Two Martian Probes Set to Orbit Red Planet
Two unmanned spacecraft headed to Mars, one launched by the United States and the other by India, will soon reach the Red Planet within days of each other. NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) probe, launched November 18 is set for insertion into Mars orbit (MOI) on Sunday, September 21. India’s first interplanetary spacecraft, […]
Science Scanner: Mars Rover Sets Off-Earth Distance Record; Infants Smell Mom’s Fear
Opportunity Mars Rover Sets Record Although NASA’s newest Mars rover, Curiosity, has hogged most of the attention since landing on the Red Planet nearly two years ago, Opportunity, the space agency’s Mars rover, which preceded its newer sibling by about 8 years, is the one to set a new record. Opportunity mission officials said that, […]
Science Images of the Week
Science Images of the Week
Science Scanner: Curiosity’s Mars Selfie, Jurassic Caterpillar & an X-ray of Dark Matter?
Odd X-ray Signal Might be Sign of Dark Matter Strange X-ray emissions from galaxy clusters– hundreds of galaxies connected to each other by gravity–are providing clues about mysterious dark matter. Dark matter–if it really does exist–is thought to be invisible, doesn’t produce or attract light, and makes up a majority, 84.5 percent, of the matter […]
NASA Delves into Deep Recesses of Mars
NASA hope exploring the deep recesses of Mars will give scientists insight into the early history of Earth. The US space agency recently gave the green light for the construction of a new lander that will examine the deep interior of the red planet. Scientists hope learning more about the composition, layering and processes of […]
Ancient Zircon Reveals Age of Earth’s Crust
A tiny sliver of ancient zircon reveals the crust of our planet formed at least 4.4 billion years ago—160 million years after the birth of the solar system, according to a new study. Earth itself is believed to be about 4.5 billion years old. The researchers examined some of the oldest materials ever found on […]
Evidence of Water Vapor Found on Dwarf Planet Ceres
Scientists have found signs of water vapor on the dwarf planet known as Ceres. “This is the first time water vapor has been unequivocally detected on Ceres or any other object in the asteroid belt and provides proof that Ceres has an icy surface and an atmosphere,” said Michael Küppers of the European Space Agency. […]
Curiosity Determines Age of Martian Rocks
The Curiosity Rover has accomplished yet another first as it continues its amazing journey across the Martian landscape. Scientists from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have been able to successfully determine the age of a Martian rock. But what makes this finding special is that, for the first time, scientists have been able to […]
Fresh Water Once Flowed in Ancient Mars Lake
NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory – Curiosity Rover – was sent to Mars some 16 months ago with a major objective of finding evidence of a past environment that would be well suited to supporting microbial life. Today, a team of mission researchers, writing in a series of papers published in the journal Science, said that […]