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It's another big day for spaceflight!
We have finally arrived at Starship day. Today, SpaceX's Starship V3 (the latest, most powerful iteration of its Starship spacecraft) will launch on its second-ever test flight. This critical test flight will help SpaceX to know how close to ready the vehicle might be to one day transporting astronauts for NASA's Artemis program. Follow along as we will be sharing details every step of the way up to, through and following launch. Will you be watching live like us?
Beyond the launch, there is a lot of exciting news out today. Scientists have discovered sugar in interstellar space - and it's the same type of sugar found in both raspberries and self-tanning products. It might sound weird, but studying this sugar could help researchers investigate the origins of life on Earth. Speaking of the origins of life, a meteorite that crash-landed in New Jersey two summers ago has been analyzed and scientists have traced its origins as they continue to explore this strange alien rock. NASA is also continuing to prepare for its next Artemis astronaut launch with Artemis III.
Check out what's big in space below:
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"Thanks to the homeowner’s quick reaction, these are the most pristine CM1/2 meteorites we know of."
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NASA is busy preparing for Artemis III, the next crewed mission of its moon program launching on the massive SLS rocket next year. Hardware is coming together and agency personnel have begun launch scenario sims inside mission control.
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Rocket Lab recently performed a full-duration static fire test with the engine that will power the second stage of its powerful new Neutron launch vehicle.
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Valoria la Buena, here we come.
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August 12 will see the deepest partial solar eclipse in the U.K. for many decades, hours before the peak of the annual Perseid meteor shower. Here's where to go.
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"Our work shows that sugars can form naturally in space."
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Two major mysteries in science, the nature of dark matter and the possible existence of higher dimensions, could be linked, new research suggests.
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Makes you proud to be British!
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That's it for our space update today!
Stay tuned as we count down to the SpaceX Starship launch later today. There is a lot riding on this one. The first launch of SpaceX's Starship V3 wasn't exactly perfect. But Starship needs to at some point be ready and safe enough for NASA to trust it to carry its astronauts to space with the Artemis program. As the agency readies for Artemis III, a test flight that will precede the first Artemis moon landing, time is ticking for SpaceX to get it right. We will be watching closely tonight - will you be following along?
Coming up, we are also expecting some major news in the search for habitable worlds (but that's all I can say for now) and the 50th anniversary of NASA's Viking 1 mission, which was the first successful lander on Mars. A Soviet landed did technically land a few years prior, but it only survived a few seconds before losing contact so most people don't count it as the first success. We also have some big skywatching highlights coming up with the Perseid meteor shower and a total solar eclipse. Even if you don't live somewhere where the eclipse will be visible, Space.com correspondents will be sharing their experience so we can all live vicariously through their adventures. And to stay as in the loop as possible, you can now get Space.com right in the palm of your hand with our new app available now on iOS and Android.
Ad astra, per aspera
Chelsea Gohd
Content Manager, Space.com
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