Study: Trip to Mars Could Weaken Astronaut’s Immune System
Some of the biggest challenges NASA faces, if it is to meet its goal of sending humans to Mars, is making sure its astronauts are kept healthy and safe from harm. Unlike current space flights, a round-trip mission to Mars could take up to 3 years. Cosmic and solar radiation and a weakening of muscles and bones […]
NASA’s Dawn Spacecraft Ends 11-Year Mission
NASA has concluded that the 11-year mission of the Dawn Spacecraft and its exploration of Vesta and Ceres, two of the largest objects in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, has come to an end. According to the space agency, the spacecraft missed scheduled communications sessions with NASA’s Deep Space Network not only on […]
Mars In The News
Two new studies about Mars made news this week. Liquid Water Lake Detected on Mars First, a group of Italian scientists announced that they detected a 20-kilometer-wide lake of liquid water located about 1.5 kilometers beneath the ice of the southern polar ice cap of Mars. The scientists analyzed more than three years of data […]
Building Blocks of Life Discovered on Saturn Moon – Enceladus
NASA’s Cassini mission, which provided a close look of Saturn, its moons, and famous rings came to a blazing end on September 15, 2017. But the data gathered by the 13-year mission continues to provide scientists with new insight into the ringed planet. One of the highlights of the Cassini mission was its discovery of geysers […]
Oumuamua: It’s a Comet, It’s an Asteroid, No, wait, It’s a Comet
An odd rocky cigar-shaped object called Oumuamua made news late last year when it was determined to be of interstellar origin. It was touted as the solar system’s first visitor from another star system. Some scientists first pegged Oumuamua as a comet soon after its discovery. A few months later studies indicated that it was […]
Volcanic Activity Created Martian Geological Oddity
Scientists have long been puzzled by a mysterious formation located near the equator of Mars called Medusae Fossae. A new study from a pair of scientists – Lujendra Ojha and Kevin Lewis – at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore suggests that the large deposit of soft rock was probably formed as a result of violent volcanic eruptions that […]
Pre-Solar System Dust Found in the Atmosphere
A research team led by the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa’s School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology say they have discovered the remains of the formation of the solar system in some interstellar dust. The dust particles, which were gathered in Earth’s atmosphere by NASA aircraft, are thought to have been cast off from […]
Asteroid May Have Immigrated From Another Solar System to Ours
An odd cigar-shaped object name Oumuamua made news late last year when it was determined to be of interstellar origin. It was touted as the solar system’s first visitor from another star system. A new study published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters details the discovery of what scientists are calling the […]
NASA Plans to Fly Helicopter on Mars
There are two robotic rovers traversing and exploring the surface of Mars – NASA’s Opportunity and Curiosity rovers. These rovers, along with two others (Sojourner & Spirit) from past missions, use(d) specially made wheels to get around the Red Planet. Instead of just wheels NASA now wants to try a different way to travel around Mars. […]
How Will Our Sun Die?
Scientists say our Sun has been shining for about the last 4.6 billion years. They also say the Sun is expected to have enough hydrogen to fuel nuclear fusion in its core to allow it to continue shining as it has for about another 5 billion years. Along with creating solar energy, the Sun’s hydrogen […]