Washington DC (UPI) Oct 2, 2024
When astronauts eventually traverse the moon's surface as part of the planned Artemis lunar missions, they'll have a prototype to thank. NASA engineers at the Johnson Space Center are designing a new lunar rover prototype called the Ground Test Unit. The space agency said Wednesday it plans to have the vehicle available for the Artemis V moon mission. "The Ground Test Unit will h

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Oct 03, 2024
The Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has successfully delivered and integrated its Solar Wind Plasma Sensor (SWiPS) into a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellite designed to track space weather. SWiPS is designed to measure ions originating from the Sun, particularly the fast-moving ions associated with coronal mass ejections, which can have significant impacts on Ea

Puerto San Julian, Argentina (AFP) Oct 2, 2024
Skygazers on the tip of South America were treated Wednesday to a spectacular "ring of fire" solar eclipse that was visible from Chile's Easter Island before heading to mainland Patagonia. The rare spectacle - which happens when the Sun momentarily all but disappears as the Moon crosses its path - drew dozens of tourists, photographers and astronomy enthusiasts to the Pacific island of 7

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Oct 03, 2024
Scientists are delving deep into the origins of the universe, focusing on the Epoch of Reionization (EoR) - a pivotal time when the first stars and galaxies formed and ionized the primordial hydrogen that filled the universe. This era, where ionized gas bubbles began to appear and coalesce, set the foundation for galaxy formation as we know it today. While we can't travel back to witness t

Arlington TX (SPX) Oct 03, 2024
Are there planets beyond Earth where humans can live? The answer is maybe, according to a new study from University of Texas at Arlington physicists examining F-type star systems. Stars fall into seven lettered categories according to their surface temperature. They also differ in other factors including mass, luminosity, and radius. F-types are in the middle of the scale, hotter and more

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Oct 03, 2024
A research team led by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has made the first detection of carbon dioxide and hydrogen peroxide on the surface of Charon, Pluto's largest moon, using data from the James Webb Space Telescope. These findings build upon Charon's known surface composition, which includes water ice, ammonia-bearing materials, and organic compounds linked to its unique gray and red hue

Boulder CO (SPX) Oct 03, 2024
NASA's New Horizons spacecraft is healthy and speeding across the Kuiper Belt. Today, we crossed a distance marker of note, passing 60 times as far from the Sun as Earth is. Put in perspective, that means we're almost twice as far out as Pluto was when we explored it! This summer, we had three sets of groundbased astronomical observing dates, each three days long, on the giant Japanese Sub

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Oct 03, 2024
Inspired by the half-human, half-horse creatures that are part of Ancient Greek mythology, the field of astronomy has its own kind of centaurs: distant objects orbiting the Sun between Jupiter and Neptune. NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has mapped the gases spewing from one of these objects, suggesting a varied composition and providing new insights into the formation and evolution of the sol

Sydney, Australia (SPX) Oct 03, 2024
A team of researchers led by Professor Shuo Yao from China University of Geosciences (Beijing) and her doctoral student Hongyi Wang has revealed that magnetized magma intrusions are the source of two lunar magnetic anomalies. Using a 3D amplitude inversion technique originally developed at the University of British Columbia's Geophysical Inversion Facility (UBC-GIF), the team has made significan

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Oct 03, 2024
NASA has chosen Intuitive Machines of Houston and Aalyria Technologies Inc. of Livermore, California, to conduct capability studies aimed at advancing space communication and exploration technologies. These studies are intended to provide NASA with insights into industry capabilities and innovations, laying the groundwork for partnerships with commercial communications and navigation providers.