EurekAlert! News by Subject: Space & Planetary - News by Subject: Space & Planetary

Space & Planetary

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 28-Oct-2025 06:11 ET (28-Oct-2025 10:11 GMT/UTC)

Novel motor topology and modulation strategy enhance efficiency and precision in high-power motor drives

CES Transactions on Electrical Machines and Systems
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A research team from Sichuan University, in collaboration with Southeast University and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou), has proposed a novel dual three-phase four-level space vector pulse width modulation (DTP-FL SVPWM) strategy to improves the efficiency and precision of high-power motor drives. The proposed strategy is designed for the developed dual three-phase open-winding permanent magnet synchronous motors (DTP-OW-PMSM). This technology achieves high modulation precision and low switching frequency. On this basis, the current harmonics caused by the DC-link voltage deviations are reduced by compensating for the duty ratio.

Journal: CES Transactions on Electrical Machines and Systems

Europlanet evaluation shows networking and collaboration pave the way to high impact science

Europlanet
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Evaluation of the impact of the most recent €10-million Europlanet project funded by the European Commission (EC) has been featured as a case study in the journal Nature Astronomy, published today.

Journal: Nature Astronomy
Funder: European Commission

WVU engineers recalibrate radio telescopes to illuminate dark energy

West Virginia University
Grant and Award Announcement

Scientists know dark energy makes up about 70% of the universe and is responsible for the universe’s accelerating expansion. Beyond that, little about it is certain, so a West Virginia University engineer is enhancing the calibration of radio telescopes that can tell astronomers about dark energy by measuring the “neutral hydrogen” in the universe, a simple form of hydrogen with no net electric charge.

Funder: U.S. National Science Foundation

Planet formation depends on when it happens: UNLV model shows why

University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study led by UNLV scientists sheds light on how planets, including Earth, formed in our galaxy – and why the life and death of nearby stars are an important piece of the puzzle.

Journal: The Astrophysical Journal Letters

Are there living microbes on Mars? Check the ice, researchers say

Penn State
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Frozen in time, ancient microbes or their remains could be found in Martian ice deposits during future missions to the Red Planet. By recreating Mars-like conditions in the lab, a team of researchers from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and Penn State demonstrated that fragments of the molecules that make up proteins in E. coli bacteria, if present in Mars’ permafrost and ice caps, could remain intact for over 50 million years, despite harsh and continuous exposure to cosmic radiation. In the study, published in Astrobiology, the researchers encouraged future missions searching for life on Mars to target locations with pure ice or ice-dominated permafrost for exploration, as opposed to studying rocks, clay or soil.

Journal: Astrobiology
Funder: NASA Headquarters

Mysterious glow in Milky Way could be evidence of dark matter

Johns Hopkins University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A mysterious diffuse glow of gamma rays near the center of the Milky Way has stumped researchers for decades, as they’ve tried to discern whether the light comes from colliding particles of dark matter or quickly spinning neutron stars. Both theories are equally likely, according to new research. Maps generated by supercomputers confirm that the glow could come from dark matter.

Journal: Physical Review Letters
Funder: Estonian Research Council, Estonian Ministry of Education and Research, European Union Horizon Europe, Israel Science Foundation, Gauss Centre for Supercomputing

A hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy of space immunology

Buck Institute for Research on Aging
Peer-Reviewed Publication

With the advent of commercial spaceflight, an increasing number of people may be heading into space in the coming years. Flying to the moon or living on Mars could become commonplace. One of the major health risks associated with spaceflight involves the immune system; current and past astronauts report clinical issues such as respiratory illnesses and skin rashes. Researchers have put together a comprehensive guide describing a full array of science linking spaceflight and the immune system. The new subdiscipline, called Astroimmunology, is aimed at developing countermeasures to protect those exploring life off of Earth.

Journal: Nature Reviews Immunology

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