Science

Virgin Galactic, the space tourism firm founded by Richard Branson, said on Thursday its long-awaited commercial spaceflight service would launch later this month, sending its shares up over 55 percent in trading after the bell. The first spaceflight, called “Galactic 01“, is planned between June 27 and June 30, the company said. “Galactic 02” will

Space can be an unfriendly place for the human body, with microgravity conditions and other factors tampering with our physiology, from head to toe — head, of course, being a primary concern. A new NASA-funded study provides a deeper understanding of the issue. Researchers said on Thursday that astronauts who traveled on the International Space

Indian Space Research Organisation has decided not to rush its Gaganyaan project, the manned mission to space, as it wants to ensure that the country’s first human space flight is a ‘sure shot safe mission’, said its chairman S Somanath here on Thursday. Gaganyaan was set to launch in 2022 but due to COVID-19 there

Elon Musk‘s brain implant startup Neuralink, which was valued at close to $2 billion (roughly Rs. 16,500 crore) in a private fundraising round two years ago, is now worth around $5 billion (roughly Rs. 41,300 crore) based on privately executed stock trades described to Reuters by five sources with knowledge of the matter. Some purchases by bullish

Elon Musk’s Neuralink received approval last week from the US Food and Drug Administration to conduct human clinical trials, which one former FDA official called “really a big deal.” I do not disagree, but I am skeptical that this technology will “change everything.” Not every profound technological advance has broad social and economic implications. With

Alphabet’s Google is leading a $36 million (roughly Rs. 297 crore) funding round for Bengaluru-based Pixxel, a satellite-image startup, in the first major investment in the Indian space sector since the government launched its privatisation policy in April. Pixxel, founded in 2019, is building a constellation of satellites that have the ability to identify mineral

A NASA panel formed last year to study what the government calls “unidentified aerial phenomena,” commonly termed UFOs, was due to hold its first public meeting on Wednesday, ahead of a report expected in coming weeks. The 16-member body, assembling experts from fields ranging from physics to astrobiology, was formed last June to examine unclassified

Scientists have developed a simple, low-cost clip that uses a smartphone’s camera and flash to monitor blood pressure at the user’s fingertip. The clip developed by researchers at the University of California (UC) San Diego, US, works with a custom smartphone app and currently costs about 80 cents (Rs. 5.6) to make. The researchers estimate

One-third of the planets orbiting the most common stars across the Milky Way galaxy may hold onto liquid water and possibly harbour life, according to a study based on latest telescope data. The most common stars in our galaxy are considerably smaller and cooler, sporting just half the mass of the Sun at most. Billions

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman S Somnath on Monday said that the Chandrayaan-3- the third edition of India’s mission to the moon- will be launched this July. Chandrayaan-3 is a follow-on mission to Chandrayaan-2 to demonstrate end-to-end capability in safe landing and roving on the lunar surface. “I am very confident…” said Somnath today

China will send its first civilian astronaut into space as part of a crewed mission to the Tiangong space station on Tuesday, its Manned Space Agency announced, as Beijing pushes ahead with its extra-terrestrial ambitions. The world’s second-largest economy has invested billions of dollars into its military-run space programme, trying to catch up with the

Elon Musk’s brain-implant company Neuralink on Thursday said the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had given the green light to its first-in-human clinical trial, a critical milestone after earlier struggles to gain approval. The FDA nod “represents an important first step that will one day allow our technology to help many people,” Neuralink said

A team led by Jeff Bezos’ space company Blue Origin won a coveted NASA contract to build a spacecraft that will send astronauts to and from the moon‘s surface, NASA’s chief announced on Friday, capping a high-stakes contest. NASA’s decision will give the agency a second ride to the moon under its Artemis program, after

US lawmakers will ask regulators to investigate whether the make-up of a panel overseeing animal testing at Elon Musk‘s brain-chip startup Neuralink contributed to botched and rushed experiments. US House Representatives Earl Francis Blumenauer and Adam Schiff, both Democrats, have signed a draft letter to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) requesting a probe into

Encouraged by high-profile successes elsewhere, India wants its private space companies to increase their share of the global launch market by fivefold within the next decade — an effort boosted by the personal support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In the year after the country opened the way for private launches in 2020, the number

National Technology Day is celebrated in India on May 11 and marks an important milestone in the development of the country. It marks the anniversary of a series of underground nuclear tests in the late 1990s and is a reminder of the efforts taken to use science and technology to develop the country since independence

Conservation groups sued the Federal Aviation Administration on Monday, challenging its approval of expanded rocket launch operations by Elon Musk‘s SpaceX next to a national wildlife refuge in South Texas without requiring greater environmental study. The federal court lawsuit comes 11 days after SpaceX made good on a newly granted FAA license to send its

China will start building relay satellites that by 2030 will act as a communication bridge between missions to the moon and beyond, and ground operations on Earth, Chinese state media reported on Wednesday. A pilot of the satellite constellation will support China’s ongoing lunar exploration programme and the building of the International Lunar Research Station