Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko is richer in organic molecules than scientists thought, which could have implications for how life on Earth began.
Space News & Blog Articles
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Jupiter showcases aurorae, hazes (NIRCam widefield view)
Image: Jupiter showcases aurorae, hazes (NIRCam widefield view)
New water map of Mars will prove invaluable for future exploration
A new map of Mars is changing the way we think about the planet’s watery past, and showing where we should land in the future.
Why we're always so entranced by the moon
For practically all of human existence, we've been fascinated by our closest celestial neighbor, incorporating it into myth, fantasy and scientific research.
China is building a huge ring of telescopes to study eruptions on the sun
China is building the world's largest array of telescopes dedicated to studying the sun with the aim of understanding coronal mass ejections which can cause chaos on and above Earth.
Launch of NASA's epic Artemis 1 moon mission just 1 week away
NASA's historic Artemis 1 mission will launch toward the moon one week from today (Aug. 22), if all goes according to plan.
A month on 'Mars': Journey to the 'Planet of the Apes Valley'
On day six it was time for our first traverse away from the Haughton-Mars Project base on Devon Island in the Arctic.
How Weak Will Astronauts Feel When They First set Foot on Mars After Months in Space?
In the coming decade, in 2033, NASA and China intend to send astronauts to Mars for the first time in history. This presents numerous challenges, ranging from logistical and technical issues to ensuring that astronauts can deal with waste and have enough food and water for the months-long transit to and from Mars. But of course, there’s also the health and safety of the astronauts, who will be spending months traveling through space where they’ll be exposed to cosmic radiation and microgravity. There are even concerns that after months of exposure to microgravity, astronauts will have trouble adapting to Martian gravity.
Were Phobos and Deimos Once a Single Martian Moon That Split up? Not Likely, says New Study
The origin of Phobos and Deimos, the two Martian moons, has been a mystery to astronomers. These two bodies are a fraction of the size and mass of the Moon, measuring just 22.7 km (14 mi) and 12.6 km (7.83 mi) in diameter. Both have a rapid orbital period, taking just 7 hours, 39 minutes, and 12 seconds (Phobos) and 30 hours, 18 minutes, and 43 seconds (Deimos) to complete an orbit around Mars. Both are also irregular in shape, leading many to speculate that they were once asteroids that got kicked out of the Main Belt and were captured by Mars’ gravity.
Photos: SLS moon rocket rolls to launch pad
NASA’s first Space Launch System moon rocket arrived on pad 39B early Aug. 17 after an overnight rollout from the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Three mannequins installed on Orion spacecraft for flight around the moon
One of the three mannequins on the Artemis 1 mission, dubbed “Commander Moonikin Campos,” is shown inside he Orion crew module in this Aug. 3 photo. Credit: NASA/Frank Michaux
Three instrumented mannequins strapped into seats on NASA’s Orion spacecraft awaiting liftoff on the first flight of the huge Space Launch System rocket will help engineers evaluate the human experience for future astronauts trips to the moon.
Another of the Lucy Mission’s Asteroids has a Moon
There is still so much we don’t know about the asteroids. Various missions have already been sent to some near Earth and in the asteroid belt, but there are just so many that it is hard to keep track of them all. Lucy, NASA’s mission to the Trojan asteroids, is supposed to help with that, but even it doesn’t know what it is getting into. Apparently, there are even more things to explore than the mission designers initially thought when it launched. Rather than visiting seven asteroids as originally envisioned, the discovery of another asteroid in orbit around Polymede means the mission will be visiting nine asteroids in total.
Mars and Moon Dust can be Turned Into Geopolymer Cement. Good Enough for Landing Pads and Other Structures
Materials science has long taken the lead in space exploration research, and it seems to have been getting even more attention than usual lately. That is especially true for building materials. NASA has funded several new research programs to develop new building materials that can do everything from providing structure to future human habs to landing pads for future reusable rocket missions. Now that second goal is one step closer, thanks to researchers at the University of Delaware.
Mars InSight Doesn’t Find any Water ice Within 300 Meters Under its Feet
Space science doesn’t always go as planned. Sometimes when scientists think they’ve made a remarkable discovery that will make human expansion into the cosmos easier, they are just flat-out wrong. But the beauty of science is that it corrects itself in the presence of new data. The people responsible for planning future Mars missions will have to make just such a correction as new data has come in on the availability of water on the red planet. There’s not as much of it as initially thought. At least not around the equator where InSight landed.
Watch NASA's Artemis 1 SLS megarocket moon launch for free with these live webcasts
NASA has just announced its free livestream coverage plans for the Artemis 1 launch
Propulsion deal offers boost for Scottish horizontal space launches
Shane Clark, vice president of Astraius’ engineering and program execution division, poses with models of the Astraius rocket and a C-17 cargo aircraft. Credit: Astraius
UK-based horizontal launch company Astraius says it’s on track for a first launch in spring 2024 from Prestwick Spaceport in Scotland after signing deals with two key suppliers for its innovative rocket.
'Magical' rock crystals found at Stone Age ceremonial site in England
Hundreds of fragments of a rare transparent type of quartz called "rock crystal" were used to decorate Neolithic graves and other structures at a ceremonial site in the west of England, archaeologists say.
Scientists blast atoms with Fibonacci laser to make an 'extra' dimension of time
The new phase was made by firing lasers at 10 ytterbium ions inside a quantum computer.
SpaceX cargo capsule returns to Earth with leaky NASA spacesuit
SpaceX’s Cargo Dragon spacecraft departs the International Space Station on Friday. Credit: NASA
SpaceX’s Cargo Dragon spacecraft splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean northeast of Cape Canaveral Saturday, wrapping up a 37-day flight to the International Space Station and returning home with experiments and a leaky spacesuit for troubleshooting.
For the first time, scientists have named a heat wave
For the first time, authorities have given a heat wave a name. Scientists hope that naming extreme heat events will help the public protect itself.
Photobombing exoplanets might thwart search for extraterrestrial life
Exoplanet images might be contaminated by the light from their neighbors, a new study suggests, but scientists are learning how to remove the effects of these photobombers.
