Researchers find that instruments on future missions can detect cellular material in one out of hundreds of thousands of ice grains, including a common bacterium as a model organism. This breakthrough increases confidence in detecting lifeforms similar to those on Earth.
The study, published in The Astrophysical Journal, tested the future LIFE mission's capabilities on real spectra using data from NASA's Aqua Earth observation satellite. It demonstrated that a space telescope like LIFE could detect signs of a temperate, habitable world on Earth-like exoplanets.
A renowned molecular geneticist argues that Occam's razor is the defining feature of science, helping to distinguish it from other disciplines. The principle suggests choosing the simplest explanation that fits the facts, clearing a path through mysticism, superstition, and religion.
The new catalog of gamma-ray pulsars, compiled from the work of 170 scientists globally, reveals a significant increase in gamma-ray emitting pulsars discovered by NASA's Fermi mission. This discovery sheds light on astrophysics research and offers insights into cosmic rays, stellar evolution, gravitational waves, and dark matter.
A new recovery system designed by University of Sydney scientists allowed the retrieval of gigabytes of information after a NASA telescope was damaged in landing. The system, which includes parachutes and SD cards, proved essential to the mission's success and has been tested for use in future science missions.
The Aeolus satellite is conducting a controlled reentry, involving extensive scientific experiments led by the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS). Key findings include tests on vertical winds and the ATLID lidar, which will be replicated on the EarthCARE satellite.
The BepiColombo mission has successfully observed how electrons raining down on Mercury's surface can trigger high-energy auroras. The observations confirm that the mechanism generating aurorae is the same throughout the Solar System.
A study published in Scientific Reports found that longer spaceflight missions can cause ventricle volume expansion, which tapers off after six months. Astronauts who had shorter recovery times between missions showed little to no enlargement of their ventricles post-flight.
A new study reveals that asteroid Dinkinesh is remarkably small, making it the smallest asteroid to be approached by Lucy. It is a stony, S-type asteroid composed mainly of silicates and some metal.
Stuart Henderson, director of the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, has been recognized by Inside Business as one of the top movers and shakers in the Hampton Roads region. The recognition highlights the lab's present and future mission and its impact on the local economy and research landscape.
A new study found that reflecting on a teacher's personal mission increases their growth mindset, leading to improved motivation and job satisfaction. The intervention involves a brief reflection on why the teacher wants to make a difference for students.
The University of Sydney and EnduroSat are collaborating on a mission to search for habitable planets around Alpha Centauri, just four light years from Earth. The team will use a custom-designed mini satellite to explore the star system's 'Goldilocks' zone for signs of life.
The DART mission observed a 33-minute change in the orbit of Dimorphos, indicating that ejecta escaped the system and contributed to the orbital changes. The team will use this data to understand how the entire system's orbit changes over time.
The Politecnico di Milano has successfully contributed to the DART mission, a historic planetary defense test that deflected an asteroid's trajectory. The mission's scientific results reveal the effectiveness of kinetic impact technology in planetary defense and provide insights into the structure and evolution of binary asteroids.
Fermi statistics and electronic coincidence circuits were developed at the Institute of Physics in Florence, laying the groundwork for modern electronics. The institute continued to thrive after WWII, establishing a strong theoretical physics program that remains active today.
Da Vinci's understanding of gravity was ahead of its time, with experiments showing that gravity is a form of acceleration. His notebook reveals an experiment where a water pitcher moves parallel to the ground, dumping out water or sand, demonstrating acceleration due to gravity.
Researchers from Warsaw and Oxford propose a new theoretical framework that incorporates three time dimensions and one spatial dimension. This concept allows for the description of phenomena in a world with superluminal observers, which could potentially exist.
NASA will conduct a series of flights over various communities to test its Quesst Mission Supersonic STEM Toolkit and measure sound levels. The mission hopes to inform an overland supersonic sound standard, potentially cutting flight times in half.
The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft will launch onboard a Falcon 9 rocket with critical research and supplies for the International Space Station. ISS National Laboratory-sponsored projects aim to bring value through space-based research and technology development.
Researchers have created a more robust and accurate positioning system that surpasses GPS, particularly in urban settings. The new mobile network infrastructure achieved an accuracy of 10 centimeters, making it suitable for applications such as automated vehicles and quantum communication.
Researchers from Osaka University have successfully detected carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen in samples from near-Earth asteroid Ryugu using muon non-destructive analysis. The findings suggest that CI chondrites may be contaminated with terrestrial materials, challenging previous understanding of the solar system's chemical compositions.
