Space Exploration News

Cassini Finds New Evidence for Hydrothermal Processes in Enceladus’ Ice-Covered Ocean

Molecular hydrogen points to hydrothermal activity in an ocean beneath the icy surface of Enceladus. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.
Apr 13, 2017 by News Staff

During NASA’s Cassini spacecraft’s deepest-ever dive through Enceladus’ plume of gas and ice grains, researchers discovered molecular hydrogen in the material spewing from the icy moon. This discovery provides further evidence for hydrothermal activity in the ocean beneath Enceladus’ surface and heightens the possibility that the ocean could have conditions suitable for microbial life. Molecular hydrogen points to hydrothermal activity in...

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MAVEN is exploring Mars’ upper atmosphere in detail to understand how Mars changed from a wet planet early in its history to the cold, dry world we see today. Image credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

MAVEN Detects Metal Ions in Martian Atmosphere

Apr 11, 2017 by News Staff

NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) mission has made the first detection of the continuous presence of iron, magnesium, and sodium...

Occator crater on Ceres. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / UCLA / MPS / DLR / IDA.

Ceres’ Transient Exosphere is Product of Solar Activity, Planetary Researchers Say

Apr 10, 2017 by News Staff

Planetary researchers have long thought that the dwarf planet Ceres may have a temporary, thin atmosphere (an exosphere), but mysteries lingered about...

In this screenshot from the short animated film Cassini’s Grand Finale, the spacecraft is shown breaking apart after entering the atmosphere of Saturn. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Cassini Gets Ready for ‘Grand Finale’ Phase

Apr 6, 2017 by News Staff

After 20 years in space and 13 years around Saturn, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft begins the final chapter of its remarkable story of exploration and discoveries:...

Artist’s impression of New Horizons encountering a Pluto-like object in the distant Kuiper Belt. Image credit: NASA / JHUAPL / SwRI / Alex Parker.

NASA’s New Horizons Spacecraft Halfway from Pluto to Kuiper Belt Object 2014 MU69

Apr 4, 2017 by Enrico de Lazaro

Continuing on its path through the outer regions of our Solar System, New Horizons has now traveled half the distance from the dwarf planet Pluto to its...

Boeing Deep Space Transport vehicle on approach. Image credit: Boeing Company.

Deep Space Gateway & Transport: Concepts for Mars, Moon Exploration Unveiled

Apr 4, 2017 by News Staff

The Boeing Company this week unveiled concepts for the Deep Space Gateway and Transport systems that could help achieve NASA’s goal of having robust...

This image shows ancient Mars capable of supporting liquid water on its surface. Image credit: Michael Lentz / NASA Goddard Conceptual Image Lab.

MAVEN Finds New Evidence that Most of Martian Atmosphere Was Lost to Space

Mar 31, 2017 by News Staff

According to an analysis of new data from NASA’s MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) spacecraft, solar wind and radiation are responsible...

An artist’s rendering of the surface of Saturn’s largest moon, Titan. Image credit: Benjamin de Bivort, debivort.org / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Titan Has ‘Electrically-Charged’ Hydrocarbon Sands

Mar 29, 2017 by News Staff

Low-density organic granules that cover the surface of Saturn’s moon Titan are ‘electrically charged,’ according to new experiments done by scientists...

Part of Jupiter’s ‘string of pearls.’ Juno captured this image with its JunoCam instrument on March 27, 2017. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SwRI / MSSS.

Juno Completes Fifth Jupiter Flyby

Mar 29, 2017 by News Staff

NASA’s Juno spacecraft successfully completed its fifth flyby of the gas giant Jupiter on March 27, 2017. Part of Jupiter’s ‘string of pearls.’...

Showcase of the different types of changes identified in high-resolution images of 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko during more than two years of monitoring by ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft. The approximate locations of each feature are marked on the central context images. Dates of when the ‘before’ and ‘after’ images were taken are also indicated. Note that the orientation and resolution between image pairs may vary, therefore in each image set arrows point to the location of the changes, for guidance. Image credit: ESA / Rosetta / NAVCAM / MPS for OSIRIS Team / MPS / UPD / LAM / IAA / SSO / INTA / UPM / DASP / IDA / CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO.

Spectacular Changes Spotted on 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

Mar 22, 2017 by News Staff

A study published this week in the journal Science summarizes the types of surface changes — including the growing fractures, collapsing cliffs,...

A broad plume of dust is imaged by Rosetta’s navigation camera on July 10, 2015, which can be traced back to an area on the comet that encompasses the Seth region; the Aswan cliff is included within the marked rectangle. Image credit: ESA / Rosetta / NavCam / MPS / MPS for OSIRIS Team / UPD / LAM / IAA / SSO / INTA / UPM / DASP / IDA / CC BY-SA IGO 3.0.

