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UrduScientists suspect that the red streaks crossing the surface of Jupiter’s moon Europa is a frozen mixture of water and salts, but its chemical signature matches no known substance on Earth. Now researchers have discovered a new type of solid crystal that forms when water and table salt combine in cold, pressurized conditions. Researchers believe the new substance created in a lab on Earth could form at the surface and bottom of these worlds’ deep oceans.
Tag: Space
CDI, Axiom Space Sign Agreement to Pursue Science – In Space
Hackensack Meridian science institute, commercial space leader to work together beyond our atmosphere for clues to better protect human health
Cornell-led telescope project completion in sight
The construction of the Fred Young Submillimeter Telescope (FYST) being developed by CCAT Observatory Inc., an international consortium of universities led by Cornell, is drawing to a close.
Sudden Spin-down Event Illuminates Magnetar Mystery
A new paper published in Nature Astronomy is shedding light on magnetars, whose attributes remain poorly understood. A magnetar is a type of neutron star with an extremely strong magnetic field that rotates once every two to ten seconds. Researchers…
The Latest From The American Astronomical Society Meeting And Other Space News
Below are some of the latest articles that have been added to the Space and Astronomy channel on Newswise, a free source for journalists.
SPIDER launches from Antarctica
A team of scientists including physicist Johanna Nagy at Washington University in St. Louis successfully launched a balloon-borne experiment studying the early universe on Dec. 21. The instrument, called SPIDER, was carried aloft by a scientific balloon from its launch pad in Antarctica.
Space and time: Clocks to detect dark matter
Researchers have proposed a plan to send two atomic clocks deep into space to search for ultralight dark matter, with the goal of better understanding the universe.
Microbial miners could help humans colonize the moon and Mars
The biochemical process by which cyanobacteria acquire nutrients from rocks in Chile’s Atacama Desert has inspired engineers at the University of California, Irvine to think of new ways microbes might help humans build colonies on the moon and Mars.
Inexpensive Airborne Testbeds Could Study Hypersonic Technologies
Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology are envisioning a larger mission for for small satellites known as CubeSats — as airborne testbeds for technologies that are being developed for future generations of hypersonic vehicles.
Researchers spot rare luminous jet spewed by supermassive black hole
A University of Minnesota Twin Cities assistant professor is co-leading a team that discovered a bright optical flare which may help researchers better understand the physics of supermassive black holes billions of light years away.
UC San Diego Sanford Stem Cell Institute Launches Stem Cells Into Space
The UC San Diego Sanford Stem Cell Institute leads its first space launch, sending stem cells into space aboard the International Space Station. The NASA-partnered study will take advantage of the microgravity environment of space to study accelerated aging in stem cells.
NASA’s Artemis launch gets America back in ‘Space Race’ shape. UNLV professor and former NASA scientist Jason Steffen can talk about the significance of returning to the moon.
NASA’s Artemis launch is attempting to return America to ‘Space Race’ form, paving the way for humans on the moon for the first time since the 1970s. UNLV professor Jason Steffen — a former NASA scientist who worked on the…
WashU Expert: Artemis launch brings us closer to space exploration goals
Bradley L. Jolliff, the Scott Rudolph Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis and director of the McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences, is available to describe the science and space exploration…
Research centre to grow space food expertise
A new research centre, led by the University of Adelaide, will focus international expertise on finding ways to provide the next generation of space explorers with nutritious foods, and the on-demand supply of materials and medicines.
IceCube neutrinos provide new view of active galaxy
An international team of scientists, including researchers at the University of Adelaide, have gathered new evidence about the energetic core of an active galaxy millions of lights years away by detecting neutrino particles emitted by it.
Starshade Competition Challenges Students to Block Starlight for Observing Exoplanets
The Hybrid Observatory for Earth-like Exoplanets proposes pairing the newest and largest ground-based telescopes with a starshade orbiting Earth to obstruct the light from a host star to identify and characterize an exoplanet. AIP, with NASA and SPS, is organizing a competition for undergraduate students in the physical sciences to design such a starshade.
Astronomers Unveil New – and Puzzling – Features of Mysterious Fast Radio Bursts
More than 15 years after deep-space fast radio bursts were first discovered, their perplexing nature continues to surprise astronomers – and newly published research only deepens the mystery surrounding them.
