From two Sydney students fixing an instrument on the James Webb Space Telescope to a global analogue space mission and new theories on the location of Martian Ice... This is the wrap of the past five Talkin' Science daily bites...

Explosive volcanic eruptions on Mars may have transported water to equatorial regions where it froze into thick ice, according to computer simulations of the red planet's ancient history by US and Italian researchers.

A two-week simulated space mission – the only one of its kind in Australia to join concurrent missions around the world – put a crew through their paces while performing space experiments at the University of Adelaide.

A discovery of binary stars could be the first step in building a more complete picture of how our galaxy formed, according to astronomers from The Australian National University. The discovery is part of an ambitious 10-year program to scan the entire southern sky every few nights.

US scientists have used computer simulations to figure out the best personalities to send on long space missions, like a three year trip to Mars.

Silvia Mantovanini, PhD student at the Curtin University node of ICRAR is beaming in to take us on a deep dive.

A pair of Sydney PhD students helped sharpen the view of humanity's most powerful space observatory – without leaving Earth.

The world is likely to come up against several shortages of critical minerals while transitioning to low-carbon sources of energy, according to international researchers.

Australian and international scientists have found new evidence that may support a controversial idea that a comet exploded over the Earth around 12,800 years ago.

A flexible robotic sheet that can grasp objects and move across surfaces could improve autonomous systems in fields such as exploration, haptic displays and smart healthcare, according to international researchers.

A cosmic dance could be the future of the Milky Way as it tracks a course to collide with neighbouring galaxies, a University of Queensland survey has found.

Astronomers from the International Centre of Radio Astronomy Research have created the largest low-frequency radio colour image of the Milky Way ever assembled.

From the stunning new radio image of the Milky Way to the dancing dwarf galaxies predicting our future and the existensial crisis we're potentially yet to face about minerals for renewable resources...

From the suburbs of Brisbane to the International Space Station, an innovative Australian device embarks on a journey to transform how we understand space environments.

A state-of-the-art mobile Mission Operations Centre (MOC) has been unveiled today at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Sydney, marking a new era in how Australia will support space missions and engage communities across the nation.

The first operational optical ground station network in the Southern Hemisphere, TeraNet, links Australia to the stars.

Following the success of the first pair of W capsule returns to South Australia, Varda Space Industries has announced twenty more will be heading our way in the next three years...

Optimus Viper will be a rapid-response spacecraft variant specifically designed to provide immediate, high-fidelity intelligence and protection for critical space assets.

The biggest bottle neck in any company is documentation. One startup, exhibiting at #IAC2025 aims to clear the logjam by using AI.

Varda invited us to join their fireside chat about the future of the orbital economy with Voyager Technologies - who are pioneering a space station called StarLab to also conduct in orbit manufacturing... As we continue coverage of #IAC2025, dive into this fascinating discussion.

Direct from #iac2025

More from #IAC2025 : Day 2. A press conference on expanding space cooperation between Australia and Europe. Key focuses include the upcoming commissioning of the New Norcia 3 Antenna in Western Australia and the newly announced mandate to begin negotiations on a treaty-level Cooperative Agreement between the European Space Agency and Australia. The long-standing partnership covers deep space communications, navigation, data analysis, mission support, and human spaceflight.

Plus, heads of NASA and the AustralianSpaceAgency sign a Framework Agreement extended the Technology Safeguards Agreement signed last year. We also hear from the Bureau of Meteorology's Space Weather Engagement Lead about forecasting for space activities and ASA's Regulatory leads give us a rundown on how regulation is shaping Australia's space future.

It's the end of the fourth week in August 2025, we went from learning about wastewater contaminants boosting green hydrogen production to peering into a newly forming solar system before learning about the potential explanation for where the dark matter went.

A difference in the behaviour of matter and antimatter has been seen for the first time in the subatomic particles that make up most of the observable Universe, and it might help explain why there is more matter than antimatter in the Universe.