Space Exploration News

Dust-Free Region between Saturn and Its Rings Puzzles Cassini Scientists

This illustration shows Cassini about to make one of its dives between Saturn and its innermost rings as part of the mission’s Grand Finale. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.
May 2, 2017 by News Staff

On April 26, 2017, NASA’s Cassini orbiter made its first ‘Grand Finale’ dive through the previously unexplored gap between Saturn and its rings. An analysis of data collected by Cassini’s Radio and Plasma Wave Science (RPWS) instrument shows that this dive was nearly particle free. The unexpected finding that the gap is so empty is a new mystery that the mission scientists are eager to understand. This illustration shows Cassini about to make...

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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.

NASA’s Cassini Orbiter Makes First ‘Grand Finale’ Dive

Apr 27, 2017 by News Staff

On Wednesday, April 26, 2017, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft successfully made its first dive through the narrow gap between the giant planet Saturn and its...

During the flyby, Cassini attempted to study the elevations of Titan’s smaller methane lakes. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

NASA’s Cassini Orbiter Makes Final Close Flyby of Saturn’s Hazy Moon Titan

Apr 25, 2017 by News Staff

On April 22, 2017, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft made its 127th and final close approach to Titan, passing at an altitude of about 608 miles (979 km) above...

A compact model of the heliosphere. Image credit: Dialynas et al.

Solar System’s Heliosphere Much More Compact, Rounded than Previously Thought

Apr 24, 2017 by News Staff

Many stars show tails that trail behind them like a comet’s tail, supporting the idea that our own Solar System has one too. However, new evidence from...

Cassini captured this view of Earth and the Moon on April 12. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute.

New Cassini Image Shows Earth and Moon between Saturn’s Rings

Apr 24, 2017 by News Staff

This view from NASA’s Cassini orbiter shows Earth and its only natural satellite as points of light between the icy rings of the gas giant Saturn. Cassini...

This image of Atlas was taken by Cassini’s narrow-angle camera during a close flyby on April 12, 2017. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute.

New Cassini Images Reveal Saturn’s Mysterious Moon Atlas Up Close

Apr 18, 2017 by Enrico de Lazaro

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft captured these images of Atlas, an inner satellite of Saturn, during a close flyby on April 12, 2017. These are the closest...

Hubble captured additional evidence of water vapor plumes on Jupiter’s icy moon Europa; the probable plumes appear to be repeating in the same location and correspond with a relatively warm region on Europa’s surface observed by the Galileo spacecraft. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Hubble Spots Recurring Water Vapor Plume Erupting on Jupiter’s Moon Europa

Apr 14, 2017 by News Staff

Recent observations of Europa by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have uncovered a plume of material erupting from the moon’s surface at precisely...

Ancient Moon generated a dynamo magnetic field in its liquid metallic core; this dynamo may have been driven by crystallization of the core. Image credit: Hernan Canellas / Benjamin Weiss / MIT.

Crystallization of Ancient Moon’s Core May Have Driven Its Now-Defunct Magnetic Field

Apr 14, 2017 by News Staff

Crystallization of Moon’s liquid metallic core may have driven its now-lost magnetic field approximately 3 billion years ago, according to new research...

Molecular hydrogen points to hydrothermal activity in an ocean beneath the icy surface of Enceladus. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

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

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...

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...

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