Although the concept of transmitting solar energy from space has been around since 1968, it seems that scientists have finally achieved a successful experiment. The Space Solar Power Demonstrator (SSPD-1), a prototype created by a team of researchers from Caltech, has collected sunlight, converted it into electricity, and transmitted it to microwave receivers on a rooftop at Caltech’s Pasadena campus. The experiment also demonstrates that the SSPD-1 can withstand the journey to space and the harsh conditions of the space environment, as it was launched on January 3. “As far…

A third of the planets orbiting the Milky Way’s most common stars may contain liquid water and harbor life, according to a new study based on the latest telescope data. Most of the common stars in our galaxy are relatively smaller and cooler. Their mass is at most half that of the Sun. Billions of planets orbit these ordinary dwarf stars. Two-thirds of the planets around these small, ubiquitous stars could be exposed to extreme tides, sterilizing them, explains the analysis published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of…