Just as avalanches on snowy mountains start with the movement of a small quantity of snow, the ESA-led Solar Orbiter spacecraft has discovered that a solar flare is triggered by initially weak disturbances that quickly become more violent. This rapidly evolving process creates a ‘sky’ of raining plasma blobs that continue to fall even after the flare subsides.

This study develops a "Sustainable Water Space" network model to analyze the synergistic relationships among 53 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) indicators in the Yellow River Basin from 2015 to 2022. It reveals a stable four-cluster structure and identifies key water-related indicators—such as water use per unit GDP—that have evolved into critical "bridges" linking socioeconomic and water systems. The analysis further categorizes regions by complexity and eigenvector centrality, proposing differentiated policy strategies, such as focusing on residential wastewater reduction in high-complexity areas and industrial pollution control in low-complexity ones. The framework offers a systematic tool for guiding coordinated water management and sustainable development in the basin.

Space exploration is significant for scientific innovation, resource utilization, and planetary security. Space exploration involves several systems including satellites, space suits, communication systems, and robotics, which have to function under harsh space conditions such as extreme temperatures (− 270 to 1650 °C), microgravity (10^-6 g), unhealthy humidity (< 20% RH or > 60% RH), high atmospheric pressure (~ 1450 psi), and radiation (4000–5000 mSv). Conventional energy-harvesting technologies (solar cells, fuel cells, and nuclear energy), that are normally used to power these space systems have certain limitations (e.g., sunlight dependence, weight, degradation, big size, high cost, low capacity, radioactivity, complexity, and low efficiency). The constraints in conventional energy resources have made it imperative to look for non-conventional yet efficient alternatives. A great potential for enhancing efficiency, sustainability, and mission duration in space exploration can be offered by integrating triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) with existing energy sources. Recently, the potential of TENG including energy harvesting (from vibrations/movements in satellites and spacecraft), self-powered sensing, and microgravity, for multiple applications in different space missions has been discussed. This review comprehensively covers the use of TENGs for various space applications, such as planetary exploration missions (Mars environment monitoring), manned space equipment, In-orbit robotic operations /collision monitoring, spacecraft's design and structural health monitoring, Aeronautical systems, and conventional energy harvesting (solar and nuclear). This review also discusses the use of self-powered TENG sensors for deep space object perception. At the same time, this review compares TENGs with conventional energy harvesting technologies for space systems. Lastly, this review talks about energy harvesting in satellites, TENG-based satellite communication systems, and future practical implementation challenges (with possible solutions).

The SETI Institute announced that alliant Global CEO, Dhaval Jadav, joined its Board of Directors. Dhaval brings a deep lifelong passion for space science, a strong commitment to STEM education, and a shared belief in the SETI Institute’s mission to explore one of humanity’s most profound questions: Are we alone in the universe?

This marks the beginning of a strategic partnership that gives the SETI Institute the ability to leverage alliant’s resources and AI capabilities in the search for extraterrestrial life.

“As a kid nothing got me more excited to learn about space than the thought of extraterrestrials being out there,” said Dhaval. “I think we’ve lost some of that sense of wonder, the curiosity that drives people to look beyond their screens and ask big questions about the universe. I wholeheartedly believe in the SETI Institute’s mission, and I hope alliant can help the SETI Institute be a beacon that rekindles that curiosity and inspires people to seek answers to life’s biggest mysteries.”

During the Plague of Justinian, the people affected lived in diverse and often unconnected communities. But the plague brought them together in death, with countless bodies deposited rapidly atop layers of pottery debris in an abandoned civic space.

New research from the University of Rochester suggests that molten rock deep inside so-called super-earths may generate powerful magnetic fields necessary for sustaining life.

Researchers at Aarhus University have demonstrated that peptides – key precursors to proteins and life – can form spontaneously in interstellar space. By simulating the extreme conditions of cold, vacuum and radiation found in cosmic dust clouds, the team showed that simple amino acids readily bond into more complex molecules. The findings suggest that essential building blocks of life may be far more widespread in the universe than previously believed.