Could we find alien technology embedded in moon dust?

The bold idea, not yet peer-reviewed, suggests checking out the lunar surface for "microscopic technosignatures." The SETI Institute — or the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute — describes these technosignatures as "tiny engineered particles" that may have come from interstellar space before settling on the moon.

The institute recently highlighted a paper on the topic, published on arxiv in August, and added the research is undergoing peer review for consideration in the International Journal of Astrobiology. The study is led by SETI Institute Affiliate Scientist Lewis Pinault.

"The moon has been quietly accumulating material from space for billions of years, much of it likely billions of years older than the moon itself," said Pinault in a statement. "We're asking whether that ancient collection might contain microscopic traces of technologies that existed long before humans ever looked up at the sky."

Even if no aliens turn out to be there, the search could help advance models of how dust goes through interstellar space, as well as effects on lunar geology or impact science, the institute added.

"The study reports no evidence of extraterrestrial technology," the institute added in the statement. "Instead, it demonstrates that searching for these microscopic technosignatures is now scientifically testable."

That's in large part because the NASA-led Artemis program, which will ultimately bring astronauts to the moon, as well as China's Chang'e robotic series, would provide opportunities to return samples, the institute said. (China is also eyeing bringing its taikonauts to the moon by 2030.)

SETI is best known for looking for artificial radio signatures in space that may have come from extraterrestrials. This new study, the institute added, is focusing more on past alien communities that may have preserved their knowledge in "durable particles," even if the communities are no longer in existence.

The study examines how these particles could (in theory) move from star to star, stay viable over long distances and periods, embed themselves in the lunar surface and then — if humans could find them — use AI-assisted imaging, materials analysis and microscopy to take a closer look, among other techniques.

Helping in that search is the environment of the moon itself, which — compared with Earth, at least — has slow-moving geology. As the institute points out, the surface has no flowing water or substantial atmosphere like our planet does. What's more, the moon has picked up dust in its environment for about four billion years (from not long after the solar system was formed 4.5 billion years ago), presenting a potential archive of dust in the solar system and interstellar space.

"The researchers argue that if advanced civilizations produce durable microscopic debris — whether intentionally or as a byproduct of space exploration or large-scale engineering — a tiny fraction of those particles could eventually become embedded in the lunar regolith," the institute stated.

The goal is to start these studies with about 35 cubic feet (one cubic meter) of lunar regolith, which is maybe the equivalent size of a fridge. Researchers would try out a series of careful investigations using multiple tools to "begin placing meaningful limits on the amount of durable artificial material produced by technological civilizations over the history of the Milky Way."

And as mentioned, even if this small sample doesn't turn up technosignatures, the researchers say the work is still important. It's another way to search for "extraterrestrial artifacts," to look at various aspects of solar system science, and to try out newer tools for examining moon samples that weren't available in the Apollo years.

"This is a novel addition to the search methodologies applied to seeking evidence of technology as a proxy for life and intelligence beyond our solar system and we are excited at the prospect of bringing this to fruition," stated Bill Diamond, SETI Institute president and CEO.

NASA astronaut Jessica Meir just shared some tips for controlling curls in the tough environment of microgravity — and it was a big deal for curly-haired people like me.

Meir's hair-care advice came Wednesday (Sept. 9) in a 5.5-minute video she posted to X from the International Space Station (ISS), where everything floats and "where curls are even more free to be what they want to be," the Expedition 75 astronaut wrote.

And if you think all this talk about hair care sounds frivolous, take it from a fellow curly: the representation matters. More on that in a moment, but first, let's see how Meir takes care of her curly hair in microgravity.

According to Meir, washing in orbit requires no-rinse shampoo, especially focusing on the scalp, where sweat and salt build up. She has less access to hair products than we do here on Earth, as you would imagine, so she keeps it simple: a careful squeeze of her pouch of water, then working the expelled water along her hair roots, and also rubbing it on the scalp. Meir then uses a "dedicated T-shirt" to dry her hair, which she described as thick as well as curly.

In between treatments, Meir avoids brushes (for pretty obvious reasons of frizz) and uses her hands and fingers instead to "work" her hair. Luckily, humidity is not much of an issue on the ISS, but she does use leave-in conditioner: "My Earthly 3a curls become more like 3c," she said. Meir has been on the ISS since February, and she said she's looking forward to having an actual shower when she gets back home to Earth.