DART section lead available to discuss upcoming asteroid impact experiment
On Sept. 26, the international community will watch as NASA’s latest spacecraft collides with an asteroid in an attempt to knock it off its orbit. Cristina Thomas, an assistant professor of astronomy and planetary sciences at Northern Arizona University and lead of…
Experts say the discovery of Earthbound asteroids and comets needs improvement; too many satellites could prevent discovery
A new survey of planetary defense experts from Apollo Academic Surveys and Olin College of Engineering reports that discovery of asteroids and comets needs improvement. In addition, the proliferation of commercial satellites could prevent them from identifying Earthbound asteroids and comets.
Color Change in Space Materials May Help Measure Degradation Remotely
For the next six months, a camera system on the exterior of the International Space Station (ISS) will be snapping photos of more than a dozen different material samples, gathering detailed information that will help researchers determine how – and why – the harsh conditions of space affect these materials.
Seeds in space: plant research on Artemis I mission
How will we grow food in space? That’s one question Michigan State University’s Federica Brandizzi has been particularly interested in solving.
Brandizzi, an MSU Foundation Professor in the College of Natural Science and the MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, will be sending seeds on the Artemis I mission to better understand how to grow food during space travel.
New research sheds light on when Mars may have had water
Scientists on NASA’s Perseverance mission made a surprising discovery about the composition of rock in Jezero Crater, one that will help them get a better idea of when water existed on Mars, and ultimately, help them understand if the red planet was ever habitable to microbial life.
Mars model provides method for landing humans on Red Planet
A mathematical model developed by space medicine experts from The Australian National University (ANU) could be used to predict whether an astronaut can safely travel to Mars and fulfil their mission duties upon stepping foot on the Red Planet.
Chula Engineering Student Team Wins Runner-up Award at Spaceport America Cup 2022
A big round of applause to members of the Chulalongkorn University High Altitude Research Club – CUHAR from Aerospace Engineering (AERO), Chula International School of Engineering, who represented Thailand at the Spaceport America Cup 2022.
GW Experts Available to Discuss Russia Leaving the International Space Station
WASHINGTON (July 26, 2022) — Yuri Borisov, head of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos, has announced Russia will withdraw from the International Space Station after 2024 to focus on building a Russian orbiting station. Experts from the George Washington University’s Space…
WVU scientist says NASA’s Webb Telescope will boost space research at University, Green Bank Observatory
The first photos from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have given researchers the deepest and clearest infrared look into space to date. West Virginia University researcher Maura McLaughlin, distinguished professor of physics and astronomy at the Eberly College of Arts…
UNLV professor available for NASA James Webb Telescope comment
UNLV professor of physics and astronomy Jason Steffen is available to talk about the significance of the James Webb Space Telescope imagery, and how it broadens our understanding of the universe. Today is the day that scientists are saying could…
Capturing the onset of galaxy rotation in the early universe
As telescopes have become more advanced and powerful, astronomers have been able to detect more and more distant galaxies. These are some of the earliest galaxies to form in our universe that began to recede away from us as the universe expanded.
Smelly tablets survive better in space
After returning from their trip into space, tablets subjected to the harsh effects of cosmic radiation have shown some unexpected results: those with increased aroma were not degraded as much as those with less taste.
NASA’s Webb to Uncover Riches of the Early Universe
Telescopes have spotted many distant galaxies – but none earlier than 400 million years after the big bang. What were galaxies that existed even earlier like? Two research teams using the James Webb Space Telescope will wield its state-of-the-art instruments to reveal an untold number of details about this early period in the universe for the first time – and revise what we know about some of the earliest chapters of galaxy evolution.
Johns Hopkins Astronomers To Discuss New Satellite Galaxy Simulation
With a new simulation that shows how satellite galaxies orbit bigger galaxies like the Milky Way, Johns Hopkins University researchers have reconciled long-dueling visions of what astronomers actually see using telescopes and what theorists have predicted they should see.
Rapid-fire fast radio burst shows hot space between galaxies
A recently discovered, rare and persistent rapid-fire fast radio burst source – sending out an occasional and informative cosmic ping from more than 3.5 billion light years away – helps to reveal the secrets of the broiling hot space between the galaxies. That’s according to an international team of astronomers who published their findings in the journal Nature.
Build-a-satellite program could fast track national security space missions
Valhalla, a Python-based performance modeling framework developed at Sandia National Laboratories, uses high-performance computing to build preliminary satellite designs based on mission requirements and then runs those designs through thousands of simulations.
