Week in images: 10-14 June 2024
Space News & Blog Articles
Tune into the SpaceZE News Network to stay updated on industry news from around the world.
Earth from Space: Heel of Italy
Image: The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over a section of Italy’s heel in the southern part of the boot-shaped peninsula.
Former SpaceX employees sue company, Elon Musk for retaliation, sexual harassment
Eight former SpaceX employees are suing the company and its founder and CEO, Elon Musk, alleging sexual harassment and wrongful termination.
NASA is Considering Other Ways of Getting its Mars Samples Home
In 2021, NASA’s Perseverance rover landed in the Jezero Crater on Mars. For the next three years, this astrobiology mission collected soil and rock samples from the crater floor for eventual return to Earth. The analysis of these samples is expected to reveal much about Mars’ past and how it transitioned from being a warmer, wetter place to the frigid and desiccated place we know today. Unfortunately, budget cuts have placed the future of the proposed NASA-ESA Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission in doubt.
NASA telescope spots 'cosmic fireworks' and faint echos from the Milky Way's supermassive black hole
NASA's NuSTAR telescope found evidence of cosmic fireworks and X-ray echoes coming from the Milky Way's supermassive black hole Sagittarius A*.
Billion-dollar disasters have been sweeping across the US this year
There have been nearly a dozen billion-dollar disasters so far this year, with two powerful severe weather events adding to the list in May.
'The spacecraft really reacted great:' NASA astronauts praise Boeing Starliner’s performance (video)
The first astronauts to fly Boeing's new Starliner vehicle have spoken of the spacecraft in glowing terms.
Bark! Meow! Cluck! NASA uses lasers to beam pictures of pet dogs, cats and chickens to the ISS
NASA is testing how infrared light can transfer far more information than radio frequency communications.
NASA's Chandra X-ray telescope captures closest super star cluster to Earth (image)
NASA's Chandra X-ray space telescope has imaged Westerlund 1, the largest and closest super star cluster to Earth, in stunning detail.
Mars meteorites reveal clues about what lies within the Red Planet
Volcanic meteorites from Mars give scientists a glimpse into the planet's structure.
Sulphur Makes A Surprise Appearance in this Exoplanet’s Atmosphere
At our current level of knowledge, many exoplanet findings take us by surprise. The only atmospheric chemistry we can see with clarity is Earth’s, and we still have many unanswered questions about how our planet and its atmosphere developed. With Earth as our primary reference point, many things about exoplanet atmospheres seem puzzling in comparison and generate excitement and deeper questions.
Scientists find a surprise ingredient in exoplanet cake mix — sulfur dioxide
The presence of sulfur dioxide around a hot Neptune exoplanet with an evaporating atmosphere could help us understand how it formed.
Hubble Telescope maps high-speed 'burps' from nearby feeding supermassive black hole for 1st time
Hubble has mapped the outflow "burps" of a nearby feeding supermassive black hole-powered quasar for the first time, measuring speeds of 6.5 million mph, around 8,500 times the speed of sound.
Secrets of radioactive 'promethium' — a rare earth element with mysterious applications — uncovered after 80-year search
Scientists have revealed key properties of radioactive promethium, a rare earth element with poorly understood applications, using a groundbreaking new method.
NASA calls off spacewalk at International Space Station due to 'spacesuit discomfort'
NASA has postponed a scheduled EVA today (June 13), as the two astronauts slated for the spacewalk were already putting on their suits.
Catching Comet 13P Olbers This Summer
A little known periodic comet graces northern hemisphere summer skies.
Short-lived Experiment Marks Start of Radio Astronomy from the Moon
Despite a mission glitch, NASA’s lunar radio experiment ROLSES (carried to the Moon on the Odyssesus lander in February) obtained a unique "view" of Earth.
Hera and its CubeSats speak with mission control
ESA’s Hera asteroid mission and its two CubeSats interacted as if they were in space, within the foam pyramid-lined walls of the Agency’s Maxwell test chamber in the Netherlands. The trio communicated together, sharing data and ranging information at the same time as their Hera mothership received commands from its mission controllers at the European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany.
ESA prepares for its first open day in the UK
ESA is getting ready to show thousands of visitors how space improves life on Earth at its very first open day to be held in the UK.
The Inner and Outer Milky Way Aren’t the Same Thickness, and that’s Surprising
At first glance, the universe and night sky seem largely unchanging. The reality is very different, even now, a gas cloud is charging toward the Milky Way Galaxy and is expected to crash into us in 27 million years. A team of astronomers hoping to locate the exact position of the expected impact site have been unsuccessful but have accidentally measured the thickness of the Milky Way! Analysing radio data, they have been able to deduce the thickness of the inner and outer regions and discovered a dramatic difference between the two.
