ScienceDaily: Space Exploration News

Metamorphosis of moon's water ice explained

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:47:47 EDT

Using data gathered by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission, scientists believe they have solved a mystery from one of the solar system's coldest regions -- a permanently shadowed crater on the moon. They have explained how energetic particles penetrating lunar soil can create molecular hydrogen from water ice. The finding provides insight into how radiation can change the chemistry of water ice throughout the solar system.

Mars had oxygen-rich atmosphere 4,000 million years ago

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:24:24 EDT

Differences between Martian meteorites and rocks examined by a NASA rover can be explained if Mars had an oxygen-rich atmosphere 4,000 million years ago -- well before the rise of atmospheric oxygen on Earth 2,500 million years ago.

Unusual supernova is doubly unusual for being perfectly normal

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:21:21 EDT

Type Ia supernovae are indispensable milestones for measuring the expansion of the universe. With definitive measures of Supernova 2011fe, the "Backyard Supernova" that thrilled amateur and professional astronomers alike in the summer of 2011, the Nearby Supernova Factory demonstrates that this unusually close-by Type Ia is such a perfect example of its kind that future Type Ia's -- and models meant to explain their physics -- must be measured against it.

Small satellites soar in high-altitude demonstration

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:26:26 EDT

Four tiny spacecraft soared over the California desert June 15 in a high-altitude demonstration flight that tested the sensor and equipment designs created by NASA engineers and student launch teams.

Finding all asteroid threats to human populations: NASA announces asteroid grand challenge

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:20:20 EDT

NASA has announced a Grand Challenge focused on finding all asteroid threats to human populations and knowing what to do about them. The challenge is a large-scale effort that will use multi-disciplinary collaborations and a variety of partnerships with other government agencies, international partners, industry, academia, and citizen scientists. It complements NASA's recently announced mission to redirect an asteroid and send humans to study it.

Cassini probe to take photo of Earth from deep space

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:19:19 EDT

NASA's Cassini spacecraft, now exploring Saturn, will take a picture of our home planet from a distance of hundreds of millions of miles on July 19. NASA is inviting the public to help acknowledge the historic interplanetary portrait as it is being taken.

Three centaurs follow Uranus through the solar system

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 10:16:16 EDT

Astrophysicists have confirmed that Crantor, a large asteroid with a diameter of 70 km has an orbit similar to that of Uranus and takes the same amount of time to orbit the Sun. Researchers have demonstrated for the first time that this and a further two objects of the group of the Centaurs are co-orbital with Uranus.

The turbulent, high-energy sky is keeping NuSTAR busy

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 07:44:44 EDT

NuSTAR has been busy studying the most energetic phenomena in the universe. Recently, a few high-energy events have sprung up, akin to "things that go bump in the night." When one telescope catches a sudden outpouring of high-energy light in the sky, NuSTAR and a host of other telescopes stop what they were doing and take a better look.

Mystery of X-ray light from black holes solved

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 14:05:05 EDT

Astrophysicists using high-powered computer simulartions demonstrate that gas spiraling toward a black hole inevitably results in X-ray emissions.

Evidence for extrasolar planet under construction

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 13:35:35 EDT

The keen vision of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has detected a mysterious gap in a vast protoplanetary disk of gas and dust swirling around the nearby star TW Hydrae, located 176 light-years away in the constellation Hydra (the Sea Serpent). The gap's presence is best explained as due to the effects of a growing, unseen planet that is gravitationally sweeping up material and carving out a lane in the disk, like a snow plow.

Stacking up a clearer picture of the universe

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 09:23:23 EDT

Researchers have proven a new technique that will provide a clearer picture of the Universe's history and be used with the next generation of radio telescopes such as the Square Kilometer Array.

First evidence of a new phase in neutron stars

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 09:22:22 EDT

The nuclear ‘pasta’, called as such due its similarity to the Italian food, limits the period of rotation of pulsars, and astronomers have detected the first evidence of existence of a new phase of matter in the inner crust of neutron stars.

Mars water-ice clouds are key to odd thermal rhythm

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 15:58:58 EDT

Researchers using NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have found that temperatures in the Martian atmosphere regularly rise and fall not just once each day, but twice.

