The surface of Mars is hostile and unforgiving. But put a few meters of regolith between you and the Martian sky, and the place becomes a little more habitable. Cave entrances from collapsed lava tubes could be some of the most interesting places to explore on Mars, since not only would they provide shelter for future human explorers, but they could also be a great place to find biosignatures of microbial life on Mars.
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'Star Trek: The Mission and Other Stories' offers fans a stellar new anthology
Star Trek Explorer magazine presents "Star Trek: 'The Mission' and Other Stories" anthology, a collection of 14 stories featuring Will Riker, Benjamin Sisko, the Borg and more.
Is K2-18b Covered in Oceans of Water or Oceans of Lava?
In the search for potentially life-supporting exoplanets, liquid water is the key indicator. Life on Earth requires liquid water, and scientists strongly believe the same is true elsewhere. But from a great distance, it’s difficult to tell what worlds have oceans of water. Some of them can have lava oceans instead, and getting the two confused is a barrier to understanding exoplanets, water, and habitability more clearly.
'Star Trek' on Mars? Curiosity rover spots Starfleet symbol on Red Planet
NASA's Curiosity rover found a Mars rock shaped like a Star Trek badge this month. The mission continues to beam up images from the Red Planet after 12 years of work.
Astronomers Rule Out One Explanation for the Hubble Tension
Perhaps the greatest and most frustrating mystery in cosmology is the Hubble tension problem. Put simply, all the observational evidence we have points to a Universe that began in a hot, dense state, and then expanded at an ever-increasing rate to become the Universe we see today. Every measurement of that expansion agrees with this, but where they don’t agree is on what that rate exactly is. We can measure expansion in lots of different ways, and while they are in the same general ballpark, their uncertainties are so small now that they don’t overlap. There is no value for the Hubble parameter that falls within the uncertainty of all measurements, hence the problem.
Moon rock revelations could solve lingering lunar geology puzzle
High-temperature experiments conducted on Earth with lunar rock samples may have finally revealed how a unique type of rock was created and distributed on the moon.
SpaceX rolls rocket to pad for Ax-3 astronaut launch (photos)
SpaceX just rolled its Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule out to the pad for the planned Wednesday (Jan. 17) launch of the private Ax-3 astronaut mission.
Methane Icebergs Could Float in Titan’s Seas
The “magic islands” that appear and disappear in Titan’s methane-ethane seas could be hydrocarbon icebergs, a new study finds.
Hubble Telescope reveals galaxy that hosted a supernova 2.5 billion times brighter than the sun (photo)
The Hubble Space Telescope zoomed into a galaxy 150 million light years away to study a supernova that released 2.5 billion times more energy than the sun, resulting in a stunning image.
Doomed Peregrine moon lander will burn up in Earth's atmosphere — but we don't yet know where
The leak that stopped the Peregrine moon lander's attempt is nearly finished, but the Astrobotic mission is still on track to burn up above Earth instead of reaching its lunar destination.
Last built-for-flight external tank lifted into place for space shuttle Endeavour exhibit
NASA's last-existing, built-for-flight space shuttle external tank took to the sky, briefly leaving the ground to become part of the California Science Center's space shuttle Endeavour exhibit.
Scientists discover cosmic fossil created by erupting supermassive black hole
Giant clouds of cold gas in NGC 4945, were blasted through the spiral galaxy when its central black hole erupted 5 million years ago.
Webb Blocks the Star to See a Debris Disk Around Beta Pictoris
You think you know someone, then you see them in a slightly different way and BAM, they surprise you. I’m not talking about other people of course, I’m talking about a fabulous star that has been studied and imaged a gazillion times. Beta Pictoris has been revealed by many telescopes, even Hubble to be home to the most amazing disk. Enter James Webb Space Telescopd and WALLOP, with its increased sensitivty and instrumentation a new, exciting feature emerges.
A Hot Jupiter With a Comet-Like Tail
About 164 light-years away, a Hot Jupiter orbits its star so closely that it takes fewer than four days to complete an orbit. The planet is named WASP-69b, and it’s losing mass into space, stripped away by the star’s powerful energy. The planet’s lost atmosphere forms a trail that extends about 560,000 km (350,000 miles) into space.
NASA Selects New Technology to Help Search for Life on Mars
The day when human beings finally set foot on Mars is rapidly approaching. Right now, NASA, the China National Space Agency (CNSA), and SpaceX have all announced plans to send astronauts to the Red Planet “by 2040”, “in 2033”, and “before 2030”, respectively. These missions will lead to the creation of long-term habitats that will enable return missions and scientific research that will investigate everything from the geological evolution of Mars to the possible existence of past (or even present) life. The opportunities this will create are mirrored only by the challenges they will entail.
Decade-long Dark Energy Survey offers new insights into the expansion of the universe
Scientists studied 1,500 supernovas to better understand dark energy and the results call the standard model of cosmology into question.
Total solar eclipse 2024: How and where to watch online for free
On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse will be visible across North America. You can watch the action unfold live here.
Gigantic Galaxy Clusters Found Just Before They're Awash in Star Formation
One of the central factors in the evolution of galaxies is the rate at which stars form. Some galaxies are in a period of active star formation, while others have very little new stars. Very broadly, it’s thought that younger galaxies enter a period of rapid star formation before leveling off to become a mature galaxy. But a new study finds some interesting things about just when and why stars form.
NASA's troubled Mars sample-return mission has scientists seeing red
NASA's Mars Sample Return program is the agency’s highest priority in planetary science, but projected multibillion-dollar overruns have some calling the plan a 'dumpster fire.'
Nikon Zf review
The vintage-styled Nikon Zf mirrorless isn't just a pretty face, -10EV autofocusing sensitivity and the widest ISO range in Nikon's Z-series cameras makes this an astro performer.
Why Serious Scientists Are Mesmerized by the Multiverse
The multiverse may be a cool (and convenient) concept for comic books and superhero movies, but why do scientists take it seriously?
