Space-based solar panels could enable solar power to be harvested continuously instead of only when sunlight reaches Earth, reducing Europe’s need for Earth-based wind and solar by 80%, finds a study publishing August 21 in the Cell Press journal Joule. Using energy models, researchers estimate that in 2050, space-based solar power could cut the total costs of Europe’s total grid system by 7%–15%. However, these numbers hinge upon the rapid development of two NASA-designed technologies in order to meet Europe’s goal to achieve net-zero by 2050.  

The Global Observing SATellite for Greenhouse gases and Water cycle “IBUKI GW” (GOSAT-GW), developed jointly by the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES), the Ministry of the Environment of Japan (MOE), and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), was successfully launched on June 29, 2025. The satellite has been in the initial functional verification operations phase. The first observations by the Total Anthropogenic and Natural emissions mapping SpectrOmeter-3 (TANSO-3) onboard this satellite were conducted from July 14 to July 20, 2025, and the proper operation of TANSO-3 was confirmed.

Snow water equivalent (SWE) measurements are critical for water resource management, yet existing remote sensing methods struggle to provide accurate, large-scale estimates.

A recent study published in National Science Review has revealed an extreme ionospheric electron density depletion and the pronounced hemispheric asymmetry during the May 2024 geomagnetic storm. The near-total depletion of ionospheric electrons caused widespread failures in high-frequency radio wave propagation. This research provides critical observational evidence from CMP and modeling insights into the ionosphere's response to extreme space weather, advancing understanding of the physical processes of magnetosphere-ionosphere-thermosphere coupling.

In a new study, researchers at Penn State and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory analyzed when and where human deep space transmissions would be most detectable by an observer outside our solar system and suggest that the patterns they see could be used to guide our own search for extraterrestrial intelligence 

For the first time, light itself has been sculpted into a toron—a 3D pinwheel-like chiral topology that marries skyrmion textures with paired synthetic magnetic monopoles. Using vector structured beams, the scientists create, image and continuously tune these “pinwheels of light,” and watch them morph into typical topologies such as hopfions and monopole pairs on demand. The platform promises topologically protected information channels in free space and new routes for light–matter interaction.