NASA's Chandra turns up black hole bonanza in galaxy next door

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 15:40:40 EDT

Using data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, astronomers have discovered an unprecedented bonanza of black holes in the Andromeda Galaxy, one of the nearest galaxies to the Milky Way. Using more than 150 Chandra observations, spread over 13 years, researchers identified 26 black hole candidates, the largest number to date, in a galaxy outside our own. Many consider Andromeda to be a sister galaxy to the Milky Way. The two ultimately will collide, several billion years from now.

New kind of variable star discovered: Minute variations in brightness reveal whole new class of stars

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 09:37:37 EDT

Astronomers have found a new type of variable star. The discovery was based on the detection of very tiny changes in brightness of stars in a cluster. The observations revealed previously unknown properties of these stars that defy current theories and raise questions about the origin of the variations.

Sunny super-Earth? Atmosphere of super-Earth exoplanet observed for time first by two Japanese telescopes

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 09:35:35 EDT

Astronomers have observed the atmosphere of super-Earth "GJ3470b" for the first time using two telescopes. This super-Earth is an exoplanet, having only about 14 times the mass of our home planet, and it is the second lightest one among already-surveyed exoplanets. The observational data revealed that this planet is highly likely to NOT be covered by thick clouds.

Marks on Martian dunes may be tracks of dry-ice sleds

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 14:51:51 EDT

NASA research indicates hunks of frozen carbon dioxide -- dry ice -- may glide down some Martian sand dunes on cushions of gas similar to miniature hovercraft, plowing furrows as they go. Researchers deduced this process could explain one enigmatic class of gullies seen on Martian sand dunes by examining images from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) and performing experiments on sand dunes in Utah and California.

Shining a light on cool pools of gas in the galaxy

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 14:48:48 EDT

Newly formed stars shine brightly, practically crying out, "Hey, look at me!" But not everything in our Milky Way galaxy is easy to see. The bulk of material between the stars in the galaxy -- the cool hydrogen gas from which stars spring -- is nearly impossible to find.

Black hole naps amidst stellar chaos

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 14:45:45 EDT

Nearly a decade ago, NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory caught signs of what appeared to be a black hole snacking on gas at the middle of the nearby Sculptor galaxy. Now, NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR), which sees higher-energy X-ray light, has taken a peek and found the black hole asleep.

Moon radiation findings may reduce health risks to astronauts

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 14:43:43 EDT

Space scientists report that data gathered by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter show lighter materials like plastics provide effective shielding against the radiation hazards faced by astronauts during extended space travel. The finding could help reduce health risks to humans on future missions into deep space.

Martian clay contains chemical implicated in the origin of life, astrobiologists find

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 22:01:01 EDT

Researchers have discovered high concentrations of boron in a Martian meteorite. When present in its oxidized form (borate), boron may have played a key role in the formation of RNA, one of the building blocks for life.

A Hubble view of NGC 1579: The Trifid of the North

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 15:36:36 EDT

Unlike the venomous fictional plants that share its name, the Trifid of the North, otherwise known as the Northern Trifid or NGC 1579, poses no threat to your vision. The nebula's moniker is inspired by the better-known Messier 20, the Trifid Nebula, which lies very much further south in the sky and displays strikingly similar swirling clouds of gas and dust.

Mars rover opportunity trekking toward more layers

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 15:32:32 EDT

Approaching its 10th anniversary of leaving Earth, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity is on the move again, trekking to a new study area still many weeks away. The destination, called "Solander Point," offers Opportunity access to a much taller stack of geological layering than the area where the rover has worked for the past 20 months, called "Cape York." Both areas are raised segments of the western rim of Endeavour Crater, which is about 14 miles (22 kilometers) in diameter.

Radar movies highlight asteroid 1998 QE2 and its moon

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 15:30:30 EDT

Scientists working with NASA's 230-foot-wide (70-meter) Deep Space Network antenna at Goldstone, Calif., have released a second, longer, more refined movie clip of asteroid 1998 QE2 and its moon. The 55 individual images used in the movie were generated from data collected at Goldstone on June 1, 2013.

