Juno maps water ice across northern Ganymede
Wednesday, 20 January 2021 12:41
Jupiter's moon Ganymede is the largest planetary satellite in the solar system. It's also one of the most intriguing: Ganymede is the only moon with its own magnetic field, it is the most differentiated of all moons, and it likely possesses a subsurface ocean of liquid water. It was studied by the early Jupiter flybys made by the Pioneer and Voyager spacecraft, but our understanding today rests largely on observations made by NASA's Galileo orbiter from 1995 to 2003.
Mura et al. now report some of the first in situ observations of Ganymede since the end of the Galileo mission. They used the Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) on board NASA's Juno spacecraft to take images and spectra of the moon's north polar region.
Airbus, Thales win second-generation Galileo satellite contracts
Wednesday, 20 January 2021 12:08
WASHINGTON — The European Commission announced Jan. 20 it will award contracts to Airbus Defence and Space and Thales Alenia Space to build an initial set of next-generation Galileo navigation satellites, shutting out incumbent manufacturer OHB.
Airbus and Thales will each build six of the second-generation Galileo satellites under contracts that will be formally signed at the end of January.
Bridenstine leaves NASA, calls for unity in space, science efforts
Wednesday, 20 January 2021 09:26
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine stepped down as planned Wednesday and posted a message on Twitter to thank employees and all who supported his tenure at the space agency.
Bridenstine, who left on the day of President Joe Biden's inauguration, made a public plea for continued support of NASA and planned missions to the moon and Mars.
He referenced historic disagreements at the The 15th Anniversary of New Horizons Leaving Earth
Wednesday, 20 January 2021 09:26
New Horizons is healthy and continues to send data back from the Kuiper Belt, even as it speeds farther and farther from the Earth and the Sun.
But the mission's jam-packed plans for new Kuiper Belt exploration this year are not the subject of this PI Perspective. Instead, I want to concentrate on a very special anniversary, taking place today - our 15th anniversary of launch!
That's Astronomers estimate Titan's largest sea is 1,000 feet deep
Wednesday, 20 January 2021 09:26
Far below the gaseous atmospheric shroud on Saturn's largest moon, Titan, lies Kraken Mare, a sea of liquid methane. Cornell astronomers have estimated that sea to be at least 1,000 feet deep near its center - enough room for a potential robotic submarine to explore.
After sifting through data from one of the final Titan flybys of the Cassini mission, the researchers detailed their finding Crater study offers window on temperatures 3.5 billion years ago
Wednesday, 20 January 2021 09:26
Once upon a time, seasons in Gale Crater probably felt something like those in Iceland. But nobody was there to bundle up more than 3 billion years ago.
The ancient Martian crater is the focus of a study by Rice University scientists comparing data from the Curiosity rover to places on Earth where similar geologic formations have experienced weathering in different climates.
Iceland' SpaceX launches first Starlink satellite mission of 2021
Wednesday, 20 January 2021 09:26
SpaceX launched another shipment of 60 Starlink satellites from Florida on Wednesday morning, adding to a rapidly growing cluster of high-speed broadband communications spacecraft.
The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off as planned at 8:02 a.m. EST into a cool, blue winter sky from Complex 39 at Kennedy Space Center. The satellites deployed into their intended orbit one hour and four minutes aft Search for axions from nearby star Betelgeuse comes up empty
Wednesday, 20 January 2021 09:26
The elusive axion particle is many times lighter than an electron, with properties that barely make an impression on ordinary matter. As such, the ghost-like particle is a leading contender as a component of dark matter - a hypothetical, invisible type of matter that is thought to make up 85 percent of the mass in the universe.
Axions have so far evaded detection. Physicists predict that i Astroscale's ELSA-d debris buster ready for a March launch
Wednesday, 20 January 2021 09:26
Astroscale reports that its End-of-Life Services by Astroscale-demonstration (ELSA-d) satellite has arrived at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, ready for anticipated launch on March 20, 2021. ELSA-d will launch on a Soyuz rocket operated by GK Launch Services.
"We can now begin the final phase of pre-launch activities, including integration of the satellite on the rocket and operatio Lunar Surface Trash or Treasure?
Wednesday, 20 January 2021 09:26
Now that NASA is leading the development of the Artemis lunar habitation program that will send men and women to the Moon within the next few years, this may be a good time to preview at least one aspect of the environment that the astronauts will experience when they arrive, i. e., trash from Earth.
Since 1959, the lunar surface has experienced a barrage of man-made attacks of various kin Autonomous driving on intelligent road at Europe's edge
Wednesday, 20 January 2021 09:26
An ESA-supported effort put an intelligent road up in Finnish Lapland through its paces, assessing its suitability for testing autonomous vehicles in some of Europe's most challenging driving conditions.
"If autonomous vehicles can drive well here, they can drive almost anywhere," says Sarang Thombre of the Finnish Geospatial Research Institute, managing the Arctic-PNT project.
"Our Astronomers dissect the anatomy of planetary nebulae using Hubble images
Wednesday, 20 January 2021 09:26
Images of two iconic planetary nebulae taken by the Hubble Space Telescope are revealing new information about how they develop their dramatic features. Researchers from Rochester Institute of Technology and Green Bank Observatory presented new findings about the Butterfly Nebula (NGC 6302) and the Jewel Bug Nebula (NGC 7027) at the 237th meeting of the American Astronomical Society on Friday, J Lake heatwaves to increase due to climate change
Wednesday, 20 January 2021 08:00
Lake heatwaves – periods of extreme warm surface water temperature in lakes – may become hotter and longer by the end of the 21st century, according to a new study published in Nature, increasing the link between climate change and extreme events.
Satellogic signs multi-launch contract with SpaceX
Wednesday, 20 January 2021 00:00
WASHINGTON — Earth observation company Satellogic announced Jan. 19 it signed a contract with SpaceX covering several rideshare launches of its satellites through next year.
The multiple launch services agreement makes SpaceX Satellogic’s preferred provider for launching its constellation of microsatellites, after previously relying on Chinese, European and Russian vehicles, including a launch of 10 satellites as the primary payload on a Long March 6 Nov.
On National Security | Defense contractors forced into uneasy role in wake of Capitol riot
Tuesday, 19 January 2021 21:55
As the fallout from the Jan. 6 deadly siege on the U.S. Capitol continues, the crisis has forced a reckoning of sorts in a sector of American industry that typically steers clear of political controversy.