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New family photos of Mars and Saturn from Hubble![]() Munich, Germany (SPX) Jul 27, 2018 In summer 2018 the planets Mars and Saturn are, one after the other, in opposition to Earth. During this event the planets are relatively close to Earth, allowing astronomers to observe them in greater detail. Hubble took advantage of this preferred configuration and imaged both planets to continue its long-standing observation of the outer planets in the Solar System. Since the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope was launched, its goal has always been to study not only distant astronomical objects, b ... read more |
Is Mars' Soil Too Dry to Sustain Life?Moffett Field CA (SPX) Jul 25, 2018 Life as we know it needs water to thrive. Even so, we see life persist in the driest environments on Earth. But how dry is too dry? At what point is an environment too extreme for even microorganism ... more
Mars Express Detects Liquid Water Hidden Under Planet's South PoleNoordwijk, Netherlands (ESA) Jul 26, 2018 Evidence for the Red Planet's watery past is prevalent across its surface in the form of vast dried-out river valley networks and gigantic outflow channels clearly imaged by orbiting spacecraft. Orb ... more
Opportunity Continues in a Deep Sleep Beneath Raging Dust StormPasadena CA (JPL) Jul 25, 2018 The dust storm on Mars is continuing as a Planet-encircling Dust Event (PEDE). The storm has sustained high atmospheric opacity conditions over the Opportunity site for several weeks. The last ... more
Mars Passes Closest to Earth Since 2003 on July 31stBoston MA (SPX) Jul 26, 2018 After a slow crawl across the predawn darkness earlier this year, Mars is finally moving into the evening sky - just as it comes its closest to Earth in 15 years. According to Sky and Telescope maga ... more |
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| Previous Issues | Jul 26 | Jul 25 | Jul 24 | Jul 23 | Jul 20 |
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Rare Red Moon and Mars in Evening Sky on 27 JulyLondon, UK (SPX) Jul 24, 2018 Skywatchers [in have a double treat in store on 27 July: the longest total lunar eclipse of the 21st century and Mars at its brightest for many years. The red planet and the (temporarily) red Moon w ... more
Name Europe's robot to roam and search for life on MarsLondon, UK (ESA) Jul 23, 2018 The UK Space Agency has launched a competition to name a rover that is going to Mars to search for signs of life. Due to launch in 2020, the UK-built rover is part of ESA's ExoMars mission. It ... more
Martian Atmosphere Behaves as OneNoordwijk, The Netherlands (ESA) Jul 19, 2018 Understanding the Martian atmosphere is a key topic in planetary science, from its current status to its past history. Mars's atmosphere continuously leaks out to space and is a crucial factor in th ... more
Opportunity's Science Team Remains VigilantPasadena CA (JPL) Jul 19, 2018 The dust storm on Mars is continuing as a Planet-encircling Dust Event (PEDE) with no indication of receding at this time. The storm has sustained high atmospheric opacity conditions over the ... more
NASA May Have Destroyed Evidence for Organics on Mars 40 Years AgoMoscow (Sputnik) Jul 13, 2018 While the existence of native carbon-based organic compounds on the Red Planet was confirmed only in 2014, some suggest that the discovery could have been made a long time ago. Back in 1976, N ... more |
![]() Undergrad Mines Data from Curiosity Rover in Search for Life
Seasonal 'spiders' emerge on Mars' surfaceWashington (UPI) Jul 16, 2018 In late winter on Mars, 'spiders' begin to emerge on the Martian surface. NASA's newest featured image, captured earlier this year by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, showcases the spindly geological formations. ... more |
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Scientists Discover "Ghost Dunes" On MarsWashington DC (SPX) Jul 12, 2018 Scientists have discovered hundreds of crescent-shaped pits on Mars where sand dunes the size of the US Capitol stood billions of years ago. The curves of these ancient dune impressions record the d ... more
NASA listens out for Opportunity everydayPasadena CA (JPL) Jul 09, 2018 The dust storm on Mars is continuing as a Planet-encircling Dust Event (PEDE) with no indication of receding at this time. Again, since the last contact with the rover on Sol 5111 (June 10, 20 ... more
Airbus wins two ESA studies for Mars Sample Return missionToulouse, France (SPX) Jul 09, 2018 Airbus has won two studies from the European Space Agency (ESA) to design a Sample Fetch Rover and an Earth Return Orbiter. These two elements will be critical parts of a mission to return samples o ... more
UK space sector set to benefit from new European Space Agency contractLondon, UK (SPX) Jul 09, 2018 A new rover set to visit Mars and collect the first ever samples from the planet to be brought back safely to Earth, will be designed in Stevenage by Airbus following the award of a 3.9 million poun ... more
Mars to Pamper Gazers With Stunning Sight Amid NASA's Dust Storm ConcernsWashington DC (Sputnik) Jul 06, 2018 On July 27 and several days afterwards, the Red Planet will become especially visible due to a so-called "opposition," with Earth coming equally close both to Mars and the sun, international media r ... more |
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At 60, NASA shoots for revival of moon glory days Tampa (AFP) July 27, 2018
Sixty years ago, spurred by competition with the Soviet Union, the United States created NASA, launching a journey that would take Americans to the moon within a decade.
