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Space

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Stay informed with the latest space news. Explore the wonders of space, from astronomical discoveries to space exploration missions.

NASA’s Curiosity Rover Clocks 4,000 Days on Mars

November 7, 2023

Four thousand Martian days after setting its wheels in Gale Crater on Aug. 5, 2012, NASA’s Curiosity rover remains busy conducting exciting science. The rover recently drilled its 39th sample then dropped the pulverized rock into its belly for detailed analysis. To study whether ancient Mars had the conditions to support microbial life, the rover has been gradually ascending the base of…

JPL Engineers Put Their Skills to the Test With Halloween Pumpkins

November 2, 2023

When mechanical engineers accustomed to building one-of-a-kind spacecraft turn that focus to pumpkins, the results can be hauntingly good. The annual Halloween pumpkin-carving contest at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California may be all in good fun, but to…

NASA Flights Link Methane Plumes to Tundra Fires in Western Alaska

November 2, 2023

In Alaska’s largest river delta, tundra that has been scorched by wildfire is emitting more methane than the rest of the landscape long after the flames died, scientists have found. The potent greenhouse gas can originate from decomposing carbon stored in permafrost for…

Salts and Organics Observed on Ganymede’s Surface by NASA’s Juno

November 2, 2023

NASA’s Juno mission has observed mineral salts and organic compounds on the surface of Jupiter’s moon Ganymede. Data for this discovery was collected by the Jovian InfraRed Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) spectrometer aboard the spacecraft during a close flyby of the icy moon. The findings, which could help scientists better understand the origin of Ganymede and the composition of its deep ocean, were…

Data From NASA’s WISE Used to Preview Lucy Mission’s Asteroid Dinkinesh

November 2, 2023

NASA’s Lucy mission will soon have its first asteroid encounter as the spacecraft travels through deep space en route to Jupiter’s orbit. But before the spacecraft passes 265 miles (425 kilometers) from the surface of the small asteroid Dinkinesh, researchers have used…

See SWOT Mission’s Unprecedented View of Global Sea Levels

November 2, 2023

The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite is sending down tantalizing views of Earth’s water, including a global composite of sea surface heights. The satellite collected the data visualized above during SWOT’s first full 21-day science orbit, which it…

The Crab Nebula Seen in New Light by NASA’s Webb

October 30, 2023

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has gazed at the Crab Nebula, a supernova remnant located 6,500 light-years away in the constellation Taurus. Since the recording of this energetic event in 1054 C.E. by 11th-century astronomers, the Crab Nebula has continued to draw attention and additional study as scientists seek to understand the conditions, behavior, and after-effects of supernovae through…

NASA Is Locating Ice on Mars With This New Map

October 30, 2023

Buried ice will be a vital resource for the first people to set foot on Mars, serving as drinking water and a key ingredient for rocket fuel. But it would also be a major scientific target: Astronauts or robots could one day drill ice cores much as scientists do on Earth…

NASA Technologies Receive Multiple Nods in TIME Inventions of 2023

October 30, 2023

As NASA explores, innovates, and inspires through its work, agency inventions aimed at monitoring atmospheric pollution, studying samples from asteroids, extracting oxygen from the Martian atmosphere, and revolutionizing flight have been named TIME’s Inventions of 2023.

NASA-ISRO Radar Mission to Provide Dynamic View of Forests, Wetlands

October 30, 2023

Once it launches in early 2024, the NISAR radar satellite mission will offer detailed insights into two types of ecosystems – forests and wetlands – vital to naturally regulating the greenhouses gases in the atmosphere that are driving global climate change. NISAR is a joint mission by NASA and ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation), and when in orbit, its sophisticated radar systems will…