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Science & Space — August 2026

China delays Chang'e-7 moon mission over launch conditions

China has delayed the Chang'e-7 unmanned lunar probe after its manned space agency said the mission did not meet launch conditions for its planned launch window this year. The agency said Sunday that the decision followed a “comprehensive assessment” and was…

Japan Mars moons probe set for October 20 launch

Japan's space agency said Thursday that its unmanned Martian Moons eXploration probe is scheduled to launch on October 20 on a mission to collect samples from Phobos, one of Mars's moons. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said the flagship H3 rocket carr…

NASA Swift satellite rescue mission fails

NASA said Wednesday that a $30 million mission to save its Swift space telescope had failed because the rescue spacecraft could not be controlled. Swift, whic…

Narwhal tusks stay straight by twisting both ways

Narwhal tusks grow straight because different layers twist in opposite directions, an international team of researchers said in a study published in Nature Communications. The researchers used advanced 3D X-ray technology, including European particle accelera…

Japan Mars moons mission targets Phobos sample return

Japan is preparing an unmanned mission to Mars' moons that aims to collect material from Phobos and return it to Earth around 2031. The Martian Moons eXploration mission, known as MMX, is set to launch from Tanegashima Space Center in the coming months. The s…

Japan reusable rocket completes first launch and landing

Japan's space agency said its prototype reusable rocket completed its first lift-off and landing test on July 11, reaching about 10 metres before touching down at a test site in Noshiro in the Akita region. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said the flig…

Spain total eclipse plunges crowds into darkness

A total eclipse plunged a broad swathe of Spain into darkness on Wednesday, drawing gasps and applause from crowds gathered across the country. The astronomical event lasted barely two minutes at most in the areas that saw totality. The shadow crossed a band…

Black hole star discovered in early universe, study says

Astronomers say they have discovered a new type of astronomical object, called a black hole star, in the early universe. The object, named MoM-BH*-1, was found by a US-led team using the James Webb Space Telescope, according to a study published in Nature. Th…

Solar eclipse darkens Spain for first time in century

A total solar eclipse briefly darkened parts of Spain on Wednesday, giving the country its first total solar eclipse in more than a century after the same lunar shadow crossed the Arctic, Greenland and Iceland. The eclipse began over the remote Arctic region…

VinSpace signs SpaceX deal for 2027 satellite launch

Vietnamese private space company VinSpace said Tuesday it will launch its first satellites in 2027 under a deal with SpaceX. VinSpace said the satellites will fly through SpaceX's Transporter rideshare programme, which allows multiple customers to share one l…

China rocket launch carrying satellite fails, Xinhua says

A Chinese Long March 7A rocket carrying a communications satellite failed after a flight anomaly during a launch from Hainan, Chinese state news agency Xinhua said. The rocket lifted off from the Wenchang Space Launch Site at 8:02 pm Monday (1202 GMT) with th…

Sweden cave yields likely 9,000-year-old pregnant remains

The remains of a pregnant Stone Age woman and her fetus have been found in a cave on a small island off Gotland in Sweden, an archaeologist said Monday. Alexander Roesen Sjostrand, an independent researcher connected to Uppsala University, said the find was m…

Europe risks rocket launcher shortage by 2030, ESA says

Europe risks a shortage of its own-built rocket launchers by around 2030 as demand to launch satellites outpaces the region's limited capacity, European Space Agency Director General Josef Aschbacher said. Aschbacher told the Financial Times that Europe faces…

Urartian language kept alive by Turkish site guardian

Mehmet Kusman, 86, has spent decades at the Cavustepe fortress in eastern Turkey copying and learning Urartian inscriptions, even as academics say no one can now claim to speak the ancient written language. Kusman was hired as a labourer on Cavustepe excavati…

Solar eclipse glasses run short across Europe

Certified solar eclipse glasses are running short in several European countries before the total solar eclipse due on Wednesday, August 12, with shops, pharmacies and opticians reporting strong demand and eye specialists warning against unsafe alternatives. T…

Roman shipwreck with hundreds of amphorae found off Sicily

Italian divers have found the 2,100-year-old wreck of a Roman ship off Sicily, with hundreds of well-preserved amphorae likely used to carry wine. Divers from the cultural heritage protection arm of Palermo's police said they located the ship on Aug. 8 about…

Coffee frog discovered in Costa Rica plantations

Researchers have identified a tiny nocturnal tree frog in Costa Rica's central Pacific region, where it lives among coffee plantations and may face risks from farm chemicals. The greenish, dark-spotted amphibian measures less than four centimeters and is know…

Space junk threat grows as UK observatory tracks debris

A UK observatory is tracking a growing field of satellites and space junk in Earth's orbit, providing data for Britain's efforts to prevent collisions and monitor debris returning through the atmosphere. Chilbolton Observatory in southern England, operated by…

Total solar eclipse gives scientists rare Sun study chance

Scientists plan to use the August 12 total solar eclipse, visible along a narrow path including northern Spain, as a rare chance to study the Sun's atmosphere, magnetic field and solar weather. The eclipse will briefly darken a route from northern Russia thro…

SpaceX rocket stage crashed into Moon, scientists say

A SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage crashed into the Moon as predicted on Wednesday, scientists said, after a telescope in Chile detected evidence of debris from the impact. The European Southern Observatory said its Very Large Telescope recorded spectral lines fro…