Space

A researcher in a lab coat standing next to a large silver vacuum chamber with control panels and equipment.

University of Glasgow Space Testing Facility Wins Manufacturing Award

Modern Mechanics 24 News Desk March 3, 2026

The University of Glasgow’s NextSpace TestRig, the world’s first system for testing 3D-printed materials manufactured in space, has won a national manufacturing award. Built with Dr Gilles Bailet and the Manufacturing Technology Centre, the facility uses a vacuum chamber that creates temperatures from -150°C to +250°C to simulate orbit conditions. The £253,000 project helps ensure space-printed materials can withstand extreme physical strains.

UK’s University of Oxford Solves Moon Magnetic Field Mystery

Modern Mechanics 24 News Desk March 2, 2026

University of Oxford scientists have solved a long-standing mystery about the moon’s magnetic field. By re-examining Apollo mission rocks, they found the moon experienced short, intense magnetic bursts lasting only thousands of years, not the half-billion years previously thought. The study explains why some samples showed strong magnetism while theory suggested a weak field. The discovery helps scientists understand how planetary cores evolve.

China’s Wuhan University Builds Ultra-Stable Polymer Solar Cell with 19.1% Efficiency

Modern Mechanics 24 News Desk March 2, 2026

Scientists at Wuhan University of Technology built a polymer solar cell that achieves 19.1% efficiency while retaining 97% of its performance after 2,000 hours in air. The team solved polymer chain entanglement by adding a small-molecule acceptor that improves molecular packing and charge transport. The estimated lifetime exceeds 100,000 hours, moving flexible organic solar cells closer to commercialization.

Chile’s ALMA Telescope Captures Sharpest Image of Milky Way’s Chaotic Heart

Modern Mechanics 24 News Desk March 1, 2026

Astronomers using Chile’s ALMA telescope have captured the most detailed image yet of the gas clouds at the center of the Milky Way. The 650-light-year-wide view shows extreme star-forming regions around the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A*. The image, the largest ALMA has ever taken, reveals dozens of molecules and offers clues about how galaxies evolved in the early universe.

France’s Airbus Unveils Two New Helicopter Concepts for NATO Studies

Modern Mechanics 24 News Desk February 28, 2026

France’s Airbus Helicopters has revealed two next-generation rotorcraft designs for NATO’s future fleet. The concepts—a conventional helicopter and a high-speed compound aircraft—share common systems to reduce costs. They build on Airbus Racer demonstrator technology and aim to replace aging NATO helicopters by 2035-2040.

MeerKAT radio telescope discovery of gigamaser from distant galaxy merger with gravitational lensing

South Africa’s MeerKAT Telescope Discovers Universe’s Strongest Microwave Laser

Modern Mechanics 24 News Desk February 28, 2026

South Africa’s MeerKAT radio telescope has detected the most powerful natural microwave laser ever found in the universe. The gigamaser signal comes from two colliding galaxies 8 billion light years away and is 100,000 times stronger than a typical star, offering a rare glimpse into galaxy mergers in the early universe.

Gravitational Waves Could Resolve the Hubble Tension; Here’s How

MM 24 Newsroom February 27, 2026

Researchers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the University of Chicago have developed a new way to calculate the

Can Wooden Satellite Reduce Space Junk and Save Earth?

MM 24 Newsroom February 27, 2026

Researchers at Kyoto University, in partnership with Sumitomo Forestry, have developed the world’s first wooden satellite. The satellite, named LignoSat,

GA-ASI MQ-9B SkyGuardian unmanned aircraft armed with long-range standoff weapons

USA’s GA-ASI Adds Long-Range Missiles to MQ-9B Drones

Modern Mechanics 24 News Desk February 26, 2026

GA-ASI MQ-9B SkyGuardian, MQ-9B SeaGuardian with missiles, armed drone concept, long-range strike drone, unmanned aircraft Pacific operations, Predator series drone, General Atomics test flight

White and black NASA Mars rover with robotic arm parked on reddish rocky terrain under dusty pink sky

NASA Gives Perseverance Rover ‘GPS’ to Navigate Mars Without Waiting for Earth

Modern Mechanics 24 News Desk February 25, 2026

NASA has given its Perseverance Mars rover a new navigation system that works like GPS, letting it pinpoint its location without waiting for instructions from Earth. The software matches the rover’s panoramic images to orbital terrain maps in about two minutes, ending its reliance on daily check-ins with human controllers millions of miles away. The upgrade allows much longer drives and more science.