London, UK (SPX) Jul 09, 2025
A meteorite discovered in Africa in 2023 has been dated to 2.35 billion years old, making it the youngest known basaltic lunar meteorite and filling a nearly billion-year void in the Moon's volcanic history. Presented at the Goldschmidt Conference in Prague, the findings from the meteorite Northwest Africa 16286 offer compelling evidence that the Moon maintained internal heat far longer th

Potsdam, Germany (SPX) Jul 08, 2025
Due to the radiative thermal conductivity of the mineral olivine, only oceanic plates over 60 million years old and subducting at more than 10 centimeters per year remain sufficiently cold to transport water into the Earth's deep mantle. This was found by scientists from the University of Potsdam and from the Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) Potsdam, together with international colleagues,

London, UK (SPX) Jul 09, 2025
Astronomers want to unlock the secrets of the 'Cosmic Dawn' by sending a miniature spacecraft to listen out for an "ancient whisper" on the far side of the Moon. The proposed mission will study the very early universe, right after the Big Bang, when it was still quite dark and empty before the first stars and galaxies appeared. But to probe the cosmic 'Dark Ages', silence is essentia

College Park MD (SPX) Jul 09, 2025
University of Maryland astronomers discovered that an unexpected blast of space rocks ejected during DART mission carried three times more momentum than the spacecraft itself, leading to new insights for future planetary defense missions. When NASA's DART spacecraft slammed into the asteroid moon Dimorphos in September 2022, it didn't just change the asteroid's orbit as intended-it unleash

Pasadena CA (JPL) Jul 09, 2025
For the past month and a half, Perseverance has been exploring the Krokodillen plateau in search of clay-bearing rocks. An earlier blog discussed that these rocks could hold clues to Mars' watery past, and Perseverance has been exploring multiple potential locations to find a suitable target to sample. When a coring target could not be found at the previous outcrop, the Science Team decide

Chicago IL (SPX) Jul 09, 2025
One of the great unsolved problems in modern planetary science is written on the surface of Mars. Mars has canyons that were carved by rivers, so it was once warm enough for liquid water. How-and why-did it become it a barren desert today? A study led by University of Chicago planetary scientist Edwin Kite puts forth a new explanation for why Mars never seems to stay balmy for long.

Boston MA (SPX) Jul 08, 2025
Chloris Geospatial has raised $8.5 million in Series A funding to advance its satellite-powered forest carbon monitoring solutions. The round was led by Future Energy Ventures, joined by returning investors AXA IM Alts, At One Ventures, Cisco Foundation, Counteract, and Orbia Ventures. The funding will help the Boston-based firm scale its product development, grow commercial and technical

El Segundo CA (SPX) Jul 08, 2025
Boeing has secured a $2.8 billion contract from the U.S. Space Force to develop and produce two satellites as part of the Evolved Strategic Satellite Communications (ESS) program, with the possibility of building two additional units. These satellites will play a central role in enhancing the nuclear command, control, and communications (NC3) network used by the President and joint strategic for

London, UK (SPX) Jul 08, 2025
The UK Space Agency has launched a GBP 75.6 million competitive tender for a pioneering mission to remove derelict satellites from orbit, marking the country's first active orbital cleanup effort. The initiative is aimed at safeguarding critical satellite infrastructure that underpins modern services such as navigation, forecasting, and emergency communications. Central to the Active Debri

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jul 08, 2025
SatVu, a UK-based pioneer in thermal infrared imaging, has secured a contract of up to euro 3 million from the European Space Agency (ESA) to provide high-resolution thermal data to the Copernicus Contributing Mission (CCM) programme over the next three years. This agreement, announced during the Living Planet Symposium in Vienna, marks the first Category 1 CCM contract awarded to a UK fi