Readying spacecraft to surf Venus" atmosphere
ESA's EnVision mission to Venus will perform optical, spectral and radar mapping of Earth's sister planet. But before getting down to work the van-sized spacecraft needs to "aerobrake"—lowering its orbit with thousands of passages through the plane.....»»
Solar wind power likely governs Uranus" thermosphere temperature
Uranus's upper atmosphere has been cooling for decades—and now scientists have shown why. Observations from Earth have shown Uranus' upper atmosphere has been cooling for decades, with no clear explanation......»»
A trash compactor is going to the space station
Astronauts on the International Space Station generate their share of garbage, filling up cargo ships that then deorbit and burn up in the atmosphere. Now Sierra Space has won a contract to build a trash compactor for the space station. The device wi.....»»
AMD’s next-gen laptop GPU may rival Nvidia’s RTX 5090
According to a new leak, AMD is readying four RDNA 4 laptop graphics cards, and the top GPU might rival Nvidia's flagship in one key way......»»
How the 47-year-old Voyager spacecraft are still exploring space
The Voyager 1 and 2 probes were launched in 1977 and they're still going. Keeping them working isn't easy, though......»»
Airborne microplastics aid in cloud formation
It turns out microplastics have an effect on the weather and climate. Clouds form when water vapor—an invisible gas in the atmosphere—sticks to tiny floating particles, such.....»»
Microbial slime: The ultimate system to understand our planet
Billions of years ago, Earth was home to extreme environments, including intense UV radiation, frequent volcanic eruptions, and very high concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Yet, under these conditions, biofilms formed and within thes.....»»
Volcanic ash as a source of nutrients: How the Hunga Tonga eruption affected ecosystems in the South Pacific
The eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai (HTHH) in January 2022 ejected about 2.9 billion tons of volcanic material into the atmosphere and across the South Pacific. In early 2022, a scientific expedition (GEOTRACES GP21) investigated the impact of.....»»
Soil sampling in Houston"s greater Fifth Ward reveals toxic levels of lead in yards, play areas
Houston, like many American cities, has areas with soil contaminated by non-biodegradable and persistent pollutants such as arsenic, lead, nickel and cadmium, known as heavy metals and metalloids. These are both naturally occurring in the atmosphere.....»»
After 31 cargo missions, NASA finds Dragon still has some new tricks
Typically, most of the ISS propulsion comes from the Russian segment of the space station. A Cargo Dragon spacecraft docked to the International Space Station on Tuesday morning,.....»»
Moon waves goodbye to Hera
As ESA's Hera mission for planetary defense departed its homeworld, it looked back to Earth to show the moon orbiting around it. In this sequence of images the terrestrial disk gradually shrinks as the spacecraft recedes away from it, and the moon mo.....»»
Study of Venus"s Haasttse-baad Tessera suggests formation by two large impacts
A trio of geologists and environmental scientists from Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and the University of Minnesota has found evidence suggesting that the Haasttse-baad Tessera formation on Venus was likely for.....»»
Still kickin" since the "70s: NASA"s Voyager mission keeps exploring
NASA's Voyager mission launched in the 1970s. Today, it's making history as it conducts new science. But how are two spacecraft from the '70s not just surviving, but thriving farther out in space than any other spacecraft has been before?.....»»
Final Venus flyby for NASA"s Parker Solar Probe queues closest sun pass
On Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, NASA's Parker Solar Probe will complete its final Venus gravity assist maneuver, passing within 233 miles (376 km) of Venus's surface. The flyby will adjust Parker's trajectory into its final orbital configuration, bringin.....»»
Future space telescopes could be made from thin membranes, unrolled in space to enormous size
Space-based telescopes are remarkable. Their view isn't obscured by the weather in our atmosphere, and so they can capture incredibly detailed images of the heavens. Unfortunately, they are quite limited in mirror size......»»
Apophis: A new European space mission could get up close with a large asteroid that"s set to brush by Earth
The European Space Agency has given the go-ahead for initial work on a mission to visit an asteroid called (99942) Apophis. If approved at a key meeting next year, the robotic spacecraft, known as the Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety (Ramses),.....»»
Cobalt-copper tandem system offers sustainable approach for converting carbon dioxide to ethanol
The continuing release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere is a major driver of global warming and climate change with increased extreme weather events. Researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) have now presented a method for effect.....»»
The world promised to tame methane: Emissions are still rising
Sitting in his cramped office in Paris, Manfredi Caltagirone admits that one of the world's highest-profile efforts to cut methane emissions so far isn't stopping the gas from escaping and warming the atmosphere......»»
Aging spacecraft starts up a radio transmitter it hasn’t used since 1981 from 15 billion miles away
Aging spacecraft starts up a radio transmitter it hasn’t used since 1981 from 15 billion miles away.....»»
What is happening with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft?
Among the options NASA and Boeing are considering: a Starliner cargo flight Boeing's Starliner spacecraft safely landed empty in the New Mexico desert about eight weeks ago, marki.....»»
Voyager 1 is alive: NASA spacecraft reawakens 15 billion miles away from Earth
Voyager 1 is alive: NASA spacecraft reawakens 15 billion miles away from Earth.....»»