Collapsing Cliff Reveals Pristine Interior of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

Mar 22, 2017 by News Staff

In a study published in the journal Nature Astronomy, researchers make the first definitive link between an outburst of dust and gas from the nucleus of...

This digital-image mosaic of Mars’ Tharsis plateau shows the extinct volcano Arsia Mons. It was assembled from images that NASA’s Viking 1 orbiter took during its 1976-1980 working life at Mars. Image credit: NASA / JPL / USGS.

Martian Shield Volcano Arsia Mons Was Last Active 50 Million Years Ago, Research Reveals

Mar 21, 2017 by News Staff

According to new research reported in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters, the 10-mile- (16 km) high Martian shield volcano called Arsia Mons...

Every discovered planet in the Solar System under 10,000 km in diameter, to scale. The geophysical definition of planet includes 110 known planets. Image credit: Emily Lakdawalla, Planetary Society / K.D. Runyon et al.

Planet Count May Reach 110

Mar 21, 2017 by Enrico de Lazaro

Kirby Runyon, a PhD candidate in planetary geology at the Johns Hopkins University, and co-authors are proposing to rewrite the textbooks to say that the...

This mosaic image taken by the Cassini spacecraft is one of the highest resolution views ever obtained of Mimas. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute.

Saturn’s Icy Moon Mimas Amazes in Final Flyby Photo

Mar 18, 2017 by Enrico de Lazaro

This mosaic of Mimas, the smallest and innermost of Saturn’s main moons, was constructed from images taken by the narrow-angle camera onboard NASA’s...

This enhanced-color view of Enceladus is largely of the southern hemisphere and includes the south polar terrain at the bottom of the image. Ancient craters remain somewhat pristine in some locales, but have clearly relaxed in others. Northward-trending fractures, likely caused by a change in the moon’s rate of rotation and the consequent flattening of the moon’s shape, rip across the southern hemisphere. The south polar terrain is marked by a striking set of ‘blue’ fractures and encircled by a conspicuous and continuous chain of folds and ridges, testament to the forces within Enceladus that have yet to be silenced. The mosaic was created from 21 false-color frames taken during Cassini’s close approaches to Enceladus on March 9 and July 14, 2005. Images taken using filters sensitive to UV, visible and IR light (spanning wavelengths from 338 to 930 nm) were combined to create the individual frames. Image credit: NASA / JPL / Space Science Institute.

Cassini Spots Anomalously Warm Subsurface Region on Enceladus

Mar 16, 2017 by News Staff

A new study, based on microwave observations by NASA’s Cassini orbiter, shows that the south polar region of Saturn’s frozen moon Enceladus is warmer...

Cerealia Facula, a bright dome in the center of Occator Crater on the dwarf planet Ceres, is shown in enhanced color in this view from NASA’s Dawn spacecraft. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / UCLA / MPS / DLR / IDA / PSI / LPI.

Researchers Determine Age of Ceres’ Brightest Spot

Mar 10, 2017 by News Staff

Cerealia Facula, a dome-like feature located in the center of Ceres’ Occator crater, is only 4 million years old — approximately 30 million years...

Saturn’s small moon Pan

Pan: Saturn’s Flying Saucer-Shaped Moon Up Close

Mar 10, 2017 by Enrico de Lazaro

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft captured these stunning images of Pan, the second-innermost moon of Saturn, during a close flyby on March 7, 2017. These images...

Artist’s concept of a magneto-optical trap and atom chip to be used by NASA’s Cold Atom Laboratory aboard the International Space Station. CAL will provide an opportunity to study ultra-cold quantum gases in the microgravity environment of the space station -- a frontier in scientific research that is expected to reveal interesting and novel quantum phenomena. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

NASA’s Cold Atom Laboratory to Create ‘Coolest Spot in Universe’

Mar 8, 2017 by News Staff

This summer, a suite of instruments called the Cold Atom Laboratory (CAL) will fly to the International Space Station (ISS), where it will utilize the...

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft returned a breathtaking image of Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus. This view looks toward the anti-Saturn hemisphere of Enceladus. North on Enceladus is up and rotated 4 degrees to the right. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute.

Cassini Captures Another Stunning View of Saturn’s Frozen Moon Enceladus

Mar 7, 2017 by News Staff

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft currently orbiting Saturn has captured a breathtaking new image of Enceladus, the sixth-largest of the gas giant’s moons. NASA’s...

Blue skies on Pluto. Image credit: NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute.

The Secrets of Pluto’s Thin Blue Line

Mar 3, 2017 by James Romero

“Like a summer’s evening here on Earth just after sunset. A faint blue glow follows the Sun below the horizon — the only bit of color within...

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