the successful deployment of NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope on August 30, 2026 to map dark energy, chart billions of galaxies, and survey thousands of exoplanets without Earth blocking its line of sight.

 

Just over 31 minutes after liftoff, SpaceX confirmed the successful deployment of NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.

Separating at an altitude of 741 kilometers while traveling over 36,400 km/h, the next-generation infrared observatory is now flying on its own, beginning a month-long cruise to the Sun-Earth Lagrange Point 2 (L2). Located roughly one million miles away—about four times farther than the Moon—L2 provides a gravitationally stable vantage point where the combined forces of the Sun and Earth keep the spacecraft in sync with Earth's orbit.

From this thermally stable deep-space perch, Roman will operate with an unobstructed view of the cosmos, deploying its wide-field 2.4-meter optics to map dark energy, chart billions of galaxies, and survey thousands of exoplanets without Earth blocking its line of sight.

#NASA #SpaceX #FalconHeavy #NancyGraceRoman #SpaceTelescope #Astronomy #Astrophysics #DeepSpace #AerospaceNow

NASA is developing a nuclear-powered interplanetary spacecraft designed to demonstrate a new way of travelling through deep space.

 

NASA is developing a nuclear-powered interplanetary spacecraft designed to demonstrate a new way of travelling through deep space.

Called Space Reactor-1 Freedom, the robotic spacecraft is targeted for launch to Mars in late 2028. The mission will use a fission reactor to generate electricity for a nuclear electric propulsion system.

Unlike conventional chemical rockets, nuclear electric propulsion can provide efficient, continuous thrust over long periods, potentially reducing travel time and expanding the capabilities of future deep-space missions.

Space Reactor-1 Freedom is planned as a technology demonstration rather than a crewed Mars mission. During its journey, the spacecraft is expected to fly past Mars and deploy three small helicopters known as SkyFall.

These vehicles are intended to demonstrate aerial exploration technologies in the Martian environment.

Space and Technology

NASA just sent the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope into orbit to tackle some of the biggest mysteries in the universe: Dark Matter and Exoplanete

 

NASA just sent the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope into orbit to tackle some of the biggest mysteries in the universe. It lifted off from Florida on a SpaceX rocket and is now traveling a million miles away from Earth. Once it arrives at its designated orbit, the telescope will scan massive sections of the sky to help us finally understand invisible forces like dark matter.

The telescope is built differently than famous observatories like Hubble or James Webb. It uses a mirror the exact same size as Hubble but features a completely new wide field camera. This incredible upgrade gives it a panoramic view that is at least one hundred times larger than anything Hubble could capture in a single shot.

Having that massive field of view is exactly what you need to hunt for something as elusive as dark matter. We cannot actually see dark matter directly because it does not absorb or emit any light. Instead researchers have to look for the intense gravitational pull it exerts on regular galaxies and star clusters.

Roman will track exactly how light from distant galaxies bends around these invisible patches of mass. By measuring this bending effect across hundreds of millions of galaxies the telescope will essentially map the invisible skeleton of the universe. This massive dataset will tell astronomers how cosmic structures formed over billions of years and why everything is accelerating away from us.

Getting all this information back to Earth quickly is a huge priority for the science team. NASA is planning to make all the telescope data available to the public and scientists worldwide immediately without embargoes. This open approach means thousands of researchers can instantly start scanning the fresh images for unexpected planets or distant exploding stars.

The spacecraft is currently on a three month journey to get its instruments chilled, tested, and fully calibrated. After that it will settle into a stable spot where it can constantly monitor deep space without Earth getting in the way. We can expect the first wave of groundbreaking science images to arrive early next year

Space Science

Fusion energy has reached a major milestone after Helion became the first company in the world to receive the regulatory licenses needed to build and operate a fusion power plant.

