The Open University

The Open University provides update following the launch of Peregrine lunar lander

12 January 2024

Shortly after launch, Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander experienced a failure in the propulsion system, causing a critical loss of propellent. Astrobotic announced due to the failure, Peregrine will not achieve a soft lunar landing for this mission. Efforts by the Astrobotic team have recovered the spacecraft and allowed Peregrine to remain operationally stable collecting data about […]

Andrew Malkinson talks of ‘lifesaver’ study for OU degree while wrongly jailed

8 January 2024

Former Open University student Andrew Malkinson said studying for an Open degree while wrongly jailed for rape for 17 years was a ‘lifesaver’. During his guest-editor slot on the Radio 4 flagship news programme, where he recently interviewed his OU tutor Dr David Giddings, he said the maths and physics modules of his course were […]

Lift-off planned for historic mission to the Moon

5 January 2024

Peregrine Mission One will begin its journey from Florida to the Moon no earlier than January 8, 2024, on a historic mission that will pave the way for future exploration and long-term human presence in space. Onboard will be the Peregrine Ion Trap Mass Spectrometer (PITMS), which was developed in partnership between The Open University […]

OU academic, Professor Mark Brandon, awarded The Polar Medal in the New Years Honours list

30 December 2023

Mark Brandon, Professor of Polar Oceanography, at The Open University has been awarded The Polar Medal by His Majesty King Charles III in recognition of his outstanding work and contribution to the scientific knowledge of the Polar Regions. Mark has been at The Open University for over 20 years and has been Professor of Polar Oceanography since 2018 […]

Undergraduate Research Bursary Programme at the School of Mathematics and Statistics Empowers Future PhD Hopefuls

28 December 2023

In a bid to nurture aspiring researchers and provide them with experience in the world of academia, the School of Mathematics and Statistics offers a research bursary programme that aims to offer a unique research experience for individuals contemplating future pursuits of PhD degrees. Under this programme, successful bursary holders will have the opportunity to […]

Watch this year’s Royal Institution Christmas Lectures: The Truth About AI

22 December 2023

Join Professor Mike Wooldridge for this year’s Royal Institution (RI) Christmas Lectures, as he tackles arguably the most important and rapidly-evolving field of science in the world today – artificial intelligence. Beginning on Tuesday 26 December, the first of three new Open University / BBC co-produced programmes The Royal Institution Christmas Lectures – The Truth […]

Open University graduate and falsely accused ex-prisoner, Andrew Malkinson, to guest edit Radio 4’s Today Programme

19 December 2023

Open University graduate and falsely accused ex-prisoner, Andrew Malkinson, who was released from prison in July 2023 after serving 17 years for a rape he did not commit, will appear as a guest editor on Radio 4’s Today Programme. Together with the Today team, Andrew has created a programme on 29 December that will look […]

The disagreement between two climate scientists that will decide our future

11 December 2023

Robert Chris, The Open University and Hugh Hunt, University of Cambridge Getting to net zero emissions by mid-century is conventionally understood as humanity’s best hope for keeping Earth’s surface temperature (already 1.2°C above its pre-industrial level) from increasing well beyond 1.5°C – potentially reaching a point at which it could cause widespread societal breakdown. At […]

OU scientist uncovers evidence of a long lost planet

11 December 2023

A researcher at The Open University (OU), Ben Rider-Stokes, has investigated a unique, vivid, green meteorite classified as Northwest Africa (NWA) 8535. This sample is part of a distinct group of meteorites originating from an asteroid/planet that no longer exists in the modern-day Solar System known as angrites (which formed 4,564 million years ago). Usually, […]

Pivotal moment for humanity as the threats and opportunities from climate tipping points accelerate

6 December 2023

The world has reached a pivotal moment as threats and opportunities from climate system tipping points accelerate, a new report shows. A tipping point occurs when a small change sparks an often rapid and irreversible transformation, and the effects can be positive or negative. The Global Tipping Points Report – the most comprehensive assessment of […]

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Category: Science, maths, computing and technology