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Planetary Sciences news
NASA lander to test vacuum cleaner on moon for sample collection
Among all the challenges of voyaging to and successfully landing on other worlds, the effective collection and study of soil and rock samples cannot be underestimated.
Planetary Sciences
17 hours ago
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NASA to explore two landing options for returning samples from Mars
To maximize chances of successfully bringing the first Martian rock and sediment samples to Earth for the benefit of humanity, NASA announced Tuesday a new approach to its Mars Sample Return Program. The agency will simultaneously ...
Space Exploration
17 hours ago
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Will Comet G3 ATLAS perform at perihelion?
What "may" be the best anticipated comet of 2025 is coming right up. Right now, there's only one comet with real potential to reach naked eye visibility in 2025: Comet C/2024 G3 ATLAS. This comet reaches perihelion at 0.094 ...
Astronomy
Jan 7, 2025
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NASA proposes cheaper, quicker way to get Mars rocks and soil to Earth
NASA is pitching a cheaper and quicker way of getting rocks and soil back from Mars, after seeing its original plan swell to $11 billion.
Space Exploration
Jan 7, 2025
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How the US–Indian NISAR satellite will offer unique window on Earth
The upcoming U.S.–India NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) mission will observe Earth like no mission before, offering insights about our planet's ever-changing surface.
Planetary Sciences
Jan 7, 2025
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Newly discovered 'kiss and capture' mechanism explains the formation of Pluto and its largest moon
Billions of years ago, in the frigid outer reaches of our solar system, two icy worlds collided. Rather than destroying each other in a cosmic catastrophe, they spun together like a celestial snowman, finally separating while ...
Planetary Sciences
Jan 6, 2025
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Citizen science reveals that Jupiter's colorful clouds are not made of ammonia ice
Collaborative work by amateur and professional astronomers has helped to resolve a long-standing misunderstanding about the composition of Jupiter's clouds. Instead of being formed of ammonia ice—the conventional view—it ...
Planetary Sciences
Jan 6, 2025
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Chang'e-5 samples provide evidence that moon had magnetic field 2 billion years ago
A large team of researchers with varied backgrounds at the Chinese Academy of Sciences has found evidence of a weak magnetic field on the moon approximately 2 billion years ago. In their study published in the journal Science ...
NASA's LEXI will provide X-ray vision of Earth's magnetosphere
A NASA X-ray imager is heading to the moon as part of NASA's Artemis campaign, where it will capture the first global images of the magnetic field that shields Earth from solar radiation.
Planetary Sciences
Jan 3, 2025
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Could habitable planets orbiting white dwarfs retain their oceans? Maybe
Potentially habitable exoplanets are so incredibly common that astronomers have started to consider more unusual situations where life might arise. Perhaps life can be found on the moon of a hot Jupiter or lingering in the ...
Astrobiology
Jan 3, 2025
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Using an oil industry framework to map space resources
Cracking the chicken-and-egg problem of utilizing resources in space has been a difficult challenge for over half a century. Getting enough infrastructure built up is necessary to collect those resources effectively, but ...
Space Exploration
Jan 3, 2025
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NASA anticipates lunar findings from next-generation retroreflector
Apollo astronauts set up mirror arrays, or "retroreflectors," on the moon to accurately reflect laser light beamed at them from Earth with minimal scattering or diffusion. Retroreflectors are mirrors that reflect the incoming ...
Space Exploration
Jan 2, 2025
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HYPSO-2 satellite monitors harmful algae from space
It's slightly larger than a 5-liter water bottle, and is whizzing around the Earth at a speed of 7.5 kilometers per second. The satellite has two cameras built into its body, and can be controlled quickly and turned smoothly ...
Planetary Sciences
Jan 2, 2025
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Humans will soon be able to mine on the moon—but should we? Four questions to consider
By the end of this decade, nations and private companies may well be mining the surface of the moon.
Space Exploration
Jan 2, 2025
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A new mission watches meteoroids hit the far side of the moon
Sometimes, it's hard to remember that Earth is constantly being bombarded by literally tons of space debris daily. The larger bits form what we know as shooting stars, and most burn up in the atmosphere. Still, throughout ...
Planetary Sciences
Jan 2, 2025
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A long-term lunar infrastructure hub named after the object that created the moon
Getting back to the moon is the primary goal of NASA's Artemis program, but what do we do once we get there? That is the challenge tackled by a group of students at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, who wrote a ...
Space Exploration
Jan 2, 2025
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Here's your 2025 guide to the night sky and other celestial wow moments
The new year will bring a pair of lunar eclipses, but don't expect any sun-disappearing acts like the one that mesmerized North America last spring.
Planetary Sciences
Jan 1, 2025
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NASA's micro-mission Lunar Trailblazer will make macro-measurements of the lunar surface in 2025
NASA's upcoming Artemis II mission is slated to return astronauts to the moon no sooner than April 2026. Astronauts were last on the moon in 1972 during the Apollo 17 mission.
Space Exploration
Dec 31, 2024
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The future lifespan of plants just got extended
For now, the future of life on Earth is in human hands. But after the anthropocentric era, the situation starts to get dicey. The sun's luminosity is increasing over time, about 1% every 110 million years, so the Earth's ...
Northern lights could be visible in upper fringes of the US this New Year's Eve
There's a chance solar storms may bring northern lights to several northern U.S states just in time for the new year.
Planetary Sciences
Dec 30, 2024
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More news
NASA's Parker Solar Probe sets new record for sun proximity
Image: NASA's Terra satellite captures 2015 eclipse shadow
NASA probe makes closest ever pass by the sun
Two Earth-sized exoplanets orbiting nearby star detected
NASA solar probe to make its closest ever pass of sun
Lab work digs into gullies seen on giant asteroid Vesta by NASA's Dawn
Avalanches, icy explosions and dunes: NASA is tracking New Year on Mars
Chang'e-6 farside basalts reveal a reinforced lunar dynamo
Mars's radiant energy budget profile offers clues to its climate dynamics
NASA payload aims to probe moon's depths to study heat flow
Other news
Japan startup hopeful ahead of second moon launch
Self-improving catalyst boosts hydrogen generation from ammonia
How macronucleophagy ensures survival in nitrogen-starved yeast
Blueberry industry at risk as powdery mildew spreads worldwide
Toxin-antitoxin systems could target invasive and resistant bacteria
New radar algorithm reveals hidden dance of ionospheric plasma
Young exoplanet's atmosphere unexpectedly differs from its birthplace
Citizen scientists help map geomagnetic superstorm's ionospheric impact
Building concrete on Mars from local materials
The winter solstice is almost here, the Northern Hemisphere's darkest day
Jovian vortex hunters contribute to storm study
Dormancy: Life's first survival strategy?
