Gas giants are made of a massive solid core surrounded by an even larger mass of helium and hydrogen. But even though these planets are quite common in the Universe, scientists still don't fully understand how they form. ...
Astronomy
Jan 12, 2022
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211
(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA has successfully completed a series of autonomous "drop" tests of a robotic lander test article - in a record 10 months - to demonstrate the ability to perform a controlled landing on the moon or other ...
Space Exploration
Nov 16, 2009
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Is there life in Martian caves?
Astrobiology
Nov 16, 2022
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71
Just as snow crystals form in the upper atmosphere, then fall to lower, warmer elevations and melt, scientists believe a phenomenon called iron snow happens in the molten iron cores of some planetary bodies. Cooling near ...
Planetary Sciences
Jan 3, 2024
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53
(PhysOrg.com) -- Though generally thought to be quite dry, roughly half of the giant asteroid Vesta is expected to be so cold and to receive so little sunlight that water ice could have survived there for billions of years, ...
Space Exploration
Jan 25, 2012
97
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Tight double-star systems might not be the best places for life to spring up, according to a new study using data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. The infrared observatory spotted a surprisingly large ...
Astronomy
Aug 23, 2010
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Just as remotely-operated vehicles help humans explore the depths of the ocean from above, NASA has begun studying how a similar approach may one day help astronauts explore other worlds. On June 17 and July 26, NASA tested ...
Space Exploration
Jul 26, 2013
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0
(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's Dawn spacecraft re-entered our solar system's asteroid belt today, Nov. 13, and this time it will stay there.
Space Exploration
Nov 16, 2009
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Robotic exploration to remote regions, to include distant planetary bodies, is often limited by energy requirements to perform, in repetition, even the simplest tasks. With this in mind, researchers at the U.S. Naval Research ...
Engineering
Jan 3, 2012
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The OSIRIS-REx mission is NASA's first mission to collect samples from an asteroid—in this case 101955 Bennu—and return to Earth.
Planetary Sciences
Nov 15, 2023
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