Researchers from the University of Wyoming used NASA's Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) mission to collect high-resolution forest data, which improved their understanding of habitat relationships between forest carnivores and their prey species in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem. The study paired GEDI data with other re...
Researchers have developed a high-performance laser system capable of measuring electron temperature and density in plasma at a world record speed of 20,000 times per second. This breakthrough enables detailed measurements of transient phenomena in plasmas, crucial for understanding and controlling fusion power generation.
The SATEX project aims to investigate the feasibility of scientific missions with nanosatellites in extraterrestrial space, focusing on technical possibilities and user needs. The research will prioritize activities and develop concrete proposals for possible national missions.
Researchers conducted the Earth Summit Mission 2022 to investigate the interaction mechanisms between westerlies and monsoonal flow near Mt. Qomolangma. They discovered strong glacial wind and vertical momentum exchange between large-scale westerlies and boundary layer in the region.
Researchers at the University of Sussex have created an 'eternal engine' to keep next-generation atomic clocks ticking, enabling portable versions that can replace existing satellite navigation systems. The breakthrough uses microcombs and self-emergence technology to ensure stable operation in various conditions.
A study published in Science Advances reports that the Moon inherited helium and neon from Earth's mantle, supporting the Giant Impact theory. The discovery was made possible by the use of a state-of-the-art noble gas mass spectrometer, Tom Dooley, which detected high concentrations of these gases in lunar meteorites.
The OSIRIS-REx mission has collected a sample from asteroid Bennu, which will be analyzed in 2023. The study found that the asteroid's surface consists of low-cohesion rubble and sub-surface material is darker and more fine-particle-rich than the overlying surface.
A physics professor at the University of Texas at Arlington will lead an instrument on NASA's GDC mission to measure electron density and temperature in the ionosphere. The goal is to understand space weather and its effects on human activity, including disruptions to satellite operations and communication signals.
The DAVINCI mission will descend through Venus' layered atmosphere to the surface, measuring critical aspects of the planet's climate system. The probe will acquire high-resolution images and detailed chemistry measurements of the atmosphere and surface.
The OSIRIS-APEX mission will study changes in asteroid Apophis caused by its close flyby of Earth. The spacecraft will also approach the surface and fire its thrusters to expose the asteroid's subsurface, enabling scientists to learn more about its material properties and composition.
The US Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility has established a new Research and Technology Partnerships Office to facilitate the commercialization of its scientific advancements. Led by Marla Schuchman, the office aims to support inventors in bringing their intellectual property to market.
Jeanine Ash is part of a US effort to recover sediment cores from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, which will help answer questions about sea level rise and global warming. The team aims to drill through up to 1,000 feet of ice in two places on the Ross Ice Shelf.
The Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) mission enables new measurements of cosmic X-ray sources, such as pulsars, black holes, and neutron stars. With its state-of-the-art telescopes and detectors, IXPE will provide high-quality polarization data of various sources, including supernova remnants, active galaxies, and blazars.
Scientists have found a new way dunes can form on Io's surface, which is icy and roiling. The researchers used mathematical equations to simulate the forces on a single grain of basalt or frost and calculate its path.
Roman will explore cosmic acceleration using multiple methods, including spectroscopy and imaging surveys. The mission aims to create a 3D map of the universe by measuring accurate distances and positions of millions of galaxies.
Astronomers have identified a nearby Sun-like star that has paused its own cycles and entered a similar period of rare starspots, sparking hope for understanding the Sun's 70-year Maunder Minimum. Continued observation could provide crucial insights into the Sun's stellar magnetic activity, potentially affecting climate on Earth.
The study reveals that the region within Io's orbit is dominated by oxygen and sulfur ions, with oxygen prevailing among the two. Further inward, within Amalthea's orbit, oxygen ion concentration increases unexpectedly.
The article discusses how scientists at Beijing Institute of Technology Press Co., Ltd. used key orbit design technologies to achieve a 23-day journey of lunar sample return with the Chang'E 5 mission. The success relied on precise orbit designs for lunar orbit rendezvous and docking, precision landing, and inclination optimization.
A study suggests the IAU's current definition of a planet is flawed and rooted in folklore and astrology. Researchers propose a new definition focused on a planet's geological activity, clearing its own orbit to be the largest gravitational force.
