Week in images: 28 August - 01 September 2023

Discover our week through the lens

Image: Hera asteroid mission here

Ithaca NY (SPX) Aug 30, 2023
Chromium hydride (CrH), a molecule that's relatively rare and particularly sensitive to temperature, is useful as a "thermometer for stars," according to astronomer Laura Flagg, because it's abundant only in a narrow range between 1,200-2,000 degrees Kelvin. Flagg, a research associate in astronomy in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S), has used this and other metal hydrides to determi

Boston MA (SPX) Aug 30, 2023
Of the more than 5,000 planets known to exist beyond our solar system, most orbit their stars at surprisingly close range. More than 80 percent of confirmed exoplanets have orbits shorter than 50 days, placing these toasty worlds at least twice as close to their star as Mercury is to our sun - and some, even closer than that. Astronomers are starting to get a general picture of these plane

Greenbelt MD (SPX) Aug 30, 2023
When astronauts set off for a trip around the Moon in 2024 with NASA's Artemis II mission, they will go primed with knowledge of lunar landmarks gathered by one of the Agency's premiere robotic missions to our nearest cosmic neighbor. NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), launched in 2009, has returned a treasure trove of scientific data in its fourteen years of operation, but this is not a

Dalian, China (SPX) Aug 30, 2023
Today, space missions mainly rely on the transportation of basic needs from the Earth, which is extremely challenging and logistically impossible when we aim to develop stations or habitats on extraterrestrial sites such as the Moon and Mars. For example, an astronaut needs almost a kilogram of oxygen per day to sustain their life. Therefore, tons of oxygen have to be transported to build

San Antonio TX (SPX) Aug 30, 2023
The Space Telescope Science Institute recently awarded Southwest Research Institute a large project to use the Hubble and James Webb telescopes to remotely study Io, the most volcanically active body in the solar system. The study will complement the upcoming flybys of the Jupiter moon by NASA's Juno spacecraft and will provide insights into Io's contributions to the plasma environment around Ju

Vienna VA (SPX) Aug 30, 2023
Infospectrum has expanded its agreement with Spire Global, Inc. (NYSE: SPIR) is seto to acquire historical vessel-tracking data in addition to port event information. The maritime analytics market is expected to be over $2 billion by 2028. Spire's historical automatic identification system (AIS) data and Port Events solution - which supplies live and historical vessel arrival and departure

Washington DC (UPI) Aug 31, 2023
Ingenuity, the tiny helicopter that has far surpassed expectations on Mars, has completed its 56th flight, NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab announced Thursday. Ingenuity flew 1,334 feet, a little over a quarter of a mile, across the Martian surface last Saturday, JPL said in a statement. The tiny chopper flew at a maximum altitude of about 39 feet above the surface of the Red Planet. "The goal of this

Herndon VA (SPX) Aug 30, 2023
BlackSky Technology Inc. (NYSE: BKSY) released a sixty-image collection captured over Khartoum, Sudan, showcasing the never-before-seen scale of operational complexity associated with the evacuation of international civilians and key personnel from Wadi Sayyidna Airfield from late April until early May. The image collection contains high-cadence, time-diverse imagery taken as early as 5:37 a.m.,