The past month has seen a startling increase in activity by the Sun with four powerful X-class solar flares recorded; including one that measured as a X9.3, the strongest since 2005. Coronal mass ejections (CME) – huge arcs of plasma that erupt from the Sun’s surface – interfered with GPS, and high-frequency radio transmissions, and generated spectacular aurora displays. But, in addition to the sudden intensity of these events, this recent burst of activity has left scientists scratching their heads.read more

A congressional committee has proposed that a new branch of the military be formed, called the United States Space Corps. As proposed in the National Defense Authorization Act for 2018, this would be the first new branch added since the formation of the United States Air Force in 1947. The USSC would be subordinate to the Department of the Air Force, much in the way the United States Marine Corps is part of the Department of the Navy.
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In the escalating space-race that has been re-kindled between the world’s spacefaring nations, the controversial EM Drive could be taking a leading role in propelling new spacecraft through the cosmos, as China has not only successfully tested their own version of the reactionless propulsion device, but NASA has also published a paper saying that the device does indeed work. China has now taken the next step in proving whether or not the device will be viable for use in space, and is currently conducting experiments on a proof-of-concept drive on board the Tiangong-2 space station.
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NASA has announced that they have confirmation that Saturn’s moon Enceladus has a food source that could support potential microbial lifeforms. This crucial ingredient accompanies Enceladus’ grocery list of elements needed to support life: carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, organic molecules, and of course, liquid water.

"Almost all of the conditions that astrobiologists have identified for habitability are present on Enceladus: water, organics, and a chemical energy source," explains Hunter Waite, from the Southwest Research Institute. "The only things that are left on the checklist are phosphorus or sulfur."
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