NASA scientists train to spot Martian fossils in the Australian Outback
One of the biggest ambitions of upcoming missions to Mars is to look for evidence of ancient life on the planet. But in order to identify potential fossils of microbial life, Mars rovers will need to know what to look for -- so scientists have undertaken a study mission to the Australian Outback.
NASA’s underwater rover will hunt for life on distant ocean worlds
NASA has developed BRUIE, the Buoyant Rover for Under-Ice Exploration, which could eventually search for extraterrestrial life on distant ocean worlds such as Jupiter's moon Europa and Saturn's moon Enceladus. It can dive deep beneath sea ice to explore ocean depths which are normally hidden from view.
Scientists want to send a $2 billion flagship-class mission to Venus
Scientists are hoping to convince NASA to send a flagship mission to Venus in order to learn more about the planet’s past and if how habitable it could have been. The flagship mission is most expensive class of a NASA project, and scientists want to go deeper into the research of habitability on Venus.
NASA invites SpaceX and Blue Origin to help with moon missions
NASA has given SpaceX and Blue Origin the green light to bid for contracts linked to its Artemis program, which is seeking to establish a sustainable presence on the moon with an eye on eventual missions to Mars. The two companies are among 14 vying to help take essential payloads to the moon starting in 2021.
Curiosity rover discovers a puzzling oxygen mystery on Mars
NASA's Curiosity rover continues to make discoveries that challenge our understanding of the Martian environment. The latest strange puzzle taxing scientists is the variation of oxygen levels on Mars, as detected Curiosity's portable chemistry lab, Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM).
Stingray-inspired craft could glide through the atmosphere of Venus
Even though Venus is nearby to Earth, there is still much that remains unknown about our planetary neighbor. A team from the University of Buffalo is working on a craft designed to explore Venus' dark side. The BREEZE craft is a morphing design with flapping wings inspired by a stingray’s pectoral fins.
Mars 2020 mission will search for fossils in the Jezero Crater
With the Mars 2020 rover undergoing final testing, scientists are turning their attention to its landing site in the Jezero Crater. A new paper has identified mineral deposits around the rim of the crater which mark some of the best places to look for evidence of ancient life on the planet.
Neptune’s moons twirl around each other in an unprecedented dance
Far out on the edge of the solar system, chilly Neptune takes 165 years to orbit around the sun. In orbit around Neptune are 14 moons, and new research reveals more about the movements of the planet's innermost moons, Naiad and Thalassa, which have a highly unusual and unprecedented orbit.
NASA will contribute spectroscopy instrument to a planet-hunting mission
The hunt for distant planets or exoplanets will be getting a new tool in the next decade, with the launch of the European Space Agency's ARIEL in 2028. Now, NASA has announced it will be contributing an instrument called CASE to the project for a deeper examination of distant worlds.
Can NASA’s experimental electric airplane, the Maxwell X-57, save the planet?
Cars aren't the only type of transportation which are going electric in the name of the environment. NASA has been working on an experimental electric plane, the Maxwell X-57, which the agency received last month. NASA showed off an early version of the plane on Friday, in addition to a new simulator.
Panoramic image of the southern sky shows our galaxy and others beyond
A satellite has captured a stunning image of the vast sea of stars in the southern sky. The data was collected by NASA's planet-hunter, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, in its first year of operations. It shows not only the Milky Way but also the Orion Nebula and the Large Magellanic Cloud.
Curiosity captures eerie images of lonely Martian landscape
The Curiosity rover is continuing its lonely exploration of Mars, and it has captured a series of beautiful but haunting views of the deserted Martian landscape. The images were snapped this week and show the desolate outlook across the Gale Crater.
NASA’s charge-dissipating paint provides a potential solution to a dusty problem
The fine dust which covers the moon's surface causes a range of technical problems from gumming up electronics to sticking to absolutely everything. It's even potentially harmful to the health of astronauts. Now, NASA has come up with a solution which could help alleviate the dust problem.
See the Mars 2020 rover winched into the air and moved into a test chamber
NASA's Mars 2020 rover is roving ever nearer to completion. Having recently stood on its own six wheels for the first time and practiced its descent separation from the craft that will transport it to the red planet, the rover has now undergone vacuum testing at a facility in Pasadena, California.
Boeing wants to get to the moon in as few steps as possible
Boeing submitted a proposal to NASA for a human lander concept that would deliver astronauts to the moon in the fewest steps possible. The proposal is part of NASA’s Artemis program and is meant to reduce the number of segments that need to be sent into orbit—from 11 mission-critical events to five.
Watch Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule hit 650 mph in critical test
Boeing deemed a launch abort test of its Starliner crew capsule a success on Monday, but it didn’t go entirely to plan as one of its parachutes failed to deploy when it returned to the ground. Following more tests, the Starliner could be used to carry astronauts to the space station as early as 2020.
NASA’s Voyager 2 sends first message back from the edge of the solar system
The Voyager 2 spacecraft has sent back its first message from the interstellar space, after having left our solar system late last year. This makes it only the second human-made object to ever reach beyond this point, following sibling Voyager 1, which crossed this threshold in 2012.
