Category Astronomy/Space

A mosaic of images from the navigation cameras on the NASA Curiosity rover shows “halos” of lighter-toned bedrock around fractures. These halos comprise high concentrations of silica and indicate that liquid groundwater flowed through the rocks in Gale crater longer than previously believed. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Lighter-toned bedrock that surrounds fractures and comprises high concentrations of silica – called “halos” – has been found in Gale crater on Mars, indicating that the planet had liquid water much longer than previously believed. “The concentration of silica is very high at the centerlines of these halos,” said Jens Frydenvang, a scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory and the University of Copenhagen...

1.The first wild back-and-forth line records the moment on October 13, 2014 when the left Narrow Angle Camera’s radiator was struck by a meteoroid.
Credits: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Arizona State University
2. The Narrow Angle Camera sits on a bench in the clean room at Malin Space Science Systems. The radiator (right) extends off the electronics end and keeps the sensor cool while imaging the moon. Computer modeling shows the meteoroid impacted somewhere on the radiator.
Credits: Malin Space Science Systems/Arizona State University

On Oct.13, 2014 something very strange happened to the camera aboard NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO)...

This is an image of the Neptune thruster (right) with plasma expanding into a space simulation chamber. Credit: Dmytro Rafalskyi

Scientists study neutralizer-free plasma propulsion for spacecraft. Plasma propulsion is an important and efficient technology used to control spacecraft for Earth observation, communications and fundamental exploration of outer space. Plasma propulsion systems use electric power to ionize propellant gas and transform it into the 4th of matter, ie plasma. Electrically charged ions and electrons are accelerated in an exhaust beam to generate thrust and propel the spacecraft.

The most established electric propulsion concepts, for example gridded-ion thrusters, accelerate and emit a larger number of positively charged particles than those with negative charge...

The 11 nano tips used in the study.
Credit: University of Portsmouth

Research led by the University of Portsmouth has identified a new way to improve how we measure the age of planetary evolution in our solar system. The study, published in Nature Communications, uses a new atomic-scale imaging approach to locate and count individual atoms in planetary materials. Directly linking the structure and chemistry of minerals in this way opens up new opportunities to understand the spectacular complexity of planetary samples.

Meteorites provide samples that can be used to measure the timing of major planetary events, including lunar magma ocean crystalisation, Martian volcanism and asteroid bombardment of the inner solar system...