Mars Once Abundant With Water
Past observations made by a number of Mars probes, such as the Curiosity rover and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, have suggested that Mars once had an abundance of water flowing over its surface. Now, an international team of scientists say their recent research suggests that an ancient ocean that held more water than Earth’s Arctic […]
Science Scanner: Venus Mission Ends, Organic Chemistry on Mars, Hormone Changes in Expectant Dads, New High in CO2 Output
ESA’s Venus Express Mission Ends The European Space Agency (ESA) announced this week that the space probe it sent to orbit Venus back in 2006 has reached the end of its life. Called the Venus Express, the spacecraft ran out of its propellant after executing a number of thruster burns that returned the probe to […]
Volcanic Activity Linked to A Warm and Wet Ancient Mars
Exploratory missions to Mars, such as NASA’s Curiosity Rover, have provided more and more evidence that Mars at one time was warm enough for water to flow on its surface. Now a new study published in the journal “Nature Geoscience” has found that those ancient, warm periods on the Red Planet probably took place in […]
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 […]
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 […]