Space Exploration News

ESA’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter at Mars. Image credit: D. Ducros / ESA.

ESA’s Trace Gas Orbiter Detects Ozone and Carbon Dioxide in Atmosphere of Mars

Jul 29, 2020 by News Staff

The Atmospheric Chemistry Suite (ACS) aboard ESA’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) has spotted never-before-seen spectral signatures of ozone and carbon...

These five infrared images from the JIRAM instrument aboard NASA’s Juno spacecraft provide the first infrared mapping of Ganymede’s northern frontier. The images were taken every 20 minutes, beginning at time of closest approach (far left) on December 26, 2019, when the orbiter was about 62,000 miles (100,000 km) from Ganymede. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SwRI / ASI / INAF / JIRAM.

Juno Sees North Pole of Ganymede in Infrared Light

Jul 25, 2020 by News Staff

The Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) instrument onboard NASA’s Juno spacecraft has captured the first infrared images of the north pole of Ganymede,...

This high-resolution scanning electron microscope image shows an unusual tube-like structural form that is less than 1/100th the width of a human hair in size found in the Martian meteorite ALH84001. Image credit: NASA.

Immune System of Humans, Other Mammals Could Struggle to Fight Extraterrestrial Microorganisms

Jul 23, 2020 by News Staff

In a new study published in the journal Microorganisms, a team of researchers from the UK, the Netherlands and Germany tested how mammalian immune cells...

Meteoroids bombarded the Earth-Moon system 800 million years ago. Image credit: Murayama, Osaka University.

Asteroid Shower Bombarded Earth-Moon System 800 Million Years Ago

Jul 22, 2020 by News Staff

A team of planetary researchers from Japan has demonstrated that a 100-km asteroid was disrupted 800 million years ago (Tonian period of the Neoproterozoic...

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

Venus is Still Geologically Active, New Research Suggests

Jul 21, 2020 by News Staff

A team of researchers from the University of Maryland and the Institute of Geophysics at ETH Zurich has identified 37 active circular volcano-tectonic...

A high-resolution image from the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) on Solar Orbiter, taken with the HRIEUV telescope on May 30, 2020. The circle in the lower left corner indicates the size of Earth for scale. The arrow points to one of the ubiquitous features of the solar surface, called ‘campfires’ and revealed for the first time by these images. On May 30, Solar Orbiter was roughly halfway between the Earth and the Sun, meaning that it was closer to the Sun than any other solar telescope has ever been before. Image credit: ESA / NASA / Solar Orbiter / EUI Team / CSL / IAS / MPS / PMOD / WRC / ROB / UCL / MSSL.

Solar Orbiter Beams Back Its First Images of the Sun

Jul 17, 2020 by News Staff

Solar Orbiter, a space mission of international collaboration between ESA and NASA, made its first close approach to the Sun in mid-June and captured unique...

When the Moon formed into a sphere approximately 1,700 km in radius 4.425 billion years ago, its interior heated up considerably due to the energy released when it accreted. The rock melted and an ocean of magma, possibly more than 1,000 km deep, formed. Later, light rocks crystallized, which rose to the surface and formed a first crust on the Moon. This crust insulated the Moon from space, and the magma ocean beneath it cooled down slowly. Around 200 million years would pass before the Moon completely solidified. Image credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

Moon May Be 85 Million Years Younger than Thought

Jul 15, 2020 by News Staff

Earth’s only natural satellite formed 4.425 billion years ago — around 85 million years later than previous estimates, according to a new modeling...

This composite image of Jupiter combines five JunoCam images taken on June 2, 2020, between 6:56 a.m. EDT (3:56 a.m. PDT) and 7:25 a.m. EDT (4:25 a.m. PDT). Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SwRI / MSSS / Kevin M. Gill / CC BY.

New Oval-Shaped Feature Spotted on Jupiter: Clyde’s Spot

Jul 6, 2020 by News Staff

An astronomer from South Africa has discovered a new ‘white oval’ in the southern hemisphere of the gas giant Jupiter. Jupiter as captured...

This photograph was taken looking south across Mare Imbrium. The crater Copernicus, 93 km (58 miles) in diameter, is seen in the distance. Several chains of small craters are visible. These are oriented toward Copernicus and are secondary craters produced by material ejected when Copernicus formed. In the foreground, the crater Pytheas is 20 km (12.4 miles) in diameter. This photo was taken by the Apollo 17 crew in 1972. Image credit: Lunar and Planetary Institute.