Astronomers gear up to discover Earth-like planets

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 19:08:08 EDT

Dust clouds around stars are thought to hide many undiscovered planets with conditions suitable for life, but observations have been hampered by the fact that only the brightest such clouds can be detected with current technology. Astronomers are developing a technique to detect faint dust clouds, many of which might hide Earth-like planets.

2011 Draconid meteor shower deposited a ton of meteoritic material on Earth

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 14:10:10 EDT

About a ton of material coming from comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner was deposited in the Earth's atmosphere on October 8th and 9th, 2011 during one of the most intense showers of shooting starts in the last decade, which registered an activity of more than 400 meteors per hour.

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover nears turning point

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 14:03:03 EDT

NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission is approaching its biggest turning point since landing its rover, Curiosity, inside Mars' Gale Crater last summer. Curiosity is finishing investigations in an area smaller than a football field where it has been working for six months, and it will soon shift to a distance-driving mode headed for an area about 5 miles (8 kilometers) away, at the base Mount Sharp.

Cassini sees precursors to aerosol haze on Saturn's largest moon, Titan

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 13:58:58 EDT

Scientists working with data from NASA's Cassini mission have confirmed the presence of a population of complex hydrocarbons in the upper atmosphere of Saturn's largest moon, Titan, that later evolve into the components that give the moon a distinctive orange-brown haze. The presence of these complex, ringed hydrocarbons, known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), explains the origin of the aerosol particles found in the lowest haze layer that blankets Titan's surface. Scientists think these PAH compounds aggregate into larger particles as they drift downward.

Stars don't obliterate their planets (very often)

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 13:47:47 EDT

Stars have an alluring pull on planets, especially those in a class called hot Jupiters, which are gas giants that form farther from their stars before migrating inward and heating up. Now, a new study using data from NASA's Kepler Space Telescope shows that hot Jupiters, despite their close-in orbits, are not regularly consumed by their stars. Instead, the planets remain in fairly stable orbits for billions of years, until the day comes when they may ultimately get eaten.

NASA's Orion spacecraft proves sound under pressure

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 13:25:25 EDT

After a month of being poked, prodded and pressurized in ways that mimicked the stresses of spaceflight, NASA's Orion crew module successfully passed its static loads tests on Wednesday.

NASA builds sophisticated Earth-observing microwave radiometer

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 19:07:07 EDT

A NASA team delivered in May a sophisticated microwave radiometer specifically designed to overcome the pitfalls that have plagued similar Earth-observing instruments in the past.

Black holes abundant among the earliest stars

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 19:07:07 EDT

By comparing infrared and X-ray background signals across the same stretch of sky, astronomers have discovered evidence of a significant number of black holes that accompanied the first stars in the universe.

NASA's Spitzer sees Milky Way's blooming countryside

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 14:00:00 EDT

New views from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope show blooming stars in our Milky Way galaxy's more barren territories, far from its crowded core.

Cat's Paw Nebula 'littered' with baby stars

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 13:36:36 EDT

Most skygazers recognize the Orion Nebula, one of the closest stellar nurseries to Earth. Although it makes for great views in backyard telescopes, the Orion Nebula is far from the most prolific star-forming region in our galaxy. That distinction may go to one of the more dramatic stellar nurseries like the Cat's Paw Nebula, otherwise known as NGC 6334, which is experiencing a "baby boom."

Saturn's metal-poor 'cousin' discovered with little telescope

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 15:35:35 EDT

Astronomers have discovered a hot Saturn-like planet in another solar system 700 light-years away.

Cosmic CSI team focuses on burned-out stars

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 15:33:33 EDT

Like a CSI unit, a team of astronomers at observatories worldwide has been digging around in the innards of dead stars, collecting evidence on how they died. The Whole Earth Telescope is shedding new light on the inner workings of stars.

Hubble maps 3-D structure of ejected material around erupting star

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 12:15:15 EDT

A flash of light from a stellar outburst has provided a rare look at the 3-D structure of material ejected by an erupting nova. Astronomers used NASA's Hubble Space Telescope to observe the light emitted by the close double-star system T Pyxidis, or T Pyx, a recurring nova, during its latest outburst in April 2011.

