The Planetary Society's LightSail 2 spacecraft is ready to embark on a challenging mission to demonstrate the power of sunlight for propulsion.
Space Exploration
May 14, 2019
0
151
When plants take in too much energy, they don't get fat—they lighten up. They absorb more sunlight than they need to power photosynthesis, and they get rid of the excess solar energy by emitting it as a very faint glow. ...
Earth Sciences
Apr 10, 2019
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11
In the past three decades, almost 4,000 planet-like objects have been discovered orbiting isolated stars outside the solar system (exoplanets). Beginning in 2011, it was possible to use NASA's Kepler Space Telescope to observe ...
Astronomy
Apr 9, 2019
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1186
Following a series of tests conducted in space over the past five months, the ESA-JAXA BepiColombo mission has successfully completed its near-Earth commissioning phase and is now ready for the operations that will take place ...
Space Exploration
Apr 5, 2019
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10
In this image, ESA's new Solar Orbiter spacecraft is seen during preparations for a vibration test campaign at the IABG facility in Ottobrunn, Germany, in March 2019.
Space Exploration
Apr 4, 2019
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11
An infrared view of our Solar Orbiter spacecraft, which is currently undergoing a series of tests at the IABG facility in Ottobrunn, Germany, ahead of its launch, scheduled for February 2020.
Space Exploration
Apr 2, 2019
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11
Just as dust gathers in corners and along bookshelves in our homes, dust piles up in space too. But when the dust settles in the solar system, it's often in rings. Several dust rings circle the Sun. The rings trace the orbits ...
Astronomy
Mar 12, 2019
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1779
Scientists, using an instrument aboard NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), have observed water molecules moving around the dayside of the Moon.
Space Exploration
Mar 8, 2019
1
357
On the evening of March 6, 2019, the Moon started to transit the Sun, then doubled back and retraced its steps in the other direction—at least, that's what it looked like from the perspective of NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, ...
Space Exploration
Mar 7, 2019
0
136
Scientists who study the solar system tend to ask big questions: How was our solar system formed? Where did the building blocks of life come from? What hazards from above threaten life on our planet? To find answers, they're ...
Space Exploration
Feb 18, 2019
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9
