London, Canada (SPX) Feb 15, 2024
A study led by Western astrobiologist Catherine Neish shows the subsurface ocean of Titan - the largest moon of Saturn - is most likely a non-habitable environment, meaning any hope of finding life in the icy world is dead in the water. This discovery means it is far less likely that space scientists and astronauts will ever find life in the outer solar system, home to the four 'giant' pla

Tucson AZ (SPX) Feb 15, 2024
NASA has big plans for its Artemis program - to return Americans to the moon for the first time since 1972 and establish a lunar base for humans by the end of the decade. With NASA funding, a team of University of Arizona engineers is using robot networks to create termite-inspired structures that will help astronauts survive the moon's harsh environment. Associate professor Jekan Thanga a

Pasadena CA (JPL) Feb 15, 2024
One side effect of enjoying a very long mission is reaching fun number milestones. Usually that is "Sol 3000" or some other nice round number, but today we are planning the mathematically fun sol 2^12, also known as sol 4096. Today I was on shift as a MAHLI uplink lead, so I was excited to think about contact science targets. Unfortunately, the team determined that Curiosity's wheels are p

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 15, 2024
The Space Systems Command (SSC) of the U.S. Space Force, in coordination with SpaceX, has completed the successful launch of six critical satellites aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. This National Security Space Launch (NSSL), known as the USSF-124 mission, plays a crucial role in enhancing the United States' missile detection and defense capabilities.

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 13, 2024
In a significant stride toward enhancing global air quality understanding, NASA has embarked on a collaborative mission with Korea's National Institute of Environmental Research (NIER) and other international partners. The initiative, known as the Airborne and Satellite Investigation of Asian Air Quality (ASIA-AQ), aims to collect and analyze atmospheric data across several Asian locations. This

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 16, 2024
In a groundbreaking initiative that could redefine how marine sensors are powered, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has introduced the BioLogical Underwater Energy (BLUE) program. This ambitious project explores the potential of marine biomass-ranging from dissolved organic matter and phytoplankton to zooplankton and even microplastics-as a sustainable energy source for ocea

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 16, 2024
The U.S. Department of Defense has marked a significant milestone in missile defense capabilities with the successful launch of five missile tracking satellites designed and constructed by L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX). These satellites were launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, under the auspices of the Missile Defense Agency's (MDA) Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Sp

Seoul, South Korea (SPX) Feb 16, 2024
In a significant stride for satellite technology, TelePIX, a South Korean space startup, has unveiled the TetraPLEX, a high-performance AI processor that promises to revolutionize the handling and analysis of satellite data. This processor, developed in collaboration with tech giant NVIDIA, boasts a groundbreaking 10 trillion operations per second, positioning it as a cornerstone for advanced in

Paris, France (SPX) Feb 15, 2024
As the Sun inches closer to the apex of its magnetic activity cycle, the European Space Agency's Solar Orbiter has provided unprecedented snapshots highlighting a significant uptick in solar phenomena. These include more frequent and intense solar explosions, darkly spotted regions indicating sunspots, looping plasma formations, and turbulent swirls of super-heated gas. The observations mark a s

Potsdam, Germany (SPX) Feb 16, 2024
In a groundbreaking study, researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics, alongside colleagues from universities in Kyoto and Toho, have unveiled the enigmatic process powering the immense magnetic fields driving kilonova explosions and gamma-ray bursts resulting from neutron star mergers. This revelation, derived from an unprecedentedly high-resolution computer simulation th