OK, so about that representation. My editor asked me to talk not only about Meir's video but also my own connections to her words, which brings up some teenage angst. In the 1990s, I was (then, as now) a curly-haired person who was just (bitterly) old enough to remember all the curly rock stars of my childhood in the '80s. But dare to wear curls in my school in like, 1994? As if! Lame!

All the young women around me were rocking the flat-haired "Rachel from 'Friends'" look that would take thick-haired curlies like me forever to achieve. I couldn't be bothered — I like sleep! Which apparently was enough for my classmates (of any gender) to deliver unprintable and sometimes racist insults, or to hide their faces from me because I was "ugly," or to spread rumors that I carried hair lice, and so forth. I couldn't believe it; other kids were sporting awesome and stand-out 'dos like mullets and mushroom cuts, so what was wrong with curls?

To be clear, as a 40-something I now have perspective: I later learned that some of my classmates had complex (even tragic) issues of their own contributing to the bullying, and I have no idea how other kids in my classes fared with their hairdos. The real lesson learned is that representation matters, inclusivity is possible and inclusivity matters across multiple dimensions. While looks may not sound important, at first glance, they really are: curly hair is a dimension of diversity. (I know I am just one female voice, with white U.K. ancestry; other people with curly hair will have different perspectives.)

So, back to the curly-hair-space-care routine: as a fellow curly, can I confirm that it stands up? Yes it does. While I'm no astronaut like Meir, I can offer you an analog: the two weeks I spent in 2014 at the Mars Society's Mars Desert Research Station in rural Utah, during which my crew was able to shower every two days, if we were lucky.

On that simulated Red Planet mission, I also used no-rinse shampoo to save on water, only combed (never brushed) my hair when it was wet, and mostly wore it bun-style to protect the curls in the meantime. While it took me two showers to feel normal when I at last reached a hotel room with running water, my hair bounced — so to speak — back quickly. That shows my curls are resilient, and since my 20s I've felt lucky to have them; my hair takes me a minimum of work or styling besides a quick wash and comb, and — as long as I don't touch my hair after it's wet — it's happy.

And to all those kids teasing me back in the day, allow me a moment of moon joy: NASA's Christina Koch sported curly hair during NASA's Artemis II lunar mission earlier this year. Koch herself, by the way, later spoke about her moon-mission braids at an event in my literal city in Canada (as, speaking of representation, I'm Canadian). Yes, of course there was more to this historic mission than hair: I covered Artemis II's science and activities at numerous in-person events for three-plus years, and some of its crew members for 17 years. But to see curls on a person looping around the moon? Bonus.

Every curly-haired person's experience is different, however, so I'd like to hear from you. There's a comment section with this article to chat about microgravity (or analog) curly-hair care, other curly-haired astronauts, or similar topics. Let us know your thoughts.

Three of NASA's Artemis II astronauts are starting off the school year with new assignments.

Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman and pilot Victor Glover, both NASA astronauts, will transition into "emeritus status" in September, the space agency announced on Wednesday (Sept. 9). Meanwhile, Canadian mission specialist Jeremy Hansen shared a video on X on Tuesday (Sept. 8) concerning his already-announced transfer from active duty to reserve status in the Canadian military.

The fourth Artemis II astronaut, NASA mission specialist Christina Koch, appears to still be on active duty, as no announcements have been made saying otherwise.

The Artemis II quartet flew around the moon in April, becoming the first people to go beyond low Earth orbit since 1972. The historic journey was widely expected to be the last step in active astronaut duty for at least some of the mission's four astronauts, especially Hansen, who had waited for a flight assignment for 17 years in part due to how Canadian Space Agency funding is allocated. (Robotics provided by the CSA form a minority share of international space partnerships with NASA, and astronaut flight rates are tied to funding.)

The Artemis II astronauts made a series of public appearances together this summer, culminating on Aug. 28 when President Trump awarded them the Congressional Space Medal of Honor. Hansen was only the second non-American to receive the award, which had previously been given to just 30 astronauts total.