Finland’s first science satellite launches into space
The Foresail-1 mission will test a new plasma brake and collect data about space radiation
Story tips: Fueling up on savings, COVID’s behavior effect, cosmic collisions, seismic and sound, and space-to-ground comms
ORNL story tips: Fueling up on savings, COVID’s behavior effect, cosmic collisions, seismic and sound, and space-to-ground comms
Astronomers Closer to Unlocking Origin of Mysterious Fast Radio Bursts
Nearly 15 years after the discovery of fast radio bursts (FRBs), the origin of the millisecond-long, deep-space cosmic explosions remains a mystery. That may soon change, thanks to the work of an international team of scientists – including UNLV astrophysicist Bing Zhang – which tracked hundreds of the bursts from five different sources and found clues in FRB polarization patterns that may reveal their origin.
Sending Stem Cells Into Space to Develop Medicine of Tomorrow
Scientists from Cedars-Sinai are gearing up to send stem cells into space to test whether it is possible to produce large batches in zero gravity for use in treating a variety of diseases back on Earth.
Astro2020 prioritizes extraterrestrial life, diversity in astronomy
The newly released Astro2020 decadal survey has ranked the projects the astronomer community wants to prioritize for the next 10 years. The 614-page NASA-sponsored report highlights the search for extraterrestrial life, as well as stressing the need for greater diversity…
Laboratory Will Illuminate Formation, Composition, Activity of Comets
In Review of Scientific Instruments, researchers have developed a laboratory to simulate comets in space-like conditions. The goal of the Comet Physics Laboratory is to understand the internal structure of comets, as well as how their constituent materials form and react. Many of the lab’s future experiments will involve creating sample comet materials with differing compositions. By testing those materials in the space-like chamber, the researchers can compare each sample to what has been observed on actual comets.
Need for Larger Space Telescope Inspires Lightweight Flexible Holographic Lens
Inspired by a concept for discovering exoplanets with a giant space telescope, a team of researchers is developing holographic lenses that render visible and infrared starlight into either a focused image or a spectrum.
Sanford Burnham Prebys professor Karen Ocorr awarded $2 million from NASA to study flies in space
As part of their larger initiative to understand the effects of space conditions on different organisms, NASA has awarded $2 million to Sanford Burnham Prebys assistant professor Karen Ocorr. The grant will fund a three-year project to study the effects of low gravity on muscle and neuron function in fruit flies and nematode worms aboard the International Space Station.
Gigantic Cavity in Space Sheds New Light on How Stars Form
Astronomers have discovered a humongous cavity in space while mapping interstellar dust. The sphere-shaped phenomenon may explain how supernovae lead to star formation.
SpaceX crew launch signals future of sustainable space exploration
SpaceX is expected to make history tonight with the first all-civilian crew launched into orbit. Mason Peck is a professor of astronautical engineering at Cornell University and previously served as NASA Chief Technologist. Peck says the future of sustainable space exploration is upon…
Affordable housing in outer space: Scientists develop cosmic concrete from space dust and astronaut blood
Transporting a single brick to Mars can cost more than a million British pounds – making the future construction of a Martian colony seem prohibitively expensive.
What has been discovered about the Mars surface? How does that relate to human missions?
Soil on Mars is different than soil on Earth, and exploration is helping us learn more
Geologists propose theory about a famous asteroid
Vesta was hit by two other large asteroids which left large impact craters so big they cover most of the southern hemisphere of Vesta. These impacts are thought to have ejected rocky material into space. Some of these rocks reached Earth as meteorites so scientists now have actual rock samples from Vesta to study its geochemistry.
Countdown to launch: Cornell scientists play key roles in James Webb Space Telescope
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope — the largest and most powerful space science observatory ever built — is designed to give astronomers unprecedented insight into the mysteries of the cosmos. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its…
Cosmic Rays May Be Key to Understanding Galactic Dynamics
While moving around within the gas in the interstellar medium, cosmic rays kickstart the background protons, which causes a collective plasma wave movement akin to ripples on a lake. The big question is how cosmic rays deposit their momentum into the background plasma. In Physics of Plasmas, plasma astrophysicists review recent developments within the field of studying the streaming instability triggered by cosmic rays, which likely have more impacts on galactic dynamics and the star formation cycle than previously known.
Dragonfly mission to Titan announces big science goals
NASA’s Dragonfly mission, which will send a rotorcraