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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Curiosity Finds a Couple of Life’s Building Blocks on Mars
NASA says their Mars roaming laboratory, Curiosity, has found fresh evidence near the surface of the Red Planet that suggests it could have once supported ancient life. The rover also found evidence, in the Martian Atmosphere, that could link into the space agency’s search for current life on the planet. According to NASA, the new […]
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. […]
ESA Mars Orbiter Gets A Software Upgrade
If you own any kind of computing device, whether it’s a smartphone, tablet, laptop or desktop computer, you know sooner or later that you’re going to have to update or install new software to keep it functioning. The same thing can also be said about spacecraft that have been in service for a while. The […]
Life May Exist Among the Clouds of Venus
The search for extraterrestrial life has included examining the possibilities within and outside of the solar system. It has been thought that Mars and a couple of the moons of Saturn and Jupiter may hold the chance of having ET life. It’s also thought by some that a number of Earthlike extrasolar or exoplanets residing […]
Science Images – January 2018
Light Pollution Increasing; No Flowing H20 on Mars; Keeping Cows Happy
Light Pollution Continues to Ruin View of Night Sky More of us are becoming unable to witness the full breathtaking beauty and majesty of the sparkling Milky Way because of a growing problem called light pollution. According to oxforddictionaries.com, light pollution is defined as the brightening of the night sky caused by street lights and […]
Eek! Spiders and Snakes; Interstellar Visitor; Sugar Boosts Cancer Growth
Why We Don’t Like Spiders and Snakes Two of the most common fears among people from around the world are arachnophobia, which is a fear of spiders and ophiophobia, the fear of snakes. Whether they live in rural communities or in the heart of a big city, most people generally get, at least, a little […]