Astronauts will attempt to fix ‘unserviceable’ dark matter detection instrument
The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer instrument was installed on the International Space Station in 2011 but was only designed to operate for three years. Now, the cooling system is failing. So ISS astronauts will attempt to rejuvenate the device and get it working once again using new spacewalk procedures.
NASA is considering whether to send an orbiter to Pluto
NASA is considering making a return trip to Pluto, and has awarded funding to the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) to study the cost and feasibility of an orbiter mission there. This following the success of the New Horizons mission which visited Pluto in 2015.
NASA astronomers think this interstellar comet is carrying alien water
A team of astronomers at NASA think they might have found water from another planetary system on an interstellar comet. If they’re correct, this would be the first time in human history that water hailing from another planetary system has been found within our solar system.
Spooky NASA posters highlight the mysterious world of exoplanets
NASA’s newly released posters have a vintage horror movie look just in time for Halloween, and highlight exoplanets in a series called Galaxy of Horrors. The colorful posters are meant to be informative about different exoplanets that have been discovered outside of our galaxy and are free to download.
NASA-inspired smartglasses turn dark whenever you lose concentration
Struggle to concentrate? Wellness company Narbis has developed pair of smartglasses intended to discourage distraction by visibly darkening when your mind wanders from the task you should be focused on. Here's how you can get your hands on a pair in the very near future.
The U.S. Air Force’s secretive space plane ends record-breaking mission
The U.S. Air Force’s secretive X-37B space plane landed at the Kennedy Space Center on Sunday after spending a record 780 days in low-Earth orbit. The vehicle is used to test and develop various spacecraft technologies while at the same time demonstrating the importance of a reusable space plane.
Two exoplanets smashed together, pulverizing each other into fine dust
NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) has seen evidence of a dusty graveyard of two exoplanets in the BD +20 307 binary star system. Experts believe the dusty debris disk they have spotted is the result of two exoplanets colliding and smashing into tiny particles.
NASA’s James Webb Telescope deploys its tennis court-sized sunshield in test
NASA's troubled James Webb Space Telescope is coming closer to completion, having recently passed the important test of deploying its massive five-layered sunshield. The sunshield is the size of a tennis court and is necessary to protect the telescope's delicate machinery from the heat of the sun.
Mars 2020 rover stands on its own wheels for the first time
Progress continues for NASA's Mars 2020 rover, set to begin its journey to the red planet next year. The rover was recently lowered onto the ground, with the rover taking its full weight on its wheels and legs for the first time. The legs are made of titanium, while the wheels are aluminum.
Multitalented Curiosity rover snaps a selfie, performs a chemistry experiment
Everyone's favorite Martian resident, the Curiosity rover, has proudly snapped a selfie while performing an unusual experiment. The team controlling the rover wanted to image the ground to perform a chemistry experiment in which it analyzed the chemical composition of two samples of Martian rock.
NASA plans to cut cost of space exploration by commercializing low-earth orbit
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine has spoken about the Artemis mission to the moon and a manned mission to Mars after that. And he laid out how NASA plans for pay for this new era of manned space exploration -- by encouraging the commercialization of low -arth orbit in order to cut costs for the agency.
Meet VIPER, the rover that’s going to hunt for water on the moon
As part of its Artemis mission to return to the moon by 2024, NASA is recruiting a new robotic helper: The VIPER rover, which will sniff out lunar water ice. The Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover will be sent to the moon's south pole, where frozen water has been detected.
We’re slowly trapping ourselves under an umbrella of space junk
Kessler Syndrome is a scenario in which the density of objects in low Earth orbit is high enough that collisions between objects could cause a cascading effect that ultimately traps humanity beneath a ceiling of space junk. We spoke to the man who coined the term.
Digital Trends Live: PlayStation 5 leak, Zuckerberg goes to Congress, and more
On this episode of Digital Trends Live, we dig into the biggest trending tech topics of the day, including a leaked PlayStation 5 photo, Zuckerberg to testify in congress, Virginia gets snack-delivering drones, NASA's inflatable habitats, an artificial skin phone case, and more.
NASA will work with Japanese space agency on lunar landing projects
The Japanese space agency, JAXA, has confirmed it will work with NASA on the upcoming Artemis mission to send humans back to the moon by 2024. NASA Administrator James Bridenstine and JAXA President Hiroshi Yamakawa met recently in Tokyo to affirm their commitment to a joint lunar exploration project.
NASA’s InSight lander is drilling on Mars again, after being stuck for 6 months
Finally, some good news for NASA's InSight lander, which has been stuck on Mars due to a part of its drill called the mole becoming wedged in the soil. The mole has dug nearly 2 centimeters in the past week after six months of being stuck, giving hope InSight can get back to being fully operational.
See both of NASA’s explorers, Curiosity and InSight, on the surface of Mars
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) is currently in orbit around the red planet and is snapping photos of its surface using an instrument called the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE). Recently, HiRISE imaged not just one but both of NASA's missions which are on the planet now.