Spacecraft to swing by Earth, moon on path to Jupiter
A spacecraft launched last year will slingshot back around Earth and the moon next month in a high-stakes, world-first maneuver as it pinballs its way through the solar system to Jupiter.
A spacecraft launched last year will slingshot back around Earth and the moon next month in a high-stakes, world-first maneuver as it pinballs its way through the solar system to Jupiter.
Space Exploration
Jul 27, 2024
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When we think of Jupiter-type planets, we usually picture massive cloud-covered worlds orbiting far from their stars. That distance keeps their volatile gases from vaporizing from stellar heat, similar to what we're familiar ...
Planetary Sciences
Jul 26, 2024
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Despite the 150 million kilometers that separate it from the Earth, the sun does more than just light our way: it also impacts our electricity networks, and even our transport.
Planetary Sciences
Jul 26, 2024
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Using modern techniques, researchers have re-examined Johannes Kepler's half-forgotten sunspot drawings and revealed previously-hidden information about the solar cycles before the grand solar minimum.
Planetary Sciences
Jul 26, 2024
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A vein-filled rock is catching the eye of the science team of NASA's Perseverance rover. Nicknamed "Cheyava Falls" by the team, the arrowhead-shaped rock contains fascinating traits that may bear on the question of whether ...
Astrobiology
Jul 25, 2024
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Characterizing near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) is critical if we hope to eventually stop one from hitting us. But so far, missions to do so have been expensive, which is never good for space exploration.
Planetary Sciences
Jul 25, 2024
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NASA's Hubble Space Telescope captured this image of Saturn and its colossal rings on July 4, 2020, during summer in the gas giant's northern hemisphere. Two of Saturn's icy moons are also clearly visible: Mimas at right, ...
Astronomy
Jul 25, 2024
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Using radar, a Nasa spacecraft, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), has confirmed the existence of caves beneath the lunar surface. Here's why such geological features will be key for establishing a base on the moon, and ...
Planetary Sciences
Jul 25, 2024
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A team of geoscientists affiliated with several institutions in the U.S. and Switzerland has more precisely dated an enormous "magmatic event" that occurred on the moon several billion years ago.
The surface of Uranus' moon Ariel is coated with a significant amount of carbon dioxide ice, especially on its "trailing hemisphere" that always faces away from the moon's direction of orbital motion. This fact presents a ...
Planetary Sciences
Jul 25, 2024
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