Baltimore MD (SPX) Jan 12, 2023
Researchers confirmed an exoplanet, a planet that orbits another star, using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope for the first time. Formally classified as LHS 475 b, the planet is almost exactly the same size as our own, clocking in at 99% of Earth's diameter. The research team is led by Kevin Stevenson and Jacob Lustig-Yaeger, both of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in La

Washington DC (SPX) Jan 12, 2023
Researchers have developed a way to use laser light to pull a macroscopic object. Although microscopic optical tractor beams have been demonstrated before, this is one of the first times that laser pulling has been used on larger objects. Light contains both energy and momentum that can be used for various types of optical manipulation such as levitation and rotation. Optical tweezers, for

Boston MA (SPX) Jan 12, 2023
Hundreds of black holes previously hidden, or buried, have been found using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. This result helps give astronomers a more accurate census of black holes in the universe. The black holes in this new study are the supermassive variety that contain millions or even billions of times the mass of the Sun. While astronomers think that almost all large galaxies harbo

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 12, 2023
The Martian meteorite Tissint contains a huge diversity of organic compounds, found an international team of researchers led by Technical University of Munich and Helmholtz Munich's Philippe Schmitt-Kopplin and including Carnegie's Andrew Steele. Their work is published in Science Advances. Tissint, which crash landed in Morocco more than 11 years ago, is one of only five Martian meteorite

Pasadena CA (JPL) Jan 12, 2023
At this point in the mission, the team is very good at responding to tactical surprises. Today, we did not receive the necessary downlink to proceed with the nominal plan. Fortunately, we received enough downlink to know that the last plan finished successfully and the rover is safe. All we need to do is wait for the missing data and keep going! We have enough images to look at the terrain

Pasadena CA (JPL) Jan 12, 2023
We continue to characterize the Marker Band and the bedrock just below it, with the aim of understanding the origin of the Marker Band. For today's two-sol plan, in an area below the Marker Band, we planned early morning APXS and MAHLI (Touch and Go) on the brushed target "Jenipapo," similar to the flattest material in the accompanying Mastcam image. Mastcam will acquire some multi-spectra

Washington DC (UPI) Jan 11, 2023
SpaceX confirmed Wednesday its Dragon cargo spacecraft successfully splashed down off the coast of Florida after returning from the International Space Station. The uncrewed Dragon cargo spacecraft splashed down at 5:19 a.m. EST, off the coast of Tampa, Fla., marking an end to the company's 26th contracted mission to resupply the space station for NASA. "Once Dragon has been retr

Wallops Island VA (SPX) Jan 11, 2023
Rocket Lab USA, Inc (Nasdaq: RKLB) has announced the launch window for its first Electron mission from U.S. soil is scheduled to open on January 23, 2023 with back-up dates extending through early February. The daily launch opportunity runs from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm EST (23:00 - 1:00 UTC). The "Virginia Is For Launch Lovers" mission will lift-off from Launch Complex 2 at Virginia Space's Mid-

Washington DC (UPI) Jan 11, 2023
An effort to put a satellite launcher into low-Earth orbit from Alaska's Kodiak Island failed after the rocket crashed back to the launchpad, destroying the facility, private U.S. company ABL Space Systems said. The ABL RS1 lifted off from its Kodiak Island launchpad midafternoon Alaska time on Tuesday. The company said through its official Twitter account that it experienced an "anomal

Moscow (AFP) Jan 11, 2023
Russia said Wednesday that it will send an empty spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) next month to bring home three astronauts whose planned return vehicle was damaged by a strike from a tiny meteoroid. The Russian space agency, Roscosmos, made the announcement after examining the flight worthiness of the Soyuz MS-22 crew capsule docked with the ISS that sprang a radiator coo