 

Fusion energy has reached a major milestone after Helion became the first company in the world to receive the regulatory licenses needed to build and operate a fusion power plant. Unlike today's nuclear power stations, which generate energy by splitting heavy atoms, fusion produces energy by combining light hydrogen atoms under extremely high temperatures and pressures. This is the same process that powers the Sun. If successful, fusion could provide large amounts of electricity without producing carbon dioxide during operation and with far less long lived radioactive waste than conventional nuclear fission.

The newly licensed Orion power plant will use powerful magnetic fields and pulses of electricity to heat hydrogen fuel into an ultra hot state called plasma. Under these conditions, atomic nuclei can fuse together, releasing enormous amounts of energy. Helion's design also converts part of this energy directly into electricity, reducing the need for traditional steam turbines and potentially improving efficiency.

Receiving regulatory approval marks an important transition from experimental research to commercial development. Although engineers still face significant technical challenges, the project demonstrates how decades of fusion research are gradually moving from the laboratory toward practical power generation, bringing the possibility of abundant, low carbon electricity closer to reality.

SOURCE : Helion Energy

EVERETT, Wash. – June 16, 2026 – Helion, a Washington-based fusion energy company, today became the first company in the world to secure the regulatory licenses needed for a fusion power plant, following receipt of two licenses from the Washington Department of Health (DOH). The licenses – Radioactive Materials License (RML) and Radioactive Air Emissions License (RAEL) – mark a major milestone for the company, confirming Helion has the facilities, trained personnel, and safety programs in place at its Orion facility in Malaga, WA, to meet the rigorous safety standards required for fusion operations.

These licenses demonstrate Helion’s commitment to engaging early and often with state regulators to ensure compliance with system requirements. They enable Helion to continue building on the site of Orion, the world’s first fusion power plant.

“We are extremely proud to be granted these licenses from the Washington DOH, making us the first company in the world with the regulatory approvals in place for fusion power plant operations,” said David Kirtley, CEO of Helion Energy. “We have a long history of working with the DOH to license our previous fusion activities. Today’s announcement represents the rigor of that work and opens the door for practical, commercial, safe fusion power.”

The Washington DOH is the licensing body for fusion power in the state, following the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s decision to regulate fusion under the byproduct material framework, alongside particle accelerators and hospitals, rather than like nuclear fission reactors. This distinction, codified by Congress in the bipartisan ADVANCE Act of 2024, reflects fusion’s fundamentally different safety profile and enables a right-sized path to deployment. Washington’s pathway was strengthened by bipartisan state legislation in 2024 and 2025 – HB 1924 and HB 1018 – that clarified fusion’s role in clean energy policy and provided permitting certainty for fusion power plants.

“We’re grateful to partner with a world-class company like Helion. Leading radioactive regulatory oversight for the fusion industry in Washington state is an honor and is essential to protecting public health while advancing clean energy,” said Jill Wood, director of the Department of Health’s Office of Radiation.

Orion’s RAEL and RML are the latest in a group of keHelion clears key regulatory milestone on the path to building and operating the world's first fusion power planty permits and licenses required for Helion to build and operate its first fusion power plant in Washington state. Their receipt follows Helion’s deep community engagement efforts in Chelan County – where Malaga is located – dating back to 2023, including more than 10 public meetings to discuss the project. The company is also working toward a transmission interconnection agreement with Chelan County Public Utility District, in what will be the first such agreement for a fusion power plant, marking another key step toward delivering electricity to the grid.

Helion continues to build Orion in Malaga, with the assembly and office building construction complete. Now, the company can proceed with work on the generator building, for which initial earthwork began in the spring of 2026.

Helion clears key regulatory milestone on the path to building and operating the world's first fusion power plant

LŨ BIÊN GIỚI NEPAL-TÂY TẠNG: HƠN 2,400 NGƯỜI MẤT TÍCH, CÔNG TÁC CỨU HỘ TIẾP TỤC

 

LŨ BIÊN GIỚI NEPAL-TÂY TẠNG: HƠN 2,400 NGƯỜI MẤT TÍCH, CÔNG TÁC CỨU HỘ TIẾP TỤC

Công tác cứu hộ đã bước sang ngày thứ năm tại Nepal và Tây Tạng sau khi trận lũ quét tàn phá khu vực biên giới hôm 26/8.

