The universe is decaying much faster than thought. This is shown by calculations of three Dutch scientists on the so-called Hawking radiation. They calculate that the last stellar remnants take about 10^78 years (a 1 with 78 zeros) to perish. That is much shorter than the previously postulated 10^1100 years (a 1 with 1100 zeros). The researchers publish their findings, with a wink and dead-seriously, in the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics.

The Martian atmosphere has been unexpectedly discovered to be nearly a perfect working medium and unique work patterns of its thermoelectric conversion on Mars have been reported. The inherent advantages of in-situ resource utilization significantly enhance the sustainability of efficient thermoelectric conversion; The inertness, High specific heat capacity, and large molecular characteristics contribute to increased efficiency and power density. Compared to mainstream rare gases, efficiency could improve by 7.4% to 20.0%, and power-density could increase by 1.0% to 14.2%. Notably, conversion efficiency (>22%) can be achieved even at relatively low hot-end temperatures (<973K); Reviewing current space thermoelectric conversion technology, it can achieve higher power-density and efficiency, particularly above 100 kW, it offers significant advantages of lightweight compared to mature technologies; The high-grade waste heat from Martian gas can be utilized for combined oxygen production and heating Mars colony.

A new study by scientists at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and several institutes across India and Saudi Arabia has reported 26 novel bacterial species growing inside cleanrooms associated with NASA space missions. These unknown and newly described species carry genetic traits associated with resilience to extreme environments such as those found in space, highlighting the importance of rigorous contamination control to prevent unintentional microbial transfer during space missions.

On May 10, 2024, the first G5 or “severe” geomagnetic storm in over two decades hit Earth. The event, named the Gannon storm in memory of leading space weather physicist Jennifer Gannon, did not cause any catastrophic damages. But a year on, key insights from the Gannon storm are helping us understand and prepare for future geomagnetic storms.