Greenbelt MD (SPX) Jun 02, 2022
"One of the key goals, when you think about modern astronomy, considers the life cycle of molecular material," said Arshia Jacob, an astronomer at Johns Hopkins University. Diffuse atomic gas becomes dense molecular gas, which ultimately forms stars and stellar systems, and continues to evolve over time. Though astronomers understand much of this process, there are a lot of missing pieces.

Irvine CA (SPX) Jun 02, 2022
A thorough understanding of galaxy evolution depends in part on an accurate measurement of the abundance of metals in the intergalactic medium - the space between stars - but dust can impede observations in optical wavelengths. An international team of astronomers at the University of California, Irvine, Oxford University in England, and other institutions uncovered evidence of heavier elements

Baltimore MD (SPX) Jun 02, 2022
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, a partnership with ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), will release its first full-color images and spectroscopic data on July 12, 2022. As the largest and most complex observatory ever launched into space, Webb has been going through a six-month period of preparation before it can begin science work, calibrating its instruments to

Paris (ESA) Jun 02, 2022
A test version of the payload module of ESA's exoplanet-detecting Plato spacecraft underwent a prolonged vacuum soak within Europe's largest thermal vacuum chamber, to evaluate its endurance of space conditions. There are tasks in space where multiple smaller imagers are better than one big equivalent. ESA PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars mission, Plato, is to detect Earth-scal

Copenhagen, Denmark (SPX) Jun 02, 2022
While some galaxies form stars at a continuous rate, others die out and lead a more passive life. What made these galaxies stop forming stars at an early age is not well established, not the least because they are so distant and faint that they evade being observed. But looking at the combined light from thousands of galaxies, a team of astronomers including the University of Copenhagen showed t

Boulder CO (SPX) Jun 02, 2022
NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN, or MAVEN, mission returned to normal science and relay operations on May 28, 2022, after recovering from an extended safe mode event. The spacecraft encountered problems in February with its Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs). The mission team successfully diagnosed the issue with these navigation instruments and developed a system for the spacecraft

Washington DC (SPX) Jun 02, 2022
NASA has selected Axiom Space and Collins Aerospace to advance spacewalking capabilities in low-Earth orbit and at the Moon, by buying services that provide astronauts with next generation spacesuit and spacewalk systems to work outside the International Space Station, explore the lunar surface on Artemis missions, and prepare for human missions to Mars. The awards leverage NASA expertise

Pasadena CA (JPL) Jun 02, 2022
During its first couple hundred days in Jezero Crater, NASA's Perseverance Mars rover saw some of the most intense dust activity ever witnessed by a mission sent to the Red Planet's surface. Not only did the rover detect hundreds of dust-bearing whirlwinds called dust devils, Perseverance captured the first video ever recorded of wind gusts lifting a massive Martian dust cloud. A paper rec

Tempe AZ (SPX) Jun 02, 2022
Both men have been blasted into space and have served in the U.S. Senate. But NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly were "back in school" during a visit to Arizona State University's School of Earth and Space Exploration on Friday, May 27. The pair got to see details of the university's more than 20 space missions - ASU is leading the NASA space missions Psyche and LunaH-

Denver CO (SPX) Jun 02, 2022
Ursa Major, America's only privately funded company that focuses solely on rocket propulsion, has introduced the latest in its line of engines. Arroway is a 200,000-pound thrust liquid oxygen and methane staged combustion engine that will serve markets including current U.S. national security missions, commercial satellite launches, orbital space stations, and future missions not yet conceived.