EU-Russia Relations: Russian weapons test blamed for space junk threatening space station

A Russian weapons test created more than 1,500 pieces of space junk now threatening the seven astronauts aboard the International Space Station, according to U.S. officials who called the strike reckless and irresponsible.

The State Department confirmed Monday that the debris was from an old Russian satellite destroyed by the missile.

Read more at: Russian weapons test blamed for space junk threatening space station | Euronews

Outer Space: Astronomers detect biggest explosion in history of the universe

Researchers say the blast is the biggest since the Big Bang. It occurred at the center of a galaxy cluster 390 million light years away.

Read more at:
https://www.dw.com/en/astronomers-detect-biggest-explosion-in-history-of-the-universe/a-52564205

Internet: Google looks to SpaceX to beam Internet from outer space

Google is reportedly close to finalizing a ten-figure deal aimed at hooking up far-off areas with Internet access from outer space. What may sound like science fiction could become reality this decade.

The Internet giant is said to be close to investing as much as $1 billion (860 million euros) in the development of SpaceX satellites, which would beam inexpensive Internet to billions of people in remote corners of the world currently cut off from the World Wide Web. That's according to sources familiar with the plans, US business daily The Wall Street Journal and online publication The Information reported on Tuesday.

"By extending Web access, Google increases the number of people who can use its services," Wall Street Journal wrote.

"Internet connectivity significantly improves people's lives. Yet two thirds of the world have no access at all," Google told British daily The Guardian last summer. "It's why we're so focused on new technologies - from Project Loon to Titan Aerospace - that have the potential to bring hundreds of millions more people online in the coming years.”

Read more: Google looks to SpaceX to beam Internet from outer space | Business | DW.DE | 20.01.2015

NASA: Why Mars Rover Curiosity Is Likely to Find 'Martians'

Curiosity Rover

With the rover Curiosity now safely on Mars, the world will be seeing lots of video in the coming months and years from the planet's surface.

The six-legged, nuclear-powered $2 billion robot has already sent back images of Gale Crater where it landed, and it's soon on its way toward a 3-mile-high mountain nearby. Scientists — and indeed the entire world — are watching with bated breath to see what Curiosity can find as it spends the next two years digging, sampling, probing, and analyzing on the Red Planet's rocky surface.

Many will also be looking for evidence of life on Mars, and Curiosity may provide it — even if it's not there. NASA footage has long been fodder for UFO buffs and conspiracy theorists who comb through countless photos and hours of video looking for evidence of alien life (or evidence that NASA is covering up evidence of extraterrestrials).

Read more: Why Mars Rover Curiosity Is Likely to Find 'Martians' | Space.com