…”
Trump said he has good relations with the Russian president, and that they would find out how strong their relationship is “over the next week or two.”
Putin said on Wednesday he sees “a light at the end of the tunnel” in efforts to resolve the conflict. “We’ll see how the situation develops,” he told reporters in Beijing.
The Russian leader added he is ready to host Zelensky in Moscow, but noted that the latter’s presidential term had long expired and said the Ukrainian constitution provides no mechanism for extending his powers.
https://www.rt.com/news/624081-trump-putin-call-ukraine/
Ukrainian drones allegedly hit railway in Russia's Rostov Oblast, 26 trains delayed
September 3, 2025 10:29 am
Drones struck railway infrastructure in Russia's Rostov Oblast overnight on Sept. 3, causing delays to passenger services, regional Governor Yuri Slyusar claimed.
Rostov Oblast, which borders Ukraine, serves as a key logistics hub for Russian military supplies. Kyiv has repeatedly targeted the region's transport infrastructure to disrupt Moscow's supply chains.
Russian Railways said 26 passenger trains were delayed by around four hours.
Local authorities claimed that an unexploded ordnance landed on the roof of the Kuteinikovo station building, prompting the evacuation of passengers and staff. No casualties were reported.
"As a result of the drone attack… the contact network was temporarily disrupted," Slyusar said. "The building is now cordoned off. The bomb squad has been called in."
Russia's Defense Ministry claims to have shot down 105 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 25 over Rostov Oblast.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims.
Since late July, Ukrainian drones have repeatedly hit railway facilities in Rostov, Voronezh, and Volgograd oblasts, each time temporarily halting or slowing passenger and cargo train movement.
Viktor Kevliuk, a retired military officer and defense expert, previously told the Kyiv Independent that Ukraine's targeting of railways is a deliberate strategy aimed at undermining Russia's dependence on rail for moving equipment, ammunition, and fuel.
"This systematic destruction of logistical hubs is part of a 'death by a thousand cuts' strategy," Kevliuk said. "Small but constant strikes, together, cause significant disruption to Russian supply lines."
https://kyivindependent.com/ukrainian-drones-hit-railway-in-russias-rostov-oblast-26-trains-delayed/
Russia launches over 500 drones and 24 missiles against Ukraine – Zelensky
03.09.2025 11:44
Russia has launched 526 aerial weapons against Ukraine, including more than 500 strike drones and 24 missiles.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said this in a statement on Telegram, according to Ukrinform.
“All the necessary emergency services, energy and railway workers are currently working to eliminate the consequences of the Russian strike.
Another massive attack – a total of 526 means of destruction, including more than 500 attack drones and 24 missiles,” Zelensky wrote.
He clarified that the primary targets were civilian infrastructure, including energy facilities, a transport hub, a garage cooperative, and—as has become routine for Russian forces—residential areas.
“Dozens of residential buildings were damaged across different regions of our country overnight. Firefighting operations are ongoing. These are clearly demonstrative Russian strikes.
Putin is showing his impunity. And this undoubtedly requires a response from the world. It is only due to the lack of sufficient pressure, primarily on Russia’s war economy, that this aggression continues,” the President emphasized.
As Ukrinform previously reported, Ukraine’s air defense forces neutralized 430 Russian drones, 14 Kalibr cruise missiles, and seven Kh-101 cruise missiles.
https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/4032375-russia-launches-over-526-aerial-weapons-against-ukraine-zelensky.html
https://t.me/V_Zelenskiy_official/15894
Russian drone and artillery attacks on Dnipropetrovsk region leave one dead, one injured
03.09.2025 20:03
Throughout the day, Russian forces attacked communities in the Nikopol and Synelnykove districts of Dnipropetrovsk region using drones and artillery. One person was killed, and another was injured
According to Ukrinform, Serhii Lysak, Head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration, reported this on Facebook.
Lysak said that the enemy targeted Nikopol, Marhanets, Myrove, Pokrovske, and Chervonohryhorivka communities with drones and artillery. A man was killed, and a 49-year-old woman was injured; she will receive outpatient treatment.
Three private homes and two outbuildings caught fire, while another structure was damaged. Eight more homes, infrastructure facilities, and a garage also sustained damage.
In the Synelnykove district, Russian forces launched drone attacks on the Mezhova and Petropavlivka communities. Two private homes, a truck, and a minibus caught fire.
As previously reported by Ukrinform, Russian artillery shelling in Nikopol killed a civilian man.
https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/4032626-russian-drone-and-artillery-attacks-on-dnipropetrovsk-region-leave-one-dead-one-injured.html
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=764080116601354&id=100089981179124