Space Exploration News

NASA’s SOFIA Observatory Detects Atomic Oxygen in Upper Atmosphere of Mars

SOFIA/GREAT spectrum of oxygen [OI] superimposed on an image of Mars from NASA’ MAVEN mission. The amount of atomic oxygen computed from SOFIA data is about half the amount expected. Image credit: NASA / DLR / USRA / DSI / MPIfR / GREAT Consortium / MPIfS / Rezac et al / MAVEN.
May 10, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), the largest airborne observatory in the world, has detected atomic oxygen in the upper layers of the Martian atmosphere. SOFIA/GREAT spectrum of oxygen [OI] superimposed on an image of Mars from NASA’ MAVEN mission. The amount of atomic oxygen computed from SOFIA data is about half the amount expected. Image credit: NASA / DLR / USRA / DSI / MPIfR / GREAT Consortium / MPIfS / Rezac...

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This image, taken by New Horizons’ LORRI camera on July 14, 2015, shows Pluto’s small, irregularly shaped moon Hydra. Image credit: NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute.

New Horizons Beams Back Compositional Data about Pluto’s Small Moon Hydra

May 10, 2016 by News Staff

The first compositional data from NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft about Pluto’s small, irregularly shaped moon Hydra show the moon’s surface is dominated...

Topographic map of Mercury with labeled features. Image credit: NASA / U.S. Geological Survey / Arizona State University / Carnegie Institution of Washington / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.

Scientists Create Global Topographic Map of Mercury

May 9, 2016 by News Staff

A team of scientists from NASA, the U.S. Geological Survey, Arizona State University, Carnegie Institute of Washington and Johns Hopkins University Applied...

This image of an impact crater in the Sirenum Fossae region of Mars was taken by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on March 30, 2015. The crater is approximately 3,300 feet (1-km) wide and appears relatively recent as it has a sharp rim and well-preserved ejecta. The steep inner slopes are carved by gullies and include possible recurring slope lineae on the equator-facing slopes. Image credit: NASA / JPL / University of Arizona / Alfred McEwen.

Mars’ Recurring Slope Lineae May Be Formed by Boiling Water

May 3, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

Seasonal dark streaks on Mars — called recurring slope lineae by planetary researchers — could be the result of water boiling whilst flowing...

Artist’s impression of C/2014 S3 (PanSTARRS). The comet’s current long orbital period (approximately 860 years) suggests that its source is in the Oort Cloud -- a large region surrounding the Sun like a giant, thick soap bubble -- and it was nudged comparatively recently into an orbit that brings it closer to the Sun. Image credit: M. Kornmesser / ESO.

Unique Rocky Comet from Oort Cloud May Provide Clues about Origin of Solar System

Apr 29, 2016 by News Staff

Observations of a tailless comet called C/2014 S3 (PanSTARRS), made with ESO’s Very Large Telescope and the Canada France Hawaii Telescope, show that...

Cassini caught the sunlight glinting off Titan's seas and lakes filled with liquid methane or ethane. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / University of Arizona / University of Idaho.

NASA’s Cassini Orbiter Explores Titan’s Ligeia Mare

Apr 28, 2016 by News Staff

Ligeia Mare, one of the largest seas on Saturn’s moon Titan, consists of pure methane and likely has a seabed covered by a sludge of organic-rich material,...

Beagle-2 landing site: original image (upper panel) and SRR from 5 input images (lower). The bright object in the upper centre portion is shown in the next figure. Map co-ordinates come from NASA’s HiRISE camera and are not in a global reference system. Image credit: Yu Tao & Jan-Peter Muller, University College London.

Novel Super-Resolution Restoration Technique Shows Mars in Incredible Detail

Apr 26, 2016 by News Staff

The Martian surface — including the location of ESA’s Beagle-2 lander, and the ancient lakebeds discovered by NASA’s Curiosity rover —...

Venus in real colors, processed from Mariner 10 images. Image credit: Mattias Malmer / NASA.

ESA’s Venus Express Finds Atmospheric Gravity Waves in Venusian Polar Atmosphere

Apr 23, 2016 by News Staff

Strong atmospheric gravity waves dominate the polar regions of Venus’ atmosphere, according to measurements made by ESA’s Venus Express spacecraft...

This image of Haulani Crater was acquired by Dawn from a distance of 915 miles (1,470 km). The bluish material visible here indicates relatively fresh material on the surface. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / UCLA / MPS / DLR / IDA / PSI.

Latest Images from NASA’s Dawn Orbiter Show Ceres’ Bright Craters

Apr 20, 2016 by News Staff

New images captured by NASA’s Dawn spacecraft from a distance of 240 miles (385 km) show two prominent craters on the surface of Ceres: Oxo and Haulani. This...

