August 13th, 2019
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Bursts of methane on Mars have been detected by NASA’s Curiosity rover and remote ground-based sensing observations. Seasonal changes in methane background levels and “methane spikes” have been detected on the spot on Mars a few feet above the Martian surface. Larger methane plumes has been identified via ground-based remote sensing, however their origin […]
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NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover is now performing Sol 2495 duties. Recent Curiosity planning began with a bit of a shuffle as scientists learned that the sample cup that was used for Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) Instrument Suite preconditioning over the weekend didn’t seal as well as desired, reports Vivian Sun, a planetary geologist […]
The puzzling and classified U.S. Air Force X-37B space plane appears ready to set a new milestone in its hush-hush current mission: Breaking a new long-duration record in circling the Earth. Also tagged as the Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) – 5 mission, this space plane was lofted into low Earth orbit back on September 7, […]
There’s concern regarding the European Space Agency’s (ESA) ExoMars-2020 becoming ExoMars-2022. The issue involves parachute testing and a series of snags to flight qualify the system. ExoMars teams continue to troubleshoot the parachute design following an unsuccessful high-altitude drop test last week. This ESA ExoMars mission comprises a rover and surface science platform, destined […]
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover is now performing Sol 2491 tasks. Over the weekend, Curiosity successfully dropped off a portion of the Glen Etive drill sample. But reports Claire Newman, an atmospheric scientist at Aeolis Research in Pasadena, California, “for some reason, the sequence was interrupted, so no images of the portion were acquired.” Diagnose the […]
China’s Chang’e-4 farside lander/rover mission has been switched to “dormant mode” for the chilly lunar night. The Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the China National Space Administration has also stated that the Yutu-2 rover has now chalked up 889 feet (271 meters) of wheeled exploration. China’s Chang’e-4 probe was launched on […]
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover is now performing Sol 2488 duties and there’s now official word on Curiosity Mars rover’s recent success. On Sunday morning the team received the message that Curiosity’s latest drill hole was successful at “Glen Etive.” This is the 22nd full-depth drill hole on Mars, and we can celebrate its success on […]
Space 2.0: How Private Spaceflight, a Resurgent NASA, and International Partners are Creating a New Space Age by Rod Pyle; BenBella Books, Dallas, Texas; paperback: 320 pages, $21.95. This is a well-researched, well written, and handsomely illustrated volume by well-known space expert and historian, Rod Pyle. Documented in its pages is the flourishing, new era […]
A new study has determined that the Moon is significantly older than previously believed. Earlier research had estimated the Moon to have formed approximately 150 million years after the solar system’s formation. This new finding has been spearheaded by Earth scientists at the University of Cologne’s Institute of Geology and Mineralogy, constraining the age […]
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover is now performing Sol 2485 duties. “We are go for drilling at Glen Etive 1,” reports Lucy Thompson, a planetary geologist at University of New Brunswick. Scientists have received the results of the Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) and Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) compositional analysis of the prospective drill target, as […]
