Washington DC (SPX) Apr 16, 2021
Telescopes are getting better and better at detecting the components of exoplanet atmospheres. But what can those components tell us about a planet's climate? It turns out that water vapor may be especially useful in this regard. As we find more and more exoplanets, we're realizing that our solar system may be the exception to the rule! The menagerie of exoplanets we've discovered so far i

Santa Cruz CA (SPX) Apr 16, 2021
In a novel laboratory investigation of the initial atmospheres of Earth-like rocky planets, researchers at UC Santa Cruz heated pristine meteorite samples in a high-temperature furnace and analyzed the gases released. Their results, published April 15 in Nature Astronomy, suggest that the initial atmospheres of terrestrial planets may differ significantly from many of the common assumption

Washington DC (USN) Apr 16, 2021
U.S. Naval Research Laboratory scientists were recently left scratching their heads over a familiar sight in the sky. Venus images are nothing new, but a solar probe surprised the researchers by seeing through the planet's clouds. NRL's Wide-field Imager for Parker Solar Probe (WISPR) took a stunning image of Earth's celestial neighbor Venus last year that left researchers searching for answers

Pasadena CA (JPL) Apr 16, 2021
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California is providing the instrument that will enable a nonprofit organization called Carbon Mapper to pinpoint and measure methane and carbon dioxide (CO2) point-sources from space. The data collected by the instrument will help to find super-emitters - the small percentage of individual sources that are responsible for a significant fraction

Washington DC (SPX) Apr 16, 2021
As the world's energy demands grow, so too does growing concern over the environmental impact of power production. The need for a safe, clean, and reliable energy source has never been clearer. Fusion power could fulfil such a need. A review paper published in EPJ H examines the 6-decade history of neutral particle analysis (NPA), developed in Ioffe Institute, Saint Petersburg, Russia, a v

Washington DC (UPI) Apr 19, 2021
NASA's Crew 2 payload is scheduled to carry several important science experiments to the International Space Station this week. During a press briefing on Monday, investigators detailed several of the experiments slated to make the trip to ISS. Several of the experiments involve the growth of biological tissues in 3D, which can allow scientists to study the development and behavi

Washington (AFP) April 19, 2021
NASA successfully flew its mini helicopter Ingenuity on Mars early Monday, the first powered flight on another planet and a feat the agency likened to "our Wright brothers moment." The four pound (1.8 kilogram) rotorcraft lifted off at 3:34 am Eastern Time (0734 GMT), rose to a height of 10 feet (three meters), swiveled its tissue-box sized body, swayed in a gentle Martian breeze and then to

Washington DC (UPI) Apr 19, 2021
Amazon's plans to build the Kuiper Project satellite Internet service to rival SpaceX's Starlink now have a launch provider, Colorado-based United Launch Alliance. Amazon has contracted with ULA for nine launches, the online retail giant said, but it didn't say when launches will occur. "Those details will be released closer to launch," ULA spokeswoman Jessica Rye said in an emai

Moscow (AFP) April 20, 2021
Russia's space agency said Tuesday it hoped to launch its own orbital station in 2025 as Moscow considers withdrawing from the International Space Station programme to go it alone. Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin said work had begun on the fist module of a new station, after officials warned that Russia was considering pulling out of the ISS, one of the few successful examples of cooperation

Video: 00:12:38

The launch of Sputnik, humankind’s first satellite, in 1957 marked the dawn of a new era for the people of the 'Pale Blue Dot'.

Decades later, our planet is now surrounded by spacecraft carrying out extraordinary work to study our changing climate, save lives following disasters, deliver global communication and navigation services and help us answer important scientific questions.

But these satellites are at risk. Accidental collisions between objects in space can produce huge clouds of fast-moving debris. These clouds can spread and damage additional satellites with cascading effect, eventually making the most useful orbits around Earth no longer