SwRI scientist helps identify new evidence for habitability in Enceladus's ocean
The search for extraterrestrial life just got more interesting as a team of scientists including Southwest Research Institute's Dr. Christopher Glein has discovered new evidence for a key building block for life in the subsurface ocean of Saturn's moon Enceladus. New modeling indicates that Enceladus's ocean should be relatively rich in dissolved phosphorus, an essential ingredient for life. Sols 3599-3600: A Stay and Play Kind of Day
Coming into planning, we were ready for a standard "Touch and Go" plan, where we do some early morning science and then drive onto our next location. However, our workspace had some really great bedrock within arm reach, so we decided to convert the plan into a "Stay and Play" type of plan instead and spend more time characterizing the rocks here.
On the first sol of the plan, APXS and MAH Small craters add up to wandering poles on Moon
The Moon's craters preserve billions of years of history. Scientists have learned about the conditions of our early solar system by studying the composition, size, and distribution of these holes in the Moon's surface, created long ago by collisions with asteroids.
But instead of directly studying the characteristics of these holes, a team based at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Gre New clues about Mars' early atmosphere suggest a wet planet capable of supporting life
New research published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters suggests that Mars was born wet, with a dense atmosphere allowing warm-to-hot oceans for millions of years. To reach this conclusion, researchers developed the first model of the evolution of the Martian atmosphere that links the high temperatures associated with Mars's formation in a molten state through to the formation of the first Number of ancient Martian lakes might be dramatically underestimated
Lakes are bodies of water fed by rainfall, snowmelt, rivers and groundwater, through which, Earth is teeming with life. Lakes also contain critical geologic records of past climates. Though Mars is a frozen desert today, scientists have shown that Mars contains evidence of ancient lakes that existed billions of years ago, which could contain evidence for ancient life and climate conditions on th Smartphone chips flown in orbit for space weather monitoring
Magnetic technology more typically found in your smartphone or computer hard drive has been flight-tested aboard a shoebox-sized satellite, employed to help monitor space weather in Earth orbit. The ‘magnetoresistive’ magnetometer design proven by ESA’s RadCube mission will now be flown on the Gateway station, set to orbit around the Moon.
Celebrate 'International Observe the Moon Night' with NASA
The public is invited to participate in NASA’s celebration of "International Observe the Moon Night" on Saturday, Oct. 1. ULA’s Delta 4 prepares for final West Coast launch as Vandenberg seeks new tenants
After completing the NROL-91 mission, ULA will start vacating SLC-6 and consolidate operations at SLC-3
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Avanti turns to regional operator partnerships to expand satellite coverage
U.K.-based Avanti Communications is seeking more partnerships to grow its footprint after securing its first major deal to use another regional satellite operator’s capacity.
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NASA updates exploration objectives
NASA has revised and expanded a set of objectives it will use to guide its architecture for lunar and Mars exploration after receiving volumes of feedback from commercial and international partners.
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