This mosaic of four side-by-side microscope images shows a 3 millimeter (0.12 inch) diameter silicone target after it has been exposed to dust kicked up by the landing. It is the highest resolution image of dust and sand ever acquired on Mars.
This mosaic of four side-by-side microscope images (one a color composite) was acquired [...]
Phoenix Takes Highest Resolution Image Ever of Dust and Sand on Mars
Newly discovered extrasolar planet is the smallest known and has smallest host star
Astronomers have discovered an extrasolar planet only three times more massive than our own, the smallest yet observed orbiting a normal star. The star itself is not large, perhaps as little as one twentieth the mass of our Sun, suggesting to the research team that relatively common low-mass stars may present good candidates for hosting [...]
Ice Under Phoenix
Take a look at this image sent back from the Phoenix lander. On Friday, Phoenix scientist Ray Arvidson said there may be ice directly under the Phoenix lander, exposed in the blast zone by the retrorockets used for Phoenix’s soft landing. Friday’s image showed a small portion of the exposed area that looks brighter and [...]
Mars lander prepares for 3-month digging mission
The one snag on the lander occurred when the protective sheath around the trench-digging robotic arm failed to unwrap all the way after touchdown and now covers the arm’s elbow joint.
Deputy project scientist Deborah Bass of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory said scientists still planned to start the process of unstowing the arm Tuesday, but [...]
Stephen Hawking calls for Moon and Mars colonies
Stephen Hawking called for a massive investment in establishing colonies on the Moon and Mars in a lecture in honour of NASA’s 50th anniversary. He argued that the world should devote about 10 times as much as NASA’s current budget – or 0.25% of the world’s financial resources – to space.
The renowned University of Cambridge [...]
Clay tablet holds clue to asteroid mystery
British scientists have deciphered a mysterious ancient clay tablet and believe they have solved a riddle over a giant asteroid impact more than 5,000 years ago.
Geologists have long puzzled over the shape of the land close to the town of Köfels in the Austrian Alps, but were unable to prove it had been caused by [...]
Mixed signals from NASA about fate of Mars rover
NASA sent conflicting signals Monday evening about what an official told CNN is a planned $4 million budget cut in NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover program.
Initially the Rover program’s principle investigator, Steve Squyres, said one of two vehicles operating on the planet will be suspended because of the cut. He said he learned he would have [...]
NASA cut means no roving for Mars rover
Scientists plan to put one of the twin Mars rovers to sleep and limit the activities of the other robot to fulfill a NASA order to cut $4 million from the program’s budget, mission team members said Monday.
The news comes amid belt-tightening at NASA headquarters, which is under pressure to juggle Mars exploration and [...]
Google Joins MIT in Search for Earth-like Planets
“When starships transporting colonists first depart the solar system, they may well be headed toward a TESS-discovered planet as their new home.”
George R. Ricker, senior research scientist at the Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research at MIT
Google has joined MIT scientists who are designing a satellite-based observatory -the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS)- [...]
Nearest star’s wobbles could reveal Earth’s twin
Another Earth may be orbiting the star next door, and we could detect its presence within a few years, a new study argues. A telescope trained permanently on Alpha Centauri should be able to pick up the slight stellar wobbles induced by a small, rocky, Earth-like planet.
Alpha Centauri lies just over 4 light years away [...]
