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Is Mars' Soil Too Dry to Sustain Life?![]() Moffett Field CA (SPX) Jul 25, 2018 Life as we know it needs water to thrive. Even so, we see life persist in the driest environments on Earth. But how dry is too dry? At what point is an environment too extreme for even microorganisms, the smallest and often most resilient of lifeforms, to survive? These questions are important to scientists searching for life beyond Earth, including on the planet Mars. To help answer this question, a research team from NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley traveled to the driest pla ... read more |
Mars Express Detects Liquid Water Hidden Under Planet's South PoleNoordwijk, Netherlands (ESA) Jul 26, 2018 Evidence for the Red Planet's watery past is prevalent across its surface in the form of vast dried-out river valley networks and gigantic outflow channels clearly imaged by orbiting spacecraft. Orb ... more
Opportunity Continues in a Deep Sleep Beneath Raging Dust StormPasadena CA (JPL) Jul 25, 2018 The dust storm on Mars is continuing as a Planet-encircling Dust Event (PEDE). The storm has sustained high atmospheric opacity conditions over the Opportunity site for several weeks. The last ... more
Mars Passes Closest to Earth Since 2003 on July 31stBoston MA (SPX) Jul 26, 2018 After a slow crawl across the predawn darkness earlier this year, Mars is finally moving into the evening sky - just as it comes its closest to Earth in 15 years. According to Sky and Telescope maga ... more
Space experts worry US won't make it to Mars by 2030sTampa (AFP) July 26, 2018 The United States has vowed to send the first humans to Mars by the 2030s, but space experts and lawmakers on Wednesday expressed concern that poor planning and lack of funds will delay those plans. ... more |
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| Previous Issues | Jul 25 | Jul 24 | Jul 23 | Jul 20 | Jul 19 |
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NASA Launches X-ray Telescope on Sounding Rocket to Study Star WreckageGreenbelt MD (SPX) Jul 26, 2018 NASA launched a prototype telescope and instrument to observe the X-rays emitted by Cassiopeia A, the expanding debris of an exploded star. The High-Resolution Microcalorimeter X-ray Imaging Rocket ... more
Red planet and 'blood moon' pair up to dazzle skygazersParis (AFP) July 25, 2018 The longest "blood moon" eclipse this century will coincide with Mars' closest approach in 15 years to offer skygazers a thrilling astronomical double bill on Friday, astronomers say. ... more
Cell-sized robots can sense their environmentBoston MA (SPX) Jul 25, 2018 Researchers at MIT have created what may be the smallest robots yet that can sense their environment, store data, and even carry out computational tasks. These devices, which are about the size of a ... more
Arianespace orbits four more Galileo satellites, as Ariane 5 logs its 99th missionKourou, French Guiana (ESA) Jul 26, 2018 Arianespace has successfully launched four more satellites in the Galileo constellation. Liftoff was at 8:25 a.m. (local time) July 25, 2018 from the Guiana Space Center, Europe's Spaceport in Kouro ... more
Aerospace Workforce Training A National Mandate for 2018Bethesda, MD (SPX) Jul 26, 2018 As the aerospace workforce ages and technology advances it is imperative to continually train engineers and managers to refresh and advance their knowledge base in order to keep the U.S. competitive ... more |
![]() Russian scientist arrested in espionage probe: agencies
Boeing proposes designs for new ICBM deterrentWashington (UPI) Jul 24, 2018 Boeing has proposed design options to the U.S. Air Force for design of the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent, a possible replacement for the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile. ... more |
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DARPA Selects Teams to Unleash Power of Specialized, Reconfigurable Computing HardwareSan Francisco CA (SPX) Jul 25, 2018 The general-purpose computer has remained the dominant computing architecture for the last 50 years, driven largely by the relentless pace of Moore's Law-the transistor-scaling that has allowed for ... more
The relationship between charge density waves and superconductivityAmes IA (SPX) Jul 25, 2018 For a long time, physicists have tried to understand the relationship between a periodic pattern of conduction electrons called a charge density wave (CDW), and another quantum order, superconductiv ... more
Research Teams Selected to Uncover Novel Materials and Approaches to Circuit IntegrationSan Francisco CA (SPX) Jul 25, 2018 The use of intellectual-property (IP) blocks-discrete, modular, reusable blocks that deliver frequently used circuit functions-has significantly streamlined the design and creation of microchips. Ju ... more
How Can You Tell If That ET Story Is RealMountain View CA (SPX) Jul 25, 2018 What are the consequences for the human race if we encountered extraterrestrial intelligence? If you see a story about aliens on TV or online, how excited should you be? A new study, published in th ... more
'Ribbon' wraps up mystery of Jupiter's magnetic equatorLeicester UK (SPX) Jul 25, 2018 The discovery of a dark ribbon of weak hydrogen ion emissions that encircles Jupiter has overturned previous thinking about the giant planet's magnetic equator. An international team of scient ... more |
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Sky's no limit: Japan firm to fly wedding plaques into space Tokyo (AFP) July 24, 2018
The sky is no longer the limit for lovers looking for unusual ways to commemorate their nuptials, with a Japanese company now offering to blast commemorative wedding plaques into space.