Rare stellar alignment offers opportunity to hunt for planets

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 18:32:32 EDT

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope will have two opportunities in the next few years to hunt for Earth-sized planets around the red dwarf Proxima Centauri. The opportunities will occur in October 2014 and February 2016 when Proxima Centauri, the star nearest to our sun, passes in front of two other stars.

Best ultraviolet maps of the nearest galaxies

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 18:32:32 EDT

Astronomers have used NASA's Swift satellite to create the most detailed ultraviolet light surveys ever of the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, the two closest major galaxies.

Solar system's Milky Way neighborhood gets more respect

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 16:36:36 EDT

Our Solar System's Milky Way neighborhood just went upscale. We reside between two major spiral arms of our home galaxy, in a structure called the Local Arm. New research indicates that the Local Arm, previously thought to be only a small spur, instead is much more like the adjacent major arms, and is likely a significant branch of one of them.

Lightest exoplanet to be directly observed so far? Faint object moves near bright star

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 09:17:17 EDT

A team of astronomers using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope has imaged a faint object moving near a bright star. With an estimated mass of four to five times that of Jupiter, it would be the least massive planet to be directly observed outside the Solar System. The discovery is an important contribution to our understanding of the formation and evolution of planetary systems.

Boeing completes new spacecraft, rocket milestones

Sat, 01 Jun 2013 13:49:49 EDT

The Boeing Company of Houston, a NASA Commercial Crew Program (CCP) partner, recently performed wind tunnel testing of its CST-100 spacecraft and integrated launch vehicle, the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket. The testing is part of NASA's Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) initiative, intended to make commercial human spaceflight services available for government and commercial customers.

Hubble sees the messy result of a galactic collision

Sat, 01 Jun 2013 12:39:39 EDT

A new image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope captures an ongoing cosmic collision between two galaxies -- a spiral galaxy is in the process of colliding with a lenticular galaxy. The collision looks almost as if it is popping out of the screen in 3-D, with parts of the spiral arms clearly embracing the lenticular galaxy's bulge.

Engineers develop skills for future flight systems at 'Rocket U'

Sat, 01 Jun 2013 12:38:38 EDT

As NASA plans for future spaceflight programs to low-Earth orbit and beyond, teams of engineers at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida are gaining flight systems experience in designing and launching vehicle systems on a small scale. As part of Rocket University, the engineers are given an opportunity to work a fast-track project to develop skills in flight systems through the life cycle of a program.

'Population census' of galaxies buried in dust

Fri, 31 May 2013 10:52:52 EDT

Conventional research on distant galaxies have been carried out mainly with visible light and near infrared light. However, it is possible that many galaxies in the universe have been overlooked as much of that radiation is largely absorbed by cosmic dust. That is why millimeter and submillimeter wave observations are important. Stellar light absorbed by dust is reradiated from the dust as millimeter/submillimeter waves. Therefore galaxies, even those which it has not been possible to observe with optical telescopes, can be detected using these wavebands.

Mapping sea salt from orbit: Building better ocean and climate models

Fri, 31 May 2013 10:17:17 EDT

Climate is greatly influenced by the flow of heat energy carried by ocean currents. But precisely quantifying the mixing between the ocean and the atmosphere is hampered by a lack of detail in models of the ocean and of the water cycle. And in both models, knowing the salt content of the water is essential.

NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale team assembles final observatory

Thu, 30 May 2013 15:23:23 EDT

On May 20, 2013, the Magnetospheric Multiscale, or MMS, mission team at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., reached an unprecedented milestone. The team mated the instrument and spacecraft decks to form the fourth and final MMS observatory. This is the first time Goddard has simultaneously engineered this many observatories, or spacecraft, for a single mission.

Pebbly rocks testify to old streambed on Mars

Thu, 30 May 2013 15:05:05 EDT

Detailed analysis and review have borne out researchers' initial interpretation of pebble-containing slabs that NASA's Mars rover Curiosity investigated last year: They are part of an ancient streambed. The rocks are the first ever found on Mars that contain streambed gravels. The sizes and shapes of the gravels embedded in these conglomerate rocks -- from the size of sand particles to the size of golf balls -- enabled researchers to calculate the depth and speed of the water that once flowed at this location.