Since then, the US space agency has seen glorious achievements and crushing failures in its drive to push the frontiers of space exploration, including a fatal launch pad fire in 1967 that killed three and two deadly shuttle ... more |
China developing in-orbit satellite transport vehicle Beijing (XNA) Jul 23, 2018
China is developing a space vehicle to help transport orbiting satellites that have run out of fuel, Science and Technology Daily reported Thursday.
Fuel is a key factor limiting the life of satellites. Most satellites function for years after entering orbit, but eventually, they have to end their missions and burn up into the atmosphere due to fuel exhaustion.
The vehicle is being d ... more |
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China Focus: Capture an asteroid, bring it back to Earth? Beijing (XNA) Jul 24, 2018
Next time when your kids ask you to bring them a star from the sky, you don't have to shrug and walk away. Tell them to wait, instead.
A group of Chinese scientists are mulling a bold idea to capture a small near-Earth asteroid, which might be a potential threat, and bring it back to Earth to exploit its resources.
"Sounds like science-fiction, but I believe it can be realized," said ... more |
'Ribbon' wraps up mystery of Jupiter's magnetic equator Leicester UK (SPX) Jul 25, 2018
The discovery of a dark ribbon of weak hydrogen ion emissions that encircles Jupiter has overturned previous thinking about the giant planet's magnetic equator.
An international team of scientists led by the University of Leicester has identified the weakened ribbon of H3+ emissions near the jovigraphic equator using the NSFCam instrument at the NASA InfraRed Telescope Facility, the first ... more |
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Cassini data yields super sharp infrared images of Titan Washington (UPI) Jul 19, 2018
Cassini disappeared into Saturn's atmosphere late last year. But the spacecraft continues to yield impressive images.
This week, NASA shared a series of super sharp infrared images of Saturn's moon Titan, compiled using 13 years of data collected by the probe's Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer, or VIMS instrument.
The moon's hazy atmosphere prevents clear observations of ... more |
Preparing to fly the wind mission Aeolus Kourou, French Guiana (ESA) Jul 25, 2018
The launch of Aeolus - ESA's mission to map Earth's wind in real-time - is getting tantalisingly close, with the satellite due for lift-off on 21 August from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. With the wind in their sails, mission teams are busily preparing this unique satellite for its upcoming journey.
Aeolus will carry a sophisticated atmospheric laser Doppler instrument, dubb ... more |
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Sky's no limit: Japan firm to fly wedding plaques into space Tokyo (AFP) July 24, 2018
The sky is no longer the limit for lovers looking for unusual ways to commemorate their nuptials, with a Japanese company now offering to blast commemorative wedding plaques into space.
Warpspace, a start-up based in Tsukuba City outside Tokyo, is introducing the new service in partnership with a local hotel popular for wedding banquets.
