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Webb Detects Tiny Quartz Crystals in Clouds of Hot Gas Giant

October 16, 2023
Researchers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have detected evidence for quartz nanocrystals in the high-altitude clouds of WASP-17 b, a hot Jupiter exoplanet 1,300 light-years from Earth. The detection, which was uniquely possible with Webb’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument), marks the first time that silica (SiO2) particles have been spotted in an exoplanet atmosphere. “We were…
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5 Things to Know About NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications

October 11, 2023
NASA’s pioneering Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) experiment will be the first demonstration of laser, or optical, communications from as far away as Mars. Launching with NASA’s Psyche mission to a metal-rich asteroid of the same name on Thursday, Oct. 12, DSOC…
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NASA’s Webb Captures an Ethereal View of NGC 346

October 10, 2023
One of the greatest strengths of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is its ability to give astronomers detailed views of areas where new stars are being born. The latest example, showcased here in a new image from Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), is NGC 346 – the brightest and largest star-forming region in the Small Magellanic Cloud. The Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) is a satellite…
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6 Things to Know About NASA’s Asteroid-Exploring Psyche Mission

October 5, 2023
With a launch readiness date set for Thursday, Oct. 12, NASA’s Psyche spacecraft will travel 2.2 billion miles from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to a metal-rich asteroid in the far reaches of the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Trailing a blue glow…
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NASA Sets Coverage for Psyche Spacecraft Launch to Metal World

October 5, 2023
NASA will provide coverage of the upcoming prelaunch and launch activities for its Psyche mission to a metal-rich asteroid. Launch is targeted for 10:16 a.m. EDT Thursday, Oct. 12, on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in…
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NASA Invites Public to Share in Excitement of Psyche Mission

October 4, 2023
NASA is inviting the public to take part in virtual activities ahead of the launch of NASA’s Psyche spacecraft. The Psyche spacecraft will travel about 2.2 billion miles to study a metal-rich asteroid of the same name. The asteroid, which lies in the outer portion of the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, may be part of a core of a planetesimal (a building block of a planet) and can…
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NASA’s Perseverance Captures Dust-Filled Martian Whirlwind

September 30, 2023
The lower portion of a Martian dust devil was captured moving along the western rim of Mars’ Jezero Crater by NASA’s Perseverance rover on Aug. 30, 2023, the 899th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. The video, which was sped up 20 times, is composed of 21 frames taken…
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NASA-Led Study Pinpoints Areas of New York City Sinking, Rising

September 28, 2023
Parts of the New York City metropolitan area are sinking and rising at different rates due to factors ranging from land-use practices to long-lost glaciers, scientists have found. While the elevation changes seem small – fractions of inches per year – they can enhance or…
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Historic Wind Tunnel Facility Testing NASA’s Mars Ascent Vehicle Rocket

September 25, 2023
The MAV (Mars Ascent Vehicle) team recently completed wind tunnel testing at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in a facility that has been a critical part of NASA missions going all the way back to the Apollo program. The same facility that provided valuable testing for NASA missions to low-Earth orbit and the Moon is now helping the agency prepare to launch the first rocket from Mars. The MAV…
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