Radiation measured by NASA's Curiosity on voyage to Mars has implications for future human missions

Thu, 30 May 2013 14:59:59 EDT

Measurements taken by NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission as it delivered the Curiosity rover to Mars in 2012 are providing NASA the information it needs to design systems to protect human explorers from radiation exposure on deep-space expeditions in the future.

Asteroid has its own moon, NASA radar reveals

Thu, 30 May 2013 14:53:53 EDT

A sequence of radar images of asteroid 1998 QE2 -- obtained by NASA scientists using the 230-foot (70-meter) Deep Space Network antenna at Goldstone, Calif. -- reveals that it is a binary asteroid. In the near-Earth population, about 16 percent of asteroids that are about 655 feet (200 meters) or larger are binary or triple systems.

Asteroids provide sustainable resource, study finds

Thu, 30 May 2013 14:48:48 EDT

The prospects of a robotic manufacturing base operating off Earth is not as far-fetched as it used to be according to a study published by a team of NASA researchers. Because asteroids are loaded with minerals that are rare on Earth, near-Earth asteroids and the asteroid belt could become the mining centers for remotely operated excavators and processing machinery. In 20 years, an industry barely imagined now could be sending refined materials, rare metals and even free, clean energy to Earth from asteroids and other bodies.

Rounded stones on Mars evidence of flowing water

Thu, 30 May 2013 14:20:20 EDT

Observations by NASA's Mars rover Curiosity have revealed areas with gravel and pebbles that are characteristic of a former riverbed. Researchers have analyzed their shapes and sizes and the rounded pebbles clearly show that there has been flowing water on Mars.

One of the moon's mysteries solved: Origin of mascon basins

Thu, 30 May 2013 14:20:20 EDT

A mystery of the moon that imperiled astronauts and spacecraft on lunar missions has been solved. Large concentrations of mass lurk on the lunar surface that can change the gravity field and either pull a spacecraft in or push it off course. Scientists have determined the origin of these mass concentrations.

Ancient streambed found on surface of Mars

Thu, 30 May 2013 14:20:20 EDT

Rounded pebbles on Mars represent the first on-site evidence of sustained water flows on the red planet, according to a new study.

Water-rock reaction may provide enough hydrogen 'food' to sustain life in ocean's crust or on Mars

Thu, 30 May 2013 13:25:25 EDT

A chemical reaction between iron-containing minerals and water may produce enough hydrogen "food" to sustain microbial communities living in pores and cracks within the enormous volume of rock below the ocean floor and parts of the continents, according to a new study.

Comet ISON is hurtling toward uncertain destiny with Sun

Thu, 30 May 2013 11:13:13 EDT

A new series of images from Gemini Observatory shows Comet C/2012 S1 racing toward an uncomfortably close rendezvous with the Sun. In late November the comet could present a stunning sight in the twilight sky and remain easily visible, or even brilliant, into early December of this year.

New mathematical model links space-time theories

Thu, 30 May 2013 09:46:46 EDT

Researchers have taken a significant step in a project to unravel the secrets of the structure of our Universe.

Cassini finds hints of activity at Saturn moon Dione

Wed, 29 May 2013 21:51:51 EDT

From a distance, most of the Saturnian moon Dione resembles a bland cueball. Thanks to close-up images of a 500-mile-long (800-kilometer-long) mountain on the moon from NASA's Cassini spacecraft, scientists have found more evidence for the idea that Dione was likely active in the past. It could still be active now.

NASA's WISE mission finds 'lost' asteroid family members

Wed, 29 May 2013 21:49:49 EDT

Data from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) have led to a new and improved family tree for asteroids in the main belt between Mars and Jupiter. Astronomers used millions of infrared snapshots from the asteroid-hunting portion of the WISE all-sky survey, called NEOWISE, to identify 28 new asteroid families. The snapshots also helped place thousands of previously hidden and uncategorized asteroids into families for the first time. The findings are a critical step in understanding the origins of asteroid families, and the collisions thought to have created these rocky clans.

Weightlessness of space used to design better materials for Earth

Wed, 29 May 2013 13:35:35 EDT

Scientists are using the weightlessness of space to design stronger materials here on Earth.