Q&A: The first asteroid sample returned to Earth
On Sunday morning, a capsule the size of a mini-fridge dropped from the skies over western Utah, carrying a first-of-its-kind package: about 250 grams of dirt and dust plucked from the surface of an asteroid. As a candy-striped parachute billowed ope.....»»
Google Maps and Google Earth just got tons of new AI-powered features
Google on Thursday announced updates for some of its most popular apps, including Waze, Google Maps, and Google Earth. Needless to say, the updates include … The post Google Maps and Google Earth just got tons of new AI-powered features appeare.....»»
Generative AI is coming to Google Maps, Google Earth, Waze
Conversational search and hazard reporting and more detailed maps, all thanks to AI. Google revealed today how it plans to use generative AI to enhance its mapping activities. It'.....»»
Tiny fragments of a 4-billion-year-old asteroid reveal its history
In June 2018, Japan's Hayabusa 2 mission reached asteroid 162173 Ryugu. It studied the asteroid for about 15 months, deploying small rovers and a lander, before gathering a sample and returning it to Earth in December 2020......»»
Laser measurements help track space debris and observe water masses
What do the Earth's gravitational field and the trajectories of satellites and space debris have in common? The Earth's gravitational field influences the orbits of our companions in space, while the changes in the orbits in turn allow conclusions to.....»»
NASA and NOAA rank 2024 ozone hole as 7th-smallest since recovery began
Healing continues in the atmosphere over the Antarctic: a hole that opens annually in the ozone layer over Earth's southern pole was relatively small in 2024 compared to other years. Scientists with NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin.....»»
Norman coin hoard becomes England"s most valuable treasure—it could have been worth a lot more
There is clearly giddy excitement in the shaky footage showing hands scrabbling in the soil in the Chew Valley in south-west England. A close-up shot captures someone pulling silver coin after silver coin from the churned earth as a woman laughs "the.....»»
Optical amplifier and record-sensitive receiver pave the way for faster space communication
In space exploration, long-distance optical links can now be used to transmit images, films and data from space probes to Earth using light. But in order for the signals to reach all the way and not be disturbed along the way, hypersensitive receiver.....»»
How life began on Earth: Model suggests ancient Earth had organic-rich atmosphere
The key to unlocking the secrets of distant planets starts right here on Earth. Researchers at Tohoku University, the University of Tokyo, and Hokkaido University have developed a model that considers various atmospheric chemical reactions to estimat.....»»
How life began on Earth: Modeling the ancient atmosphere
The key to unlocking the secrets of distant planets starts right here on Earth. Researchers at Tohoku University, the University of Tokyo, and Hokkaido University have developed a model that considers various atmospheric chemical reactions to estimat.....»»
Volcanic "cryptic carbon" emissions may be a hidden driver of Earth"s past climate
An international team of geoscientists led by a volcanologist at Rutgers University-New Brunswick has discovered that, contrary to present scientific understanding, ancient volcanoes continued to spew carbon dioxide into the atmosphere from deep with.....»»
Gold bugs: New fossil arthropod preserved in fool"s gold
A team of researchers led by Associate Professor Luke Parry, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, have unveiled a spectacular new 450-million-year-old fossil arthropod (the group that contains spiders, centipedes, and insects). Besides.....»»
Engineered bacterial protein offers efficient rare earth metal separation
A newly discovered protein naturally houses an unusual binding site that can differentiate between rare earth elements, and researchers at Penn State have made it even better. Rare earth elements are key components used in everything from modern tech.....»»
Tracking a disappearing mantle plume in ancient Samoa: Researchers shed light on a 30-million-year gap
When plumes of magma well up through Earth's lithosphere, they create volcanoes, islands, seamounts, and other features on the surface. Telltale hot spot tracks form as tectonic plates move over these plumes, marking plume locations and the movement.....»»
Dinosaurs thrived after ice, not fire, says a new study of ancient volcanism
201.6 million years ago, one of the Earth's five great mass extinctions took place, when three-quarters of all living species suddenly disappeared. The wipeout coincided with massive volcanic eruptions that split apart Pangaea, a giant continent then.....»»
Hera asteroid mission"s CubeSat passengers signal home
The two CubeSat passengers aboard ESA's Hera mission for planetary defense have exchanged their first signals with Earth, confirming their nominal status. The pair were switched on to check out all their systems, marking the first operation of ESA Cu.....»»
How Earth"s Early Life Thrived amid Catastrophic Asteroid Impacts
A gigantic space rock that slammed into Earth more than three billion years ago grievously wounded the biosphere—and then helped it heal.....»»
Plans to Destroy the International Space Station Preview a Bigger Orbital Junk Problem
A special spacecraft will guide the space station through Earth’s atmosphere, but what about other large pieces of space debris?.....»»
Novel self-cleaning electrode developed for alkaline-earth metal peroxide synthesis
Metal peroxide (MO2, M=Ca, Sr, Ba) is an alternative to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). It has excellent oxidative properties, superior chemical stability, high purity, and is easy to store and transport. It has been widely used in wastewater treatment and.....»»
NASA astronaut hospitalized after return from ISS
A NASA astronaut who just returned from the International Space Station has been hospitalized for an unspecified medical condition but remains stable, the US space agency said Friday......»»
Did some of Earth"s water come from the solar wind?
The source of Earth's water is an enduring mystery that extends to exoplanets and the notion of habitability. In broad terms, Earth's water was either part of the planet from the beginning of its formation in the solar nebula or delivered later, mayb.....»»