The surface of Europa looms large in this newly-reprocessed color view; image scale is 1.6 km per pixel; north on Europa is at right. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SETI Institute.

Europa’s Creeping Ice Might Make Far More Heat than Planetary Researchers Thought

Apr 18, 2016 by News Staff

As Europa — the sixth-closest moon of Jupiter and the smallest of its four Galilean satellites — orbits, its icy surface heaves and falls with...

Cassini Samples, Analyzes Interstellar Dust at Saturn

Apr 15, 2016 by News Staff

The NASA/ESA Cassini spacecraft has detected the faint but distinct signature of dust coming from outside our Solar System, from the Local Interstellar...

This wide-field view of the sky around Alpha Centauri was created from photographic images forming part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2. Image credit: ESO / Digitized Sky Survey 2 / Davide De Martin.

Breakthrough Starshot: Stephen Hawking, Yuri Milner Announce Plan to Reach Alpha Centauri

Apr 14, 2016 by Natali Anderson

Theoretical physicist Prof. Stephen Hawking and science philanthropist Yuri Milner unveiled this week a new initiative, called Breakthrough Starshot, to...

This image of an impact crater in the Sirenum Fossae region of Mars was taken by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on March 30, 2015. The crater is approximately 3,300 feet (1-km) wide and appears relatively recent as it has a sharp rim and well-preserved ejecta. The steep inner slopes are carved by gullies and include possible recurring slope lineae on the equator-facing slopes. Image credit: NASA / JPL / University of Arizona / Alfred McEwen.

Comet, Asteroid Impacts 4 Billion Years Ago Likely Enhanced Life-Supporting Habitat on Mars

Apr 6, 2016 by News Staff

The bombardment of the Red Planet about 4 billion years ago (Noachian period) by giant comets and asteroids likely enhanced climate conditions enough to...

Space environment data collected by New Horizons over a billion miles of its journey to Pluto will play a key role in testing and improving models of the space environment throughout the Solar System. This visualization is one example of such a model: it shows the simulated space environment out to Pluto a few months before New Horizons’ closest approach. Image credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio / Space Weather Research Center / Community-Coordinated Modeling Center / Enlil and Dusan Odstrcil, GMU.

New Horizons Observes Solar Wind Changes in Outer Solar System

Apr 6, 2016 by News Staff

The Solar Wind Around Pluto (SWAP) instrument on NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft has recorded significant changes in how the solar wind behaves far from...

In this stunning Saturnian vista, icy geysers erupt along narrow fractures on Enceladus. The majestic plumes were actually discovered by instruments on the Cassini Spacecraft during close encounters with bright and shiny Enceladus in 2005. Image credit: Michael Carroll / NASA.

Planetary Researchers Explain Sustained Eruptions on Enceladus

Mar 29, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

Planetary researchers on NASA’s Cassini mission have published a new study describing the process that drives and sustains long-lived geysers on Enceladus,...

Artist's concept of a cryobot in the ocean of Jupiter's moon Europa. Image credit: NASA.

Scientists Produce First Roadmap for European Astrobiology

Mar 28, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

Researchers on the AstRoMap project, a coordination action supported by the European Commission, have surveyed the state of the art of astrobiology in...

NASA Scientists Identify Titan’s Tallest Peak

Mar 25, 2016 by News Staff

Planetary researchers with NASA’s Cassini mission have identified the highest point on Titan, the largest moon of Saturn. Titan’s Mithrim Montes is...

Moon (Gregory H. Revera / CC BY-SA 3.0)

Study: Moon Moved from Its Original Axis 3 Billion Years Ago

Mar 24, 2016 by News Staff

Earth’s moon wandered off its original axis about 3 billion years ago, a new study led by Southern Methodist University planetary researcher Matt Siegler...

The bright spots near the center of Occator crater are shown in enhanced color in this view from NASA’s Dawn robotic spacecraft. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / UCLA / MPS / DLR / IDA / PSI / LPI.

New Images of Ceres Show Its Mysterious Bright Spots in Unprecedented Detail

Mar 22, 2016 by News Staff

Planetary researchers from NASA’s Dawn mission have released new images of the dwarf planet Ceres, including anticipated views of its intriguing ‘bright...

This view of the Martian gravity map shows the Tharsis volcanoes and surrounding flexure: the white areas in the center are higher-gravity regions produced by the massive Tharsis volcanoes, and the surrounding blue areas are lower-gravity regions that may be cracks in the crust. Image credit: MIT / UMBC-CRESST / GSFC.

NASA Scientists Release Map of Mars’ Gravity

Mar 22, 2016 by News Staff

A team of researchers led by Dr. Antonio Genova of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center has released a detailed new map of Mars’ gravity. This view of...

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