Cơ quan Khảo sát Địa chất Hoa Kỳ (USGS) cùng các quan chức địa phương cho rằng dòng nước dữ dội cùng bùn đất và đất đá kéo theo là do một khối sông băng bị vỡ.

Tại Nepal, Cơ quan ứng phó thiên tai quốc gia cho biết đã có ít nhất 675 người thiệt mạng. Đơn vị này cũng thông tin thêm rằng hiện còn hơn 2.400 người mất tích, và hơn 18.700 nhân viên cứu hộ đã được huy động.

Còn tại Tây Tạng, truyền thông nhà nước Trung Quốc đưa tin số người tử vong chính thức là 7 người, cùng 554 trường hợp được ghi nhận là mất tích.

Getty Images/Reuters: Hình ảnh lực lượng cứu hộ và người dân tại bệnh viện và khu vực trú ẩn ở khu vực biên giới Nepal-Tây Tạng (chụp ngày 29-30/8)

#BBCNewsTiengViet #nepal #TayTang

Three scientists have been recognized with the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for pioneering discoveries into immune checkpoint mechanisms Avoid attacking the body's own healthy tissues

 

What if the same discovery that transformed cancer treatment could also change the future of autoimmune disease?

Three scientists have been recognized with the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for pioneering discoveries into immune checkpoint mechanisms the biological “brakes” that help control the immune system.

These mechanisms are crucial because the immune system needs to do two things at once:

Fight harmful pathogens

Avoid attacking the body's own healthy tissues

This research has already transformed modern cancer treatment through immune checkpoint inhibitors, which help the immune system recognize and attack cancer cells.

Now, scientists are exploring the other side of the same biology.

Could these immune-regulating mechanisms help calm an overactive immune system in autoimmune diseases such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and multiple sclerosis?

With autoimmune diseases affecting millions worldwide, understanding these biological “brakes” could provide a more targeted approach to controlling harmful immune responses without broadly weakening the body's defenses.

The significance goes beyond one field of medicine.

Cancer research taught us how to release the immune system's brakes.

Now, researchers are asking whether we can learn to apply those brakes when the immune system goes too far.

It’s a powerful example of how discoveries in one area of medicine can eventually open doors in another.

Could immune checkpoint biology become the next major frontier in autoimmune treatment?

#NobelPrize #Immunology #CancerResearch #AutoimmuneDisease #MedicalResearch

NASA launchs the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope on 8/30/2026 — NASA's next big step in exploring the universe: hunting for exoplanets and studying two of the biggest mysteries in science — dark matter and dark energy.

 

Liftoff! NASA's newest space telescope launched today at 7:26 a.m. EDT aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Meet the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope — NASA's next big step in exploring the universe.

It's now on a 30-day journey to its new home nearly a million miles from Earth, a spot called Lagrange Point 2. Once it settles in, it will spend about 3 months getting ready before starting its real mission: hunting for exoplanets and studying two of the biggest mysteries in science — dark matter and dark energy.

Here's why this telescope is so special: it can see over 100 times as much sky as Hubble. That means it can scan the whole Milky Way in about a month — something that would take Hubble nearly a century to do.

Using this huge view, scientists expect Roman to find up to 100,000 new planets outside our solar system. For comparison, we've only discovered around 6,000 planets total in the last 30 years combined.

It's named after Nancy Grace Roman, NASA's first-ever chief astronomer, who also helped make the famous Hubble Space Telescope happen.

What do you hope Roman discovers first — another Earth, a rogue planet, or something we've never even imagined?

Credit: NASA

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