Warpspace, a start-up based in Tsukuba City outside Tokyo, is introducing the new service in partnership with a local hotel popular for wedding banquets.
For about 30,000 yen ($270), newly-weds marrying a ... more |
Russia's Khrunichev Center Develops Concept of Reusable Rocket Moscow (Sputnik) Jul 25, 2018
Russia's Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center has finished the development of a blueprint for Russia's reusable launch vehicle and sent the relevant materials to Roscosmos' Central Research Institute of Machine Building (TsNIIMash) for assessment, the Khrunichev center's press office told Sputnik.
"The materials on reusable subjects were sent to TsNIIMash. They should stud ... more |
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'Storm Chasers' on Mars Searching for Dusty Secrets Pasadena CA (JPL) Jul 23, 2018
In June, one of these dust events rapidly engulfed the planet. Scientists first observed a smaller-scale dust storm on May 30. By June 20, it had gone global.
For the Opportunity rover, that meant a sudden drop in visibility from a clear, sunny day to that of an overcast one. Because Opportunity runs on solar energy, scientists had to suspend science activities to preserve the rover's batt ... more |
PRSS-1 Satellite in Good Condition Jiuquan, China (SPX) Jul 23, 2018
China launched two satellites for Pakistan on a Long March-2C rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 11:56 a.m. Monday.
The PRSS-1 is China's first optical remote sensing satellite sold to Pakistan and the 17th satellite developed by the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) for an overseas buyer.
After entering orbit, the PRSS-1 is in good condition ... more |
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Aerospace Workforce Training A National Mandate for 2018 Bethesda, MD (SPX) Jul 26, 2018
As the aerospace workforce ages and technology advances it is imperative to continually train engineers and managers to refresh and advance their knowledge base in order to keep the U.S. competitive. This challenge is further complicated by the fact that over the past few years roughly 40% of U.S. skilled tradesman have retired.
In 2012, Aviation Week reported that the average age of an ae ... more |
Researchers unravel more mysteries of metallic hydrogen Rochester NY (SPX) Jul 24, 2018
Metallic hydrogen is one of the rarest materials on Earth, yet more than 80 percent of planets - including Jupiter, Saturn, and hundreds of extrasolar planets - are composed of this exotic form of matter.
Its abundance in our solar system - despite its rarity on Earth - makes metallic hydrogen an intriguing focus for researchers at the University of Rochester's Laboratory of Laser Energeti ... more |
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WSU researcher sees possibility of moon life Pullman WA (SPX) Jul 24, 2018
While the Moon is uninhabitable today, there could have been life on its surface in the distant past.
In fact, there may have been two early windows of habitability for Earth's Moon, according to a study online in the journal Astrobiology by Dirk Schulze-Makuch, an astrobiologist at Washington State University.
