Calculations Show Mercury Has a Thin but Dense Crust
Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun, and very little is really known about this hot rocky orb. So far, only two space probes have ever studied Mercury. NASA’s Mariner 10 flew past the planet three times between 1973 and 1974. The flybys allowed scientists to map about half the planet, discover its thin […]
Cosmic Impact May Have Caused Prehistoric ‘Big Freeze’
Scientists say they may have found a link between a dramatic climate shift nearly 13,000 years ago and an asteroid or comet that struck the Canadian province of Quebec. Researchers at Dartmouth College say the comet/asteroid strike took place at the beginning of a global cooling event known as the Younger Dryas stadial or the […]
Curiosity Adjusts to Life on Mars
On its first full solar day on Mars, the Curiosity rover is under going a month-long series of health checks before getting down to its mission of exploring the chemistry of Mars. Curiosity isn’t expected to drill its first drill hole in a Mars rock for about another month or two, according to Rob Manning, […]
Scientists Hope Rover Will Discover If Life Exists on Mars
Excitement is building at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. A little over eight months after its November 2011 launch, NASA’s newest and most advanced Mars rover is set to land on the red planet on Monday, Aug. 6. The Curiosity rover carries the most sophisticated payload of scientific equipment ever used on Mars’ […]