New images of the dwarf planet Ceres, taken from 2,700 miles above by NASA’s Dawn spacecraft, show the surface of this mysterious world in sharper detail than ever before. The new images are of the brightest spots, which are located in a crater about 55 miles across. The largest bright area in this crater is […]
Tag Archives | Mars
Mars may have liquid water
We’ve known for a long time that there is water in the form of ice on Mars. But now, new data from NASA’s rover Curiosity indicates that it’s possible that there is liquid water on the surface of Mars. Scientists from the University of Copenhagen say the water doesn’t freeze because of calcium perchlorate, which […]
Tiny vibrations could reveal extraterrestrial life
Looking for life on other planets is not straightforward. Usually, chemical detection is used, but such tests are limited in scope and might be completely irrelevant to esoteric alien biology. Motion is a trait of all life, but detecting the tiny movements of microorganisms requires incredible sensitivity. Now, Swiss scientists say they have developed an […]
Kepler mission identifies most Earth-like exoplanet yet discovered
An international team of astronomers have announced the discovery of a new rocky planet the same size as Earth that could have liquid water on its surface. The potentially habitable planet, dubbed Kepler-186f, was discovered using data from NASA’s Kepler telescope and verified by the Gemini and Keck telescopes. “What makes this finding particularly compelling […]
Curiosity rover finally demystifies radiation hazards on Mars
A manned mission to Mars doesn’t just depend on overcoming technological hurdles. With no magnetic field and only a thin atmosphere, the surface of Mars is exposed to much greater amounts of radiation than the surface of the Earth. Quantifying the health risks to astronauts from this radiation has been difficult, but thanks to the […]
Mystery object delays Curiosity rover’s soil scooping
A mysterious bright object lying on the Martian surface has delayed the Curiosity rover’s soil sampling activities until mission control can identify the object. NASA said Curiosity’s first scooping activity appeared to go well but the rover team decided to refrain from using the rover’s robotic arm any further due to concerns the object on […]
Curiosity zaps first Martian rock
The rover Curiosity has zapped a fist-sized Martian rock with its laser, producing a cloud of ionized plasma that will be analyzed by Curiosity’s spectrometers. The rock – christened “Coronation” by NASA scientists – was subjected to 30 laser pulses over 10-second period. Each laser pulse delivers more than a million watts of power for […]
First 3-D images from Curiosity
On its first Martian day, the rover has been self-checking its health and so far all activities appear to be completely nominal. Approximately five megabytes of data were successfully relayed back to Earth from NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter during its overpass today. Activities planned for the mission’s approximately one-month characterization activity phase include deploying Curiosity’s […]
Orbiter captures Curiosity’s descent
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has transmitted to Earth an astounding picture of the rover Curiosity as it descends by parachute towards the surface of Mars. The rover was still encased in its protective shell when the picture was taken. Moments later, the shell and parachute were jettisoned and the rover began its powered descent into […]
Live! Curiosity: countdown to Mars landing
Curiosity Transmitting… The first thumbnail pics have been transmitted from its low-res hazcams. The rover’s shadow can be seen in the picture. Control of the mission will now be passed to the surface team. “Today, the wheels of Curiosity have begun to blaze the trail for human footprints on Mars. Curiosity, the most sophisticated rover […]