Schulze-Makuch and Ian Crawford, a professor of planetary science and ast ... more |
'Ribbon' wraps up mystery of Jupiter's magnetic equator Leicester UK (SPX) Jul 25, 2018
The discovery of a dark ribbon of weak hydrogen ion emissions that encircles Jupiter has overturned previous thinking about the giant planet's magnetic equator.
An international team of scientists led by the University of Leicester has identified the weakened ribbon of H3+ emissions near the jovigraphic equator using the NSFCam instrument at the NASA InfraRed Telescope Facility, the first ... more |
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Slowdown of North Atlantic circulation rocked the climate of ancient northern Europe Helsinki, Finland (SPX) Jul 24, 2018
Major abrupt shifts occurred in the climate of ancient northern Europe, according to a new study from University of Helsinki, Finland. The research reports that sudden cold spells, lasting hundreds of years, took place in the middle of the warm Eemian climate period, about 120 thousand years ago.
These cold intervals saw a fall in temperature of a few degrees, and replacement of forests by ... more |
Arianespace orbits four more Galileo satellites, as Ariane 5 logs its 99th mission Kourou, French Guiana (ESA) Jul 26, 2018
Arianespace has successfully launched four more satellites in the Galileo constellation. Liftoff was at 8:25 a.m. (local time) July 25, 2018 from the Guiana Space Center, Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
Today's launch was the 99th mission by the Ariane 5 heavy launcher. It was carried out on behalf of the European Commission as part of a contract with the European Space Agency ... more |
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Israel plans its first moon launch in December Yehud, Israel (AFP) July 10, 2018
An Israeli organisation announced plans Tuesday to launch the country's first spacecraft to the moon in December, with hopes of burnishing Israel's reputation as a small nation with otherworldly high-tech ambitions.
The unmanned spacecraft, shaped like a pod and weighing some 585 kilogrammes (1,300 pounds) at launch, will land on the moon on February 13, 2019 if all goes according to plan, o ... more |
China Focus: Capture an asteroid, bring it back to Earth? Beijing (XNA) Jul 24, 2018
Next time when your kids ask you to bring them a star from the sky, you don't have to shrug and walk away. Tell them to wait, instead.
A group of Chinese scientists are mulling a bold idea to capture a small near-Earth asteroid, which might be a potential threat, and bring it back to Earth to exploit its resources.
"Sounds like science-fiction, but I believe it can be realized," said ... more |
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Preparing to fly the wind mission Aeolus Kourou, French Guiana (ESA) Jul 25, 2018
The launch of Aeolus - ESA's mission to map Earth's wind in real-time - is getting tantalisingly close, with the satellite due for lift-off on 21 August from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. With the wind in their sails, mission teams are busily preparing this unique satellite for its upcoming journey.
Aeolus will carry a sophisticated atmospheric laser Doppler instrument, dubb ... more |
Rare Red Moon and Mars in Evening Sky on 27 July London, UK (SPX) Jul 24, 2018
Skywatchers [in have a double treat in store on 27 July: the longest total lunar eclipse of the 21st century and Mars at its brightest for many years. The red planet and the (temporarily) red Moon will appear together in the same part of the sky after sunset.
Mars, the Earth, and the Sun will be roughly lined up on 27 July. Mars is on the opposite side of the Earth to the Sun, and hence th ... more |
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Scientists develop new materials that move in response to light Medford MA (SPX) Jul 25, 2018
Researchers at Tufts University School of Engineering have developed magnetic elastomeric composites that move in different ways when exposed to light, raising the possibility that these materials could enable a wide range of products that perform simple to complex movements, from tiny engines and valves to solar arrays that bend toward the sunlight. The research is described in an article publi ... more |
World's fastest man-made spinning object could help study quantum mechanics West Lafayette IN (SPX) Jul 23, 2018
Researchers have created the fastest man-made rotor in the world, which they believe will help them study quantum mechanics.
At more than 60 billion revolutions per minute, this machine is more than 100,000 times faster than a high-speed dental drill.
"This study has many applications, including material science," said Tongcang Li, an assistant professor of physics and astronomy, and ... more |
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