While NASA's Wednesday announcement about Glover and Wiseman did not explicitly state that the duo are exiting active astronaut duty, their new role is described as allowing the astronauts to assist NASA as consultants and "individuals with a high degree of technical and professional knowledge," while allowing them to do other things.

The two astronauts are expected to help NASA plan future Artemis program missions. "I'm grateful they will continue sharing what they learned with our astronauts, flight controllers and engineers as we prepare for Artemis III in 2027 and the missions that follow," NASA administrator Jared Isaacman said in the statement.

Glover, who also retired from the U.S. Navy recently, will now assume a full-time role at his alma mater, California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, which has aerospace and space programs. The news was announced by the university on Wednesday, but the position took effect on Sept. 1. Glover will be an administrative leader providing advice to senior leadership on education, research and workforce strategies, according to Cal Poly.

"The most meaningful moments of my NASA career were supporting astronauts and their families through missions, and mentoring interns and new hires as they began their own journeys in technical and public service," Glover wrote Wednesday in a post on X about the career change.

Wiseman did not share any specific updates about his career plans on social media. The astronaut also exited active astronaut duty temporarily between 2020 and 2022 when he was chief of the astronaut office for NASA, a role that precludes flying in space as the chief is involved in flight assignments. Wiseman left that role and resumed active astronaut duty before being assigned to Artemis 2, which occurred shortly before the public announcement of the mission's crew in April 2023.

"NASA gave me tremendous responsibility, supported me through two space missions — and my time as chief astronaut — and was always there for my family when we needed it most," Wiseman said in the NASA statement about his career change. "I'm thrilled to continue serving future missions and programs through the emeritus program."

Hansen's Artemis 2 duties officially concluded on Sept. 2, according to his X account, and the astronaut — who has been based out of Houston since 2009 — posted a new video of himself Wednesday walking in the woods in Canada. Hansen said he has retired as a colonel with the Royal Canadian Air Force and is now a reservist working with 3 Canadian Space Division, which is essentially Canada's Space Force.

"The intention of that is to continue to serve Canada and government — the Canadian Space Agency — when it makes sense, to help us take advantage of some of the extraordinary opportunities that are before us right now," Hansen said in the video, adding that he will divulge more details about that work shortly.

Hansen also said he accepted a role as honorary national president with the Canadian military's Air Cadet League of Canada, which the astronaut has often said helped equip him with both flying and leadership skills when Hansen was growing up.

Additionally, Hansen pledged to "continue to share the moon joy" both as an individual and with his crew. For example, he recently joined a Canadian keynote-speakers bureau in which he plans to speak about how to accomplish personal "moonshots." In October, Hansen will also co-release "Earthrise: A Canadian Astronaut's Journey Into Deep Space" (HarperCollins Publishers, 2026) — a book that discusses his career and Artemis 2 — which he co-wrote with Canadian author John Larsen.

NASA's long-distance spacecraft-calling network just got a boost.

The Deep Space Network (DSN), best known for communicating with distant spacecraft such as Voyager 1, Voyager 2 and New Horizons, added a 114-foot (34-meter) radio-frequency antenna in California, boosting capacity on the increasingly crowded network.

More than 40 spacecraft exploring the solar system and interstellar space use DSN, which has struggled to keep pace with growing demand. Communications with the uncrewed Artemis 1 mission in 2022 and the crewed Artemis 2 mission in 2026 took priority as they traveled around the moon, substantially reducing the network's capacity to support other missions.

At least as early as 2021, managers were warning that despite ongoing efforts to add new antennas to DSN, the agency cannot reach all deep-space missions at once.

"We're trying to add capacity and more antennas, but we can't keep up with the demand that's currently out there, so missions should expect to be getting less availability," Brad Arnold, DSN manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), said during a presentation attended by Space News. Arnold also warned that the Artemis moon program would be "the gorilla in the room," because the astronauts by default have to be prioritized over robotic spacecraft: "That ultimately will affect our ability to service the rest of the missions."

That's because the DSN is designed to serve both human and robotic deep-space spacecraft. While JPL (then under contract to the U.S. Army) had three spacecraft radio-tracking stations in Nigeria, Singapore, and California ready for the early space program in 1958, the DSN with more powerful dishes was established in December 1963 as "the de facto network for missions into deep space," state JPL materials from the 50th anniversary celebration in 2013.