Researchers analyze new seismic data from the Mars InSight mission to plan for future planetary seismographs. The findings provide insights into Martian seismic activity, signal processing, and instrument operation, paving the way for upcoming missions to the Moon, Mars, and Jupiter's moon Titan.
The study provides evidence that lunar volcanic activity persisted for a longer period than previously thought, extending the duration of geological processes on the Moon. The samples also reveal that the Moon's interior was still evolving at around 2 billion years ago.
Curtin University researchers have helped determine the age of the youngest rocks ever found on the Moon, revealing they are approximately two billion years old. This discovery provides new calibration points for cratering chronology, enabling more accurate age dating across planetary surfaces.
Asteroid Bennu's surface is covered in boulders due to its highly porous rocks, which compress rather than fragment under meteoroid impacts. This contradicts previous observations of fine regolith on similar asteroids, such as Ryugu and Itokawa.
The Chang'e-5 mission achieved a successful soft lunar landing using an innovative guidance, navigation and control system. The LAM used various sensors to navigate its descent and landing, with multiple sensors providing redundancy to ensure the success of the mission.
An international team of space scientists finds that humans can travel to and from Mars safely if the spacecraft has sufficient shielding. The round trip should be shorter than four years. Scientists also recommend timing the mission during solar maximum to shield astronauts and the spacecraft from radiation.
The Dragonfly mission will investigate Titan's surface and atmosphere, searching for chemical biosignatures and exploring the moon's active methane cycle. By analyzing the prebiotic chemistry currently taking place in Titan's atmosphere and on its surface, scientists hope to gain insights into the potential for life on the moon.
The InSight mission has unveiled Mars' internal structure, revealing a large liquid core and an altered crust. The study analyzed seismic waves from over 600 Martian quakes, identifying discontinuities in the crust and determining the upper mantle's structure.
Researchers found that the Mission Indradhanush program increased full immunization rates by 27% and the rate of receiving all vaccines at recommended ages by 8%. The program also improved vaccination rates for children who received treatment in multiple phases.
A study by Politecnico di Torino and Universidade de Ribeirão Preto found that wet scrubbers used in Brazilian sugarcane industry waste up to 70% of water. Dry technologies can achieve similar emissions control with significant energy and water savings.
Roman will study thousands of type Ia supernovae across vast distances to pin down dark energy and understand the universe's expansion history. The mission aims to clarify discrepancies in measurements of the Hubble constant, which describes the current expansion rate.
A NASA mission evaluates interactions between the sun and earth's magnetic fields, which can cause explosive energy transfers disrupting technology systems. A UTA professor recruits a first-year doctoral student to join the mission, where he will learn about meaningful magnetospheric events.
Research suggests that global warming caused a shift in the Earth's axis due to glacial melting and changes in land water storage. The study analyzed data from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission, finding that water loss on land contributed significantly to the eastward change in polar drift.
The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will perform a final flyover of asteroid Bennu, capturing high-resolution images and collecting data from the asteroid's surface and science instruments. The mission aims to understand the extent of the disturbance caused by the sample collection event.
A revised position for primary strand of the Pleistocene-Holocene San Andreas Fault in Southern California suggests a previously overlooked strand poses a significant earthquake threat. The Mission Creek strand accounts for nearly its entire slip rate, indicating it may be the primary Pacific-North American plate boundary fault at this...
Researchers used quantum simulations to understand glycerol carbonate, a compound that could improve lithium-ion battery efficiency and reduce environmental impact. The study revealed new details about hydrogen bonding and its effects on solvent properties.
NASA's Parker Solar Probe captured stunning views of Venus during its close flyby in July 2020. The onboard Wide-field Imager for Parker Solar Probe detected a bright rim around the edge of the planet that may be nightglow.
The Emirates Mars Mission will provide crucial science data on the Martian atmosphere, measuring dust particles, ice clouds, and water vapor. The mission's launch marks a significant milestone in space exploration for an Arab nation and has enormous positive impacts on science communities.
A NASA mission will test technologies for satellite swarms to operate autonomously in low-Earth orbit, setting the stage for thousands of small satellites working cooperatively. The V-R3x mission will deploy three CubeSats into polar orbit, exchanging radio signals and measuring distance between satellites.
The Hayabusa2 mission successfully returned asteroid samples from Ryugu, a carbonaceous asteroid believed to contain organic materials. The return marks the second successful sample-return mission in history, offering insights into the origin of life and potential resource utilization for space exploration.