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Six Things About Opportunity'S Recovery Efforts![]() Pasadena CA (JPL) Aug 17, 2018 NASA's Opportunity rover has been silent since June 10, when a planet-encircling dust storm cut off solar power for the nearly-15-year-old rover. Now that scientists think the global dust storm is "decaying" - meaning more dust is falling out of the atmosphere than is being raised back into it - skies might soon clear enough for the solar-powered rover to recharge and attempt to "phone home." No one will know how the rover is doing until it speaks. But the team notes there's reason to be optimisti ... read more |
The Science Team Continues to Listen for Opportunity as Storm DiminishesPasadena CA (JPL) Aug 17, 2018 The planet-encircling dust storm on Mars continues to decay, although in fits and starts. Atmospheric opacity (tau) over the rover site was estimated down near 2.1, but then popped up to 2.5. ... more
Planet-Encircling Dust Storm of Mars shows signs of slowingPasadena CA (JPL) Aug 15, 2018 The planet-encircling dust storm on Mars continues to show indications of decay. Dust-lifting sites have decreased and surface features are starting to emerge. There are indications that the a ... more
Still no change in Opportunity's statusPasadena CA (JPL) Aug 08, 2018 There is no news since the last status update. As reported last week, the planet-encircling dust storm on Mars is showing indications of peaking and perhaps decaying. Dust lifting sites have d ... more
Aerojet Rocketdyne delivers power generator for Mars 2020 RoverLos Angeles CA (SPX) Aug 08, 2018 Aerojet Rocketdyne, in collaboration with Teledyne, recently delivered the electrical power generator for NASA's Mars 2020 rover to the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Idaho National Laboratory (I ... more |
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| Previous Issues | Aug 17 | Aug 16 | Aug 15 | Aug 14 | Aug 13 |
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Mars makes closest approach to Earth in 15 yearsLos Angeles (AFP) July 31, 2018 Earth's neighboring planet, Mars, is closer than it has been in the past 15 years, offering unusually bright views of the Red Planet's auburn hues. ... more
Scientists looking for ways to grow crops on Red PlanetMoscow (Sputnik) Jul 31, 2018 While humans prepare to land on Mars and eventually colonize it, the question about what people will eat on the Red Planet looms large. Indeed, generating a stable supply of food poses a major ... more
Mars terraforming not possible using present-day technologyGreenbelt MD (SPX) Jul 31, 2018 Science fiction writers have long featured terraforming, the process of creating an Earth-like or habitable environment on another planet, in their stories. Scientists themselves have proposed terra ... more
Crewed Missions Beyond LEOBethesda, MD (SPX) Jul 31, 2018 Sending humans to Mars has been a dream of scientists and a large part of the population ever since Nicolaus Copernicus first postulated that it was a planet, about 500 years ago. Even before that f ... more
Evidence of subsurface Martian liquid water bolsteredTucson AZ (SPX) Jul 30, 2018 The announcement of the presence of liquid water beneath the surface of Martian poles validates research published by PSI Senior Scientist Stephen Clifford back in 1987. A paper published in t ... more |
![]() Life on Mars: Japan astronaut dreams after lake discovery
What Looks Like Ceres on EarthPasadena CA (JPL) Jul 30, 2018 With its dark, heavily cratered surface interrupted by tantalizing bright spots, Ceres may not remind you of our home planet Earth at first glance. The dwarf planet, which orbits the Sun in the vast ... more |
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New family photos of Mars and Saturn from HubbleMunich, 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 grea ... 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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India's Second Moon Mission as "Complex" as NASA's Apollo Mission New Delhi (Sputnik) Aug 14, 2018
The Indian Space Agency had planned the launch of its second moon mission for October this year, but scientists reviewing their preparedness suggested that more tests were needed before the launch. The mission is now likely to be preceded by Israel's moon mission, planned for December this year.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has announced the postponement of its much-awaite ... more |
China unveils Chang'e-4 rover to explore Moon's far side Beijing (XNA) Aug 17, 2018
China's moon lander and rover for the Chang'e-4 lunar probe, which is expected to land on the far side of the moon this year, was unveiled Wednesday.
Images displayed at Wednesday's press conference showed the rover was a rectangular box with two foldable solar panels and six wheels. It is 1.5 meters long, 1 meter wide and 1.1 meters high.
Wu Weiren, the chief designer of China's lun ... more |
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Earth mini-moons: Potential for exciting scientific and commercial opportunities Washington DC (SPX) Aug 14, 2018
The detection of "mini-moons" - small asteroids temporarily captured in orbit around Earth - will vastly improve our scientific understanding of asteroids and the Earth-Moon system, says a new review published in Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Science. These small and fast-moving visitors have so-far evaded detection by existing technology, with only one confirmed mini-moon discovery to date. ... more |
Study helps solve mystery under Jupiter's coloured bands Canberra, Australia (SPX) Aug 10, 2018
Scientists from Australia and the United States have helped to solve the mystery underlying Jupiter's coloured bands in a new study on the interaction between atmospheres and magnetic fields.
Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system. Unlike Earth, Jupiter has no solid surface - it is a gaseous planet, consisting mostly of hydrogen and helium.
Several strong jet streams flo ... 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 |
First satellite to measure global winds set for launch Paris (AFP) Aug 19, 2018
A satellite designed to measure Earth's global wind patterns is set to be hoisted into orbit Tuesday from the Arianespace launch site in French Guiana.
The European Space Agency's (ESA) Aeolus mission - named for the guardian of wind in Greek mythology - promises to improve short-term weather forecasting and our understanding of manmade climate change.
"Meteorologists urgently need rel ... more |
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NASA Administrator Views SLS Progress During First Visit to Marshall Huntsville AL (SPX) Aug 17, 2018
Completing a three-day tour spanning three states, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine made his first visit to the Rocket City as the agency's administrator on Wednesday, Aug. 15. Bridenstine spent the day at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, where he was briefed on space station science operations, technology development and Space Launch System (SLS) progress.
Sig ... more |
Scientists discovered organic acid in a protoplanetary disk Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia (SPX) Aug 17, 2018
The importance of the finding is that the organic acid is much more difficult to obtain than other organic molecules found in protoplanetary discs before. If methanol is obtained from carbon monoxide on the surface of dust particles under stellar radiation, then formic acid requires more complex reactions, which are not possible without active processes of organic synthesis.
'We have found ... more |
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Drones fly to rescue of Amazon wildlife Mamiraua Reserve, Brazil (AFP) Aug 16, 2018
A hoarse sound abruptly wakes visitors staying at a floating house that serves as a base for environmentalists on the Jaraua river in the Amazon rainforest.
During flood season, the Mamiraua Sustainable Development Reserve - located 500 kilometers (310 miles) from the Amazonas state capital Manaus - fills with water.
For researchers from the Mamiraua Institute and WWF-Brazil, that mean ... more |
Parker Solar Probe marks first mission milestones on voyage to Sun Laurel MD (SPX) Aug 20, 2018
Just two days after launch on Aug. 11, 2018, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, NASA's Parker Solar Probe achieved several planned milestones toward full commissioning and operations, announced mission controllers at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, or APL, in Laurel, Maryland.
On Aug. 13, the high-gain antenna, which Parker Solar Probe uses to communicate high- ... more |
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Aerojet Rocketdyne Expands Solid Rocket Motor Center of Excellence at Arkansas Facility Little Rock AR (SPX) Aug 17, 2018
Aerojet Rocketdyne, a leader in the development and manufacture of aerospace and defense products, has announced plans to expand its Southern Arkansas facility near Camden, where the company manufactures solid rocket motors and warheads critical to national defense.
Aerojet Rocketdyne's currently envisioned expansion plans include investing in new infrastructure and creating more than 140 ... more |
Astronomers find far fewer galaxies than they expected Los Angeles CA (SPX) Aug 20, 2018
University of California astronomers, including three from UCLA, have resolved a mystery about the early universe and its first galaxies. Astronomers have known that more than 12 billion years ago, about 1 billion years after the Big Bang, the gas in deep space was, on average, much more opaque than it is now in some regions, although the opacity varied widely from place to place. But they weren ... more |
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Household phenomenon observed by Leonardo da Vinci finally explained Cambridge UK (SPX) Aug 09, 2018
An everyday occurrence spotted when we turn on the tap to brush our teeth has baffled engineers for centuries - why does the water splay when it hits the sink before it heads down the plughole?
Famous inventor and painter Leonardo da Vinci documented the phenomenon, now known as a hydraulic jump, back in the 1500s. Hydraulic jumps are harmless in our household sinks but they can cause viol ... more |
Unraveling the nature of 'whistlers' from space in the lab Washington DC (SPX) Aug 16, 2018
Scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles present new research on a curious cosmic phenomenon known as "whistlers" - very low frequency packets of radio waves that race along magnetic field lines.
This first-of-its-kind study, appearing in the Physics of Plasmas, from AIP Publishing, provides new insights into the nature of whistlers and space plasmas - regions of energized p ... more |
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Robot wars: China shows off automated doctors, teachers and combat stars Beijing (AFP) Aug 19, 2018
Robots that can diagnose diseases, play badminton and wow audiences with their musical skills are among the machines China hopes could revolutionise its economy, with visitors to a Beijing exhibition offered a glimpse of an automated future.
The popular stars of this year's World Robot Conference, which ends Sunday, were undoubtedly the small, amateur-made "battle bots" which smashed, hammer ... more |
China unveils Chang'e-4 rover to explore Moon's far side Beijing (XNA) Aug 17, 2018
China's moon lander and rover for the Chang'e-4 lunar probe, which is expected to land on the far side of the moon this year, was unveiled Wednesday.
Images displayed at Wednesday's press conference showed the rover was a rectangular box with two foldable solar panels and six wheels. It is 1.5 meters long, 1 meter wide and 1.1 meters high.
Wu Weiren, the chief designer of China's lun ... more |
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