Lunar Subsurface May Be Richer in Metals than Previously Thought

Jul 2, 2020 by News Staff

Using data from the Miniature Radio Frequency (Mini-RF) instrument onboard NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), a team of U.S. researchers has...

The Paleolithic settlement at Abu Hureyra in what is now Syria may have been destroyed 12,800 years ago because of a comet. Image credit: Jennifer Rice, Comet Research Group.

Cometary Debris May Have Destroyed Paleolithic Settlement 12,800 Years Ago

Jul 2, 2020 by News Staff

Fragments of an exploding short-period comet may have caused destruction of the Paleolithic settlement at Abu Hureyra in northern Syria about 12,800 years...

Artist’s concept of ocean on Jupiter’s moon Europa. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Planetary Researchers Explore Habitability of Europa’s Ocean

Jun 25, 2020 by News Staff

A duo of U.S. planetary scientists has calculated that water in the subsurface ocean of Jupiter’s icy moon Europa could have been formed by breakdown...

This high-resolution image of Pluto was taken by New Horizons on July 14. Pluto’s surface sports a remarkable range of subtle colors, enhanced in this view to a rainbow of pale blues, yellows, oranges, and deep reds. Many landforms have their own distinct colors, telling a complex geological and climatological story that scientists have only just begun to decode. Image credit: NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute.

Newborn Pluto Was Hot and Had Subsurface Ocean: Study

Jun 23, 2020 by News Staff

Pluto is thought to possess a subsurface ocean beneath its thick ice shell. It has generally been assumed that the dwarf planet formed out of cold material...

An artist’s impression of ESA’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter detecting the green glow of oxygen in the Martian atmosphere. This emission, spotted on the dayside of Mars, is similar to the night glow seen around Earth’s atmosphere from space. Image credit: ESA.

ESA’s Trace Gas Orbiter Detects Glowing Oxygen in Martian Atmosphere

Jun 18, 2020 by News Staff

Using data from the NOMAD (Nadir and Occultation for Mars Discovery) ultraviolet and visible spectrometer instrument on board ESA’s ExoMars Trace Gas...

Voyager 2 image of Triton showing the south polar region with dark streaks produced by geysers visible on the icy surface. Image credit: NASA / JPL.

NASA Wants to Send Probe to Triton: Mission Trident

Jun 17, 2020 by News Staff

Trident, a new mission competing for selection under NASA’s Discovery Program, would explore Triton, a unique and highly active icy moon of Neptune....

Curiosity Spots Earth and Venus from Martian Surface

Jun 16, 2020 by News Staff

The Mast Camera (Mastcam) onboard NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity has captured new images of Earth and Venus as seen from the surface of the Red Planet. Two...

This anaglyph image can be viewed with red-blue stereo glasses to reveal Proxima Centauri’s distance from its background. Image credit: Siding Spring node, Las Cumbres Observatory / NASA / Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute.

New Horizons Obtains Parallax Measurements for Two Nearby Stars

Jun 15, 2020 by News Staff

Astronomers have long used a so-called parallax effect — how a star appears to shift against its background when seen from different locations —...

Cosmic rays striking Venus’ atmosphere eject neutrons that gradually fly into space. As neutrons move to higher altitudes, more time passes, and more neutrons radioactively decay. MESSENGER counted the number of neutrons seen at various altitudes, allowing researchers to home in on where neutron numbers start falling off. Using models, researchers can then estimate the neutron lifetime. Image credit: Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory.

NASA’s MESSENGER Mission Carries Out Space-Based Measurements of Neutron’s Lifetime

Jun 12, 2020 by News Staff

Using data acquired in 2007 and 2008 during flybys of Venus and Mercury by NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft, researchers found the neutron lifetime to be...

An example of the lunar rockfall. Image credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center / ASU.

Planetary Scientists Create First Global Map of Lunar Rockfalls

Jun 10, 2020 by News Staff

Using an artificial intelligence and big data-driven approach, a team of planetary researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research...

This mosaic of Saturn and its largest moon Titan combines six images -- two each of red, green and blue spectral filters -- to create this natural color view. The images were obtained with Cassini’s wide-angle camera on May 6, 2012, at a distance of approximately 778,000 km (483,000 miles) from Titan. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute.

Titan Migrates Away from Saturn Faster than Previously Thought

Jun 9, 2020 by News Staff

Saturn is orbited by 82 moons, and tidal friction within the giant planet causes the moons to migrate outwards. In a study published this week in the journal...