news 2021

The search of life beyond our world is an exciting venture that may yield an enormous discovery in the not-too-distant future. However, space agencies around the world, including NASA and the European Space Agency, have long been aware of the potential risks of biological contamination and have set in place planetary protection policies.

Research aimed at helping astronauts deal with isolation and confinement could also have an impact on those back on Earth suffering from COVID-related loneliness. Researchers in Simon Fraser University's iSpace Lab have created a virtual reality experience-called Earthgazing-which will be tested as part of SIRIUS 2021 , a study launching Nov.

A University of Toronto astronomer's research suggests the solar system is surrounded by a magnetic tunnel that can be seen in radio waves. Jennifer West , a research associate at the Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics, is making a scientific case that two bright structures seen on opposite sides of the sky - previously considered to be separate - are actually connected and are made of rope-like filaments.