technical updates

A drug originally developed for spinal cord injury may offer a fresh approach to treating Alzheimer’s disease. In mouse studies, KCL-286 repaired dangerous DNA damage, reduced inflammation, and targeted multiple disease-related pathways instead of focusing on just amyloid or tau. Since it has already cleared an initial human safety trial, researchers believe it could move more quickly into Alzheimer’s clinical testing. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/gHRXQqu

Starship wasn't quite ready to fly today (July 16). SpaceX tried to launch the Starship megarocket on its 13th test flight today but couldn't quite pull it off. Something went wrong just as the giant vehicle's first-stage engines started to fire up, and an abort was triggered. It's too early to say what exactly happened or when SpaceX will try again with Starship Flight 13 . SpaceX's second V3 Starship vehicle tries to launch on July 16, 2026. The attempt was aborted at the last second. (Image credit: SpaceX) "We'll take some time, dig into what triggered that abort once the booster was igniting to launch, and then we'll figure out what our path forward is going to be," SpaceX's Dan Huot said during the company's launch webcast today. "Hopefully, we'll be back real soon for Flight 13 and another attempt to get Starship off the pad," he...

The aftermath of landslides have been found in images of Pluto's surface taken when the New Horizons mission flew past the dwarf planet in 2015. The landslides are evidence that the icy world is still active, albeit on geological timescales. A team led by geologist Marco Emanuele Discenza pored over images taken by New Horizons' LORRI (Long-Range Reconnaissance Imager) instrument, which was capable of detecting surface features as small as 984 feet (300 meters). They found convincing evidence for six landslides in total that have taken place down the inner walls of three craters on the western edge of Sputnik Planitia , the heart-shaped feature that characterizes Pluto 's appearance. Previously, geological features left behind by landslides have been found on a host of bodies in the solar system , including Mars , Ceres in the asteroid belt , some of the icy moons of the gas giants ...

This might be the closest we've gotten to finding a planet that could support life: Astronomers have detected an atmosphere around an Earth-like, rocky planet orbiting in the habitable zone around its star, a monumental first. The rocky planet, called LHS 1140 b, is 48-light-years away from Earth and according to this new research, it has an atmosphere that contains helium. It is also the first rocky planet to have an atmosphere be detected directly. This is the first rocky planet to be found with an atmosphere that is also in the habitable zone , meaning it's at the right distance away from its star for liquid water to potentially exist on the planet. As we continue to search the cosmos for planets that can be considered "habitable," this planet checks more boxes than almost anything we've ever seen. "We have actually detected directly the helium present in the atmosph...

NASA is picking up the pace on its Artemis III mission preparations, pressing forward on multiple fronts to assemble launch vehicle hardware and beginning routine simulations inside Artemis mission control. The agency is "full steam ahead," according to a July 13 NASA update . Across Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida, components of Artemis III's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket are coming together, undergoing tests and awaiting transportation for final integration ahead of next year's launch. NASA is targeting mid-to-late 2027 for Artemis III, which will launch four astronauts into low Earth orbit (LEO) aboard the Orion spacecraft . It will be the second crewed mission of NASA's Artemis program , which aims to establish a permanent human presence on the moon . Artemis III will be a critical stepping stone in NASA's lunar landing architecture, despite the mission n...

Rocket Lab has completed a major qualification test for its formidable Archimedes engine, which will power the company's next-gen Neutron launch vehicle. As Rocket Lab continues with regular launches of its workhorse small-lift Electron rocket , development of Neutron has carried on in the background, progressing toward a possible debut later this year. The company recently completed a full-duration burn of a second-stage Archimedes, paving the way for integration with Neutron in the coming months. The burn took place at Rocket Lab's Archimedes Test Complex, housed at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. The full-duration test aimed to simulate flight-like requirements and lasted just under 5.5 minutes. "What a thing of beauty," the company said in a July 13 social media post announcing the success, calling it a "critical preparation for Neutron's first flight...