For about 30,000 yen ($270), newly-weds marrying a ... more |
WSU researcher sees possibility of moon life Pullman WA (SPX) Jul 24, 2018
While the Moon is uninhabitable today, there could have been life on its surface in the distant past.
In fact, there may have been two early windows of habitability for Earth's Moon, according to a study online in the journal Astrobiology by Dirk Schulze-Makuch, an astrobiologist at Washington State University.
Schulze-Makuch and Ian Crawford, a professor of planetary science and ast ... more |
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Insitu awarded contract for RQ-21 unmanned aerial vehicles Washington (UPI) Jul 24, 2018
Insitu has received an $8.9 million order for spare parts and maintenance services for an existing contract for RQ-21A unmanned aerial vehicles.
Work on the contract, announced Monday by the Department of Defense, will be performed in Bingen, Wash., and is expected to be completed by March 2019. Marine Corps fiscal 2017 procurement funds in the amount of $8.9 million will be obligated a ... more |
Red planet and 'blood moon' pair up to dazzle skygazers Paris (AFP) July 27, 2018 The longest "blood moon" eclipse this century will coincide with Mars' closest approach in 15 years on Friday to offer skygazers a thrilling astronomical double bill.
Viewers will need no protective eye gear to observe the spectacle - unlike when watching solar eclipse.
"All you have to do is... go outside!" the Royal Astronomical Society in London advises.
For about half the world, ... more |
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SpaceX launches, lands rocket in challenging conditions Washington (UPI) Jul 25, 2018
SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket carried 10 Iridium satellites into orbit on Wednesday. The rocket blasted-off early Wednesday morning from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
"All 10 satellites have deployed into an on-target orbit," Spaceflight Now's Stephen Clark reported at 8:53 a.m. ET.
As usual, SpaceX safely landed the rocket's reusable first stage. The rocket stage landed on ... more |
NASA Launches X-ray Telescope on Sounding Rocket to Study Star Wreckage Greenbelt MD (SPX) Jul 26, 2018
NASA launched a prototype telescope and instrument to observe the X-rays emitted by Cassiopeia A, the expanding debris of an exploded star. The High-Resolution Microcalorimeter X-ray Imaging Rocket (Micro-X) launched July 22 aboard a sub-orbital launch vehicle called a sounding rocket and successfully tested its detector technology.
"The flight time of a sounding rocket is short compared t ... more |
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GRAVITY Confirms Predictions of General Relativity Near Galactic Center Paris, France (SPX) Jul 27, 2018
Observations made with the Very Large Telescope (VLT) of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) have, for the first time, detected the effects of general relativity predicted by Einstein, in the movement of a star passing into the intense gravitational field of Sagittarius A*, a massive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way.
These results were obtained by the GRAVITY consortium, led b ... more |
World's fastest man-made spinning object could help study quantum mechanics West Lafayette IN (SPX) Jul 23, 2018
Researchers have created the fastest man-made rotor in the world, which they believe will help them study quantum mechanics.
At more than 60 billion revolutions per minute, this machine is more than 100,000 times faster than a high-speed dental drill.
"This study has many applications, including material science," said Tongcang Li, an assistant professor of physics and astronomy, and ... more |
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Russia Mulls Sending Two of Its FEDOR Humanoid Robots Into Space Next Year Moscow (Sputnik) Jul 23, 2018
The ambitious FEDOR project has received a number of upgrades in recent years, with plans to make the robots self-learning and even to use them to create colonies on the moon and fly solo space missions in the early 2020s.
A source in the Russian space and rocketry industry has told Sputnik that a team of two FEDOR (Russian acronym Final Experimental Demonstration Object Research) robots m ... more |
China developing in-orbit satellite transport vehicle Beijing (XNA) Jul 23, 2018
China is developing a space vehicle to help transport orbiting satellites that have run out of fuel, Science and Technology Daily reported Thursday.
Fuel is a key factor limiting the life of satellites. Most satellites function for years after entering orbit, but eventually, they have to end their missions and burn up into the atmosphere due to fuel exhaustion.
The vehicle is being d ... more |
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