Recent measurements recorded by NJIT’s new network of radio telescopes show how a rare sequence of intense flares from Nov. 9–14, including an X5.1 event marking 2025’s strongest flare so far, jolted the ionosphere — the plasma-filled atmospheric layer essential for radio signals, GPS accuracy and satellite orbits.

The advent of the fifth-generation (5G) technology has revolutionized the way we think about communication networks, enabling a plethora of new use cases and scenarios that were not possible with previous generations of wireless technology. The existing 5G communication networks predominantly rely on terrestrial communication infrastructure, which, however, exhibits several notable limitations such as capacity constraints, latency issues, and energy inefficiencies, necessitating this next-generation leap. The 6G aims to provide a comprehensive solution for a hyperconnected, intelligent, and immersive digital ecosystem, seamlessly integrating terrestrial, airborne, and spaceborne networks which is referred to as the space-air-ground-sea integrated network (SAGSIN). A traditional SAGSIN scenario mainly includes 3 segments: spaceborne network, airborne network, and terrestrial network. The classical SAGSIN architecture has shown remarkable capabilities in providing massive connectivity by integrating spaceborne, airborne, and terrestrial cellular networks, which, however, encounters inherent technical challenges against their respective practical implementation. On the other hand, the philosophy of near-space communications (NS-COM) is gradually emerging. The distinctive location of near space which is 20 ~ 100 km above Earth’s surface positiones at the core of the SAGSIN, thus allowing the NS-COM network to address the shortcomings of traditional spaceborne, terrestrial, and airborne networks. NS-COM present a promising addition to SAGSIN, making them the final piece of the SAGSIN puzzle.

University of Victoria (UVic) astronomer Jon Willis, author of new book The Pale Blue Data Point: An Earth-Based Perspective on the Search for Alien Life, suggests the search for alien life begins right in our own backyard.  

Due to the unique conditions of the space environment and abundant resources, the field investigation and study of the Moon, Earth’s sole natural satellite, represent a crucial milestone in China’s forthcoming deep space endeavors. The successful collection of lunar soil by the Chang’E-5 mission signifies the next phase of the lunar exploration program, which aims to establish a preliminary research station on the lunar south pole. Highly adhesive fine dust particles with an adhesion strength of 0.1 to 1.0 kN/m², which originate from the regolith, disperse throughout the lunar surface. These particles exhibit a lasting attraction and subsequent persistent adhesion to the surface of spacecraft or spacesuits. The accumulation of highly adhesive dust on spacecraft presents a serious issue to hinder long-term extravehicular activity and the establishment of a permanent station on lunar surface. In contrast to the immediate physical damage caused by hypervelocity (> 1.0 km/s) impacts, this adhesion observed at low- velocity (0.01 to 100 m/s) collisions can more unobtrusively and mortally degenerate the performance of equipment. In recent years, many interaction models have been developed to forecast the adhesion and ejection dynamics of lunar dust on various surfaces. Most researches on the electrostatic force applied on dust particles near the surface use point-charge approximation. Although this simplification makes the simulation easier, the error can be large due to the polarization of dust induced by the image charge.

 

By tracking the isotopic fingerprints of iron in lunar and terrestrial rocks, researchers trying to understand the origin of the Moon’s mysterious progenitor add evidence to the idea that it came from the inner Solar System. According to the findings, Theia – the Mars-sized planetary body that collided with Earth to form the Moon – was born possibly closer to the Sun than to Earth. The Moon is believed to have formed when Theia collided with early Earth roughly a hundred million years after the formation of the Solar System. Most models of this process suggest that the Moon is mostly composed of materials derived from this ancient impactor. If Theia had a different isotopic makeup from Earth, it would be expected that the Moon would as well. Such isotopic variations can reveal where a planetary body originated in the Solar System, which could provide insight into the origin of Theia. However, analyses of lunar rock show that the Moon and Earth are nearly identical in their isotopic compositions for many elements. Although competing models have attempted to explain this similarity, the absence of clear isotopic differences and uncertainty over which processes caused this have made it challenging to determine where Theia originally formed. Here, Timo Hopp and colleagues conducted new high-precision iron isotope analyses of lunar samples, terrestrial rocks, and meteorites representing the isotopic reservoirs from which Theia and proto-Earth might have formed. According to the analysis, Earth and the Moon have indistinguishable iron isotopic compositions and both fall within that of non-carbonaceous meteorites, which are thought to represent material formed in the inner Solar System. Integrating these results with previous isotopic data for other elements and performing mass balance calculations for Theia and proto-Earth, Hopp et al. conclude that Theia likely originated in the inner Solar System and formed even closer to the Sun than proto-Earth.