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SpaceX’s Starship rocket has scored a landmark success on its 10th test flight. On Aug. 26, 2025, the 400-foot booster launched flawlessly, completed hot-stage separation, and deployed eight dummy Starlink satellites — its first-ever payload. The upper stage then re-entered Earth’s atmosphere, surviving long enough to reignite an engine and splash down in the Indian Ocean, despite shedding some debris.

Astronomers have captured a groundbreaking sight: WISPIT 2b, a baby gas giant planet forming within a dusty, multi-ring protoplanetary disk around a young Sun-like star 430 light-years away. Infrared images from the Very Large Telescope show the planet carving a dark path in the rings as it feeds on gas and dust. This rare discovery provides the first direct evidence of a planet embedded in a multi-ring disk.

NASA is preparing for Artemis II, the first crewed mission to the Moon since Apollo, with a new control hub at Johnson Space Center. The Orion Mission Evaluation Room (MER) will support flight controllers by monitoring Orion’s systems in real time during the 10-day mission. Staffed 24/7, the MER will compare telemetry with expected performance, troubleshoot issues, and coordinate with NASA centers and industry partners. The room features 24 consoles, cutting-edge displays, and engineers from NASA, Lockheed Martin, ESA, and Airbus. This facility ensures astronaut safety while providing critical data for future Artemis lunar missions.

NASA is preparing for Artemis II, the first crewed mission to the Moon since Apollo, with a new control hub at Johnson Space Center. The Orion Mission Evaluation Room (MER) will support flight controllers by monitoring Orion’s systems in real time during the 10-day mission. Staffed 24/7, the MER will compare telemetry with expected performance, troubleshoot issues, and coordinate with NASA centers and industry partners. The room features 24 consoles, cutting-edge displays, and engineers from NASA, Lockheed Martin, ESA, and Airbus. This facility ensures astronaut safety while providing critical data for future Artemis lunar missions.

The James Webb Space Telescope has unveiled stunning new details of the Butterfly Nebula, a planetary nebula 3,400 light-years away. Using its infrared vision, Webb detected crystalline silicates, large dust grains, and carbon-rich PAH molecules within the nebula’s dusty torus. These discoveries reveal how dying stars recycle minerals and organic compounds, spreading raw materials that seed new stars, planets, and potentially life itself. Reported in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, the findings highlight planetary nebulae as vital factories for planet-building ingredients.

China has unveiled Darwin Monkey, the world’s largest neuromorphic supercomputer. With over 2 billion artificial neurons and 100 billion synapses, it mirrors a macaque brain’s complexity. Designed by Zhejiang University and Zhejiang Lab, the system could accelerate neuroscience simulations and advance artificial general intelligence while consuming only 2,000 watts of power.