NASA’s Curiosity rover unearths largest organic molecules ever detected on Mars

NASA’s Curiosity rover unearths largest organic molecules ever detected on Mars

In a stunning new development, NASA scientists have confirmed that the Curiosity rover has discovered the largest organic molecules ever found on the Martian surface. The groundbreaking analysis of an existing rock sample, “Cumberland,” within Curiosity’s onboard lab revealed the presence of decane, undecane, and dodecane – compounds with 10, 11, and 12 carbon atoms […]

NASA’s Perseverance Rover Gets the Dirt on Mars

NASA’s Perseverance Rover Gets the Dirt on Mars

The mission’s first two samples of regolith – broken rock and dust – could help scientists better understand the Red Planet and engineers prepare for future missions there. NASA’s Perseverance rover snagged two new samples from the Martian surface on Dec. 2 and 6. But unlike the 15 rock cores collected to date, these newest […]

No Picnic in the Clouds! It’s JPL aerobot

No Picnic in the Clouds! It’s JPL aerobot

JPL’s Venus Aerial Robotic Balloon Prototype Aces Test Flights A scaled-down version of the aerobot that could one day take to the Venusian skies successfully completed two Nevada test flights, marking a milestone for the project. The intense pressure, heat, and corrosive gases of Venus’ surface are enough to disable even the most robust spacecraft […]

Space News: Planetary-scale ‘heat wave’ discovered in Jupiter’s atmosphere

Space News: Planetary-scale ‘heat wave’ discovered in Jupiter’s atmosphere

An unexpected ‘heat wave’ of 700 degrees Celsius, extending 130,000 kilometres (10 Earth diameters) in Jupiter’s atmosphere, has been discovered. James O’Donoghue, of the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), has presented the results this week at the Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC) 2022 in Granada. Jupiter’s atmosphere, famous for its characteristic multicoloured vortices, is also unexpectedly […]

NASA’s Perseverance Rover Investigates Geologically Rich Mars Terrain; Collects ‘Wildcat Ridge’, analyzes with SHERLOC instrument

NASA’s Perseverance Rover Investigates Geologically Rich Mars Terrain; Collects ‘Wildcat Ridge’, analyzes with SHERLOC instrument

NASA’s Perseverance rover is well into its second science campaign, collecting rock-core samples from features within an area long considered by scientists to be a top prospect for finding signs of ancient microbial life on Mars. The rover has collected four samples from an ancient river delta in the Red Planet’s Jezero Crater since July 7, […]

NASA to live coverage Artemis I mission Demonstration Test, Host Media Call [Live schedule, streaming website details]

NASA to live coverage Artemis I mission Demonstration Test, Host Media Call [Live schedule, streaming website details]

NASA will provide live coverage with commentary of the upcoming Artemis I cryogenic demonstration test beginning at 7:15 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, Sept. 21. The demonstration test will allow teams to confirm the repair to a hydrogen leak seen during an early September Artemis I launch attempt, evaluate updated propellant loading procedures, and conduct additional evaluations. The demonstration will conclude […]

30 Doradus: Thousands of stunning young stars in “cosmic tarantula”captured by James Webb telescope

30 Doradus: Thousands of stunning young stars in “cosmic tarantula”captured by James Webb telescope

Thousands of never-before-seen young stars spotted in a stellar nursery called 30 Doradus, captured by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, called Tarantula Nebula owing to its appearance in dusty filaments. The nebula has long been a favorite for astronomers studying star formation and the  Webb has been revealing beautiful distant background galaxies, as well as […]