NASA JPL boss quits
The Register reports on the director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory suddenly stepping down for “personal reasons”:
… Read the rest “NASA JPL boss quits”During the November 2024 staff cuts, Leshin
space exploration
Science Art: MRO Fairing Installation, 2005.
On a fiberglass sailboat, “fairing” is a thin coat of epoxy meant to smooth out all tiny bumps and creases that sanding can’t catch in order to make the hull move through… Read the rest “Science Art: MRO Fairing Installation, 2005.”
Science Art: Iceland’s Coast Shows Hints of Spring, March 2024
A photo from the NASA PACE Ocean Sciences gallery.
The Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem mission is a satellite observatory created by Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) which… Read the rest “Science Art: Iceland’s Coast Shows Hints of Spring, March 2024”
Too much space junk.
The European Space Agency has an unfortunate report about future satellites. They’re much closer to running out of room because, as Science Alert puts it, there’s just too… Read the rest “Too much space junk.”
Far side of the moon’s fiery past.
Space reveals that the far side of the moon was once a vast, glowing ocean of magma, according to samples retrieved by a Chinese lunar lander:
… Read the rest “Far side of the moon’s fiery past.”The Chang’e 6 mission launched in early
Science Art: Mars, Olympus Mons near the terminator, Andrea Luck, 2025
This is the largest volcano in our solar system, as far as anybody knows — the mighty Olympus Mons, as snapped by the ESA Mars Express mission’s HRSC, or High-Resolution Stereo… Read the rest “Science Art: Mars, Olympus Mons near the terminator, Andrea Luck, 2025”
So just how much life are we already spreading into space?
Mashable wants to know (along with NASA researchers) just what kind of critters are sticking to the International Space Station or surrounding it like an invisible cloud of living things… Read the rest “So just how much life are we already spreading into space?”
NASA Mars rover spots “possibilities for microbial habitability.”
Mashable carries news from NASA’s Curiosity rover, which has found traces that ancient ripples left on primordial lake beds, which prove that far from being an ice-covered badland,… Read the rest “NASA Mars rover spots “possibilities for microbial habitability.””
Asteroid Bennu rich in ancient life-sustaining stuff.
IFL Science reports on the 121-gram sample that NASA’s OSIRIS-REx probe collected from Asteroid Bennu — a handful of dirt that shows a wealth of chemicals necessary to form… Read the rest “Asteroid Bennu rich in ancient life-sustaining stuff.”
Mars lander following its nose
Advances in Space Research has a novel idea for a Martian lander. Instead of mapping out the likeliest landing spot from way down here on Earth well ahead of time, a lander could be equipped… Read the rest “Mars lander following its nose”
Science Art: Mars – Jezero Crater – NASA’s Perseverance Landing, Feb 18,2021
This is a piece of art, or scientific illustration, I found on the Flickr account of Andrea Luck, though the full credit is NASA/JPL-Caltech/Simeon Schmauß/AndreaLuck. Schmauß apparently… Read the rest “Science Art: Mars – Jezero Crater – NASA’s Perseverance Landing, Feb 18,2021”
Daddy-daughter alien decoding.
The European Space Agency reports on the team who successfully decoded an “alien” transmission actually sent by a probe orbiting Mars as part of a multidisciplinary project… Read the rest “Daddy-daughter alien decoding.”
Science Art: Europa Clipper, Artist’s Concept, by NASA/JPL-Caltech
This is an artist’s concept of a space probe orbiting Europa, the icy moon of Jupiter that might just hide life in the oceans miles below its frozen surface.
You can read more about the… Read the rest “Science Art: Europa Clipper, Artist’s Concept, by NASA/JPL-Caltech”
Science Art: NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 at NASM (NHQ202303280029), 2023
As the image description tells it:
… Read the rest “Science Art: NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 at NASM (NHQ202303280029), 2023”NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, left, Jessica Watkins, center, and Robert Hines, right, are seen in the in the One World Connected gallery looking at
SONG: Oceans Under Mars
SONG: “Oceans Under Mars”. (WAV version here.)
ARTIST: grant.
SOURCE: PhysOrg, 12 Aug 2024, “Scientists find oceans of water on Mars. It’s just too deep to tap.… Read the rest “SONG: Oceans Under Mars”