The DSN helped relay communications from Apollo 11's historic moonwalk by NASA astronaut Neil Armstrong's on July 20, 1969, and has since supported countless milestones. This includes images from Mars rovers starting in the 1990s and data showing that both Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 crossed into interstellar space in the 2010s.

These days, Artemis isn't the only extra demand on DSN; other space agencies also use the network for their own spacecraft, to a much greater degree than 50 years ago as space exploration has matured. NASA is also planning a permanent Moon Base near the lunar south pole as soon as the 2030s, although the agency does promise the base will, in its third phase, include "a coordinated lunar network supporting communications across Moon Base assets."

The DSN operates three complexes — at Goldstone in California, near Madrid in Spain and Canberra in Australia — each of which includes a large 230-ft (70m) antenna alongside several smaller dishes. The new antenna is about half that size and is co-located at Goldstone. It came online on Aug. 3, tracking NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory.

DSS-23 is the fifth of six new 34-meter antennas planned under the DSN's Aperture Enhancement Project, which began in 2009. The project is expected to be completed when the sixth antenna, DSS-33, comes online at the Canberra complex in 2029.

The expansion has also taken longer and cost more than originally planned. A 2015 NASA Office of Inspector General report estimated the project at $362.4 million, but by the start of fiscal year 2023, expected costs had risen by 68% to $706 million and the project was nearly five years behind schedule. NASA now expects the final enhancement antenna to come online in 2029.

Nearby Earth, an iconic series of orbiting U.S. government satellites called Landsat have collectively been charting minerals and climate change for more than 50 years.

What if we can do the same thing in space? A new NASA early-stage project, whimsically named "Interworld Slingshot Resource Surveys", aims to bring "Landsat-style mineral intelligence" to other worlds, including the moon. NASA is aiming to put a moon base on the lunar surface in the 2030s that would be staffed by astronauts, as the U.S. tries to secure access to helium-3 and other minerals on the surface ahead of China. Being able to scout for minerals ahead of landing and setting up a base would be a huge boon for the United States' lunar ambitions.

The newly funded concept — which doesn't appear to have an official nickname or acronym, so we will call it "Slingshot" for short — isn't meant to address that big task all at once, but to be a Phase 1 study for a far-future Discovery-class (large) mission. The spacecraft could fly from world to world, scanning destinations such as the moon, an asteroid near Earth, or a target like the Mars moon Phobos, said principal investigator Pablo Sobron, a research scientist at the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute, in a statement.

"The thing most likely to stop space mining may be that we cannot afford to prove there is anything worth mining," Sobron said. "Land in the wrong place and you can lose an entire exploration program or a company, and nobody has enough money to keep sending spacecraft and hoping for the best."

The overall aim is to not only prove a spacecraft could make it that far, but also to see if Raman spectroscopy — which is commonly used close up to look for minerals or water by NASA's Perseverance mission on Mars, for example — could work from orbit or a flyby. The technique uses reflected light from a laser popped at a target to see the molecular structure of a mineral, which in turn reveals the mineral's composition.

"The main challenge for Interworld Slingshot Resource Surveys is the distance involved," SETI stated. "Raman scattering is very faint and hard to detect. The project team says that only about one photon in 10 trillion is Raman-scattered. Sobron's earlier long-distance Raman tests reached about 120 meters [393 feet]. This study is looking at whether useful measurements can be made from much farther away, around 30 to 50 kilometers [19 to 31 miles]."

Slingshot received a Phase 1 grant from the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program, which aims to prove out conceptual ideas into something that could be nudged into further development.

NIAC has funded dozens of grants over the years, but illustrating the difficulty of and long development cycles to bring things into space, not much has made it out of the atmosphere yet. A notable NIAC success story was SNAPPY, the Solar Neutrino Astro-Particle Physics CubeSat, which reached space earlier this year aboard SpaceX.

Slingshot will use the Phase 1 funding to study photons (particles of light) to be used and detected by the spectrometer, along with lasers, pointing, and spacecraft propulsion and orbits. The concept received up to $175,000 over nine months and next in line would be trying to receive more lucrative Phase 2 NIAC funding over two years.