Pasadena CA (JPL) Apr 02, 2024
Earth planning date: Wednesday, March 27, 2024: As someone who studies planetary atmospheres, the geology of Curiosity's mission often flies straight over my head. I like to think that I've picked up some of the basics just through exposure, but sitting in with the geology team at the start of planning each day can sometimes still leave me feeling like I've forgotten how to swim seconds before b

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Apr 02, 2024
In a significant advancement for space research, NASA's OSIRIS-REx team has made the asteroid Bennu samples accessible for global scientific investigation, a mere six months following their Earth arrival. Managed by NASA's Johnson Space Center, the unveiling of the OSIRIS-REx sample catalog marks a key moment, offering researchers worldwide the opportunity to delve into the composition of these

Pasadena CA (JPL) Apr 02, 2024
Earth planning date: Friday, March 29, 2024: Curiosity is approaching an intriguing pile of rocks called "Hinman Col" - a poorly sorted collection of clasts located along the margin of Gediz Vallis ridge. We're hoping to get closer to this deposit over the weekend, to set up for contact science on the different rock types next week. In doing so, we hope to investigate where the different clasts

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Apr 03, 2024
Scientists at Brown University, in collaboration with the SETI Institute, have unveiled findings from a new study that may rewrite the narrative on the behavior and composition of distant solar system objects, particularly a Kuiper Belt Object known as 486958 Arrokoth, affectionately dubbed the "space snowman." The research highlights Arrokoth's ability to retain ancient ices within its co

The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has set its sights on the starburst galaxy Messier 82 (M82), a small but mighty environment that features rapid star formation. By looking closer with Webb’s sensitive infrared capabilities, a team of scientists is getting to the very core of the galaxy, gaining a better understanding of how it is forming stars and how this extreme activity is affecting the galaxy as a whole.

Hundreds of millions of people will witness next week’s total solar eclipse across North America, and solar physicists from around the globe are flocking to join them. Eclipses offer a brief glimpse of the Sun’s ghostly surrounding atmosphere – the solar corona – normally kept invisible by the Sun’s sheer glare. But the corona will soon be opened up for more sustained study: today in Belgium ESA has unveiled the pair of spacecraft making up its new Proba-3 mission, planned to produce orbital solar eclipse events on demand.