Boston MA (SPX) Feb 01, 2022
In a global collaboration, a team of researchers recently proved a 90-year-old theory on why comets' heads, but never the tails, are green. The scientific explanation, published in PNAS on Dec. 21, has to do with the way the molecule dicarbon (C2) gets blown apart by sunlight. The other part of the story lies in an accidental discovery and a love of spectroscopic perturbations, passed from

Pasadena CA (JPL) Feb 01, 2022
We continue to characterize "The Prow," which stands proud above nearby flat lying dust coated bedrock. Our sedimentologists are very keen to get grain size measurements, as this can give very valuable insights into conditions at the time the sediments were laid down. A change in grain size can show that we have changing conditions over time, so getting MAHLI on rocks here is the highest p

Houston TX (SPX) Feb 01, 2022
The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, Inc. (CASIS), manager of the International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory, has announced the release of a new online tool for educators called Expedition Space Lab. This tool is designed to provide educators with easy access to ISS-related lessons, activities, and other resources to integrate into their curriculum. Through Expedi

Orlando FL (SPX) Feb 01, 2022
SpaceX successfully launched an Italian Earth-observation satellite, the COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation 2, from Florida after several days of setbacks. A Falcon 9 rocket mounted with the spacecraft lifted off at 6:11 p.m. EST from Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. SpaceX scrubbed the launch three times due to weather worries and a fourth time on Sunday because a cruis

London, UK (SPX) Feb 01, 2022
The UK Space Agency is providing 1.7 million pounds for new projects to support sustainable space operations, Science Minister George Freeman announced Monday. The 13 new projects will help track and remove dangerous debris in space. They include an AI-based tool which can take autonomous action to avoid a collision and another which will see multiple small spacecraft fired at debris befor

Washington DC (SPX) Feb 01, 2022
The NASA-funded Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS)-a state-of-the-art asteroid detection system operated by the University of Hawaii (UH) Institute for Astronomy (IfA) for the agency's Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO)-has reached a new milestone by becoming the first survey capable of searching the entire dark sky every 24 hours for near-Earth objects (NEOs) that c

Washington DC (SPX) Feb 01, 2022
The International Space Station is a unique laboratory that is returning enormous scientific, educational, and technological developments to benefit people on Earth and is enabling our ability to travel into deep space. The Biden-Harris Administration's commitment to extend space station operations until 2030 will enable the United States to continue to reap these benefits for the next decade wh

Satellites provide crucial, and increasingly important, information to help understand our changing climate. However, better understanding Earth observation data can be a daunting task for new users. A new online course, developed by the University of Twente, on behalf of ESA, helps students, researchers and other professionals analyse satellite data to help measure and mitigate against the effects of climate change.