March 8th, 2019
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NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover is now performing Sol 2341 science work. The rover is finishing up at the “Midland Valley” outcrop, work that also included inspection of a wide range of new images. “In those images the team discovered a block that allows a unique 3D view of the rocks in the area,” reports Susanne […]
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A new study looks into the possibility of searching for black hole starships using very high energy gamma ray telescopes. Louis Crane, a mathematician at Kansas State University, has authored – “Searching for Extraterrestrial Civilizations Using gamma Ray Telescopes” – and underscores the speculative thought that the object Oumuamua was in fact a probe sent […]
International experiments carried onboard China’s Chang’e-4 farside mission are gathering good data, report their principal investigators. The Lunar Lander Neutrons & Dosimetry experiment (LND) is part of the Chang’e-4 lander payload. The LND instrument has two major science objectives: 1) dosimetry for human exploration of the Moon and 2) contribute to heliospheric science as an […]
An audit of the SETI Institute has been performed by the NASA Office of Inspector General. Over the past 25 years, NASA has, according to Agency officials, provided only three grants totaling $1.6 million for research associated with the direct search for extraterrestrial intelligent life through the use of electromagnetic signals, the OIG report explains. […]
Taking the plunge to map potential water resources on Mars is the SWIM project. The Subsurface Water Ice Mapping (SWIM) effort is cross-cutting. Results can help the ongoing search for signs of life on Mars, as well as identify future landing sites for human expeditions. Mapping products SWIM is a project led by Planetary Science […]
Incoming asteroids may be harder to break than scientists previously thought, finds a Johns Hopkins study that used a new understanding of rock fracture and a new computer modeling method to simulate asteroid collisions. The findings, to be published in the March 15 print issue of Icarus, can aid in the creation of asteroid impact […]
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover is now engaged in Sol 2339 science tasks. The robot has performed a full menu of science activities, finishing observations at the “Midland Valley” outcrop, reports Rachel Kronyak, a planetary geologist at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Workspace rock targets Curiosity has primarily used its Mastcam and Chemistry […]
China’s Yutu-2 farside lunar rover has traveled about 416 feet (127) meters within the Von Kármán crater in the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin. Yutu-2, or Jade Rabbit-2, is now taking a “noon break” as the temperature on the lunar surface rises extremely high, reports China’s Xinhua’s news service. The robot is slated to resume […]
You want your own set of Moon legs? Zero Gravity Corporation (ZERO-G) will partner with Space Florida to take fans onboard a special-purpose aircraft to demonstrate the feeling of exploring the Moon’s surface. This parabolic flight will recreate lunar gravity and allow riders to float with the ease of carrying one-sixth their normal body weight. […]
Japan’s Hayabusa2 made a successful first touchdown and sampling operation February 22, 2019 (JST) at asteroid Ryugu. Mission planners are moving forward with the next event – the experiment to form an artificial crater using the Small Carry-on Impactor (SCI). A second touchdown will be done inside or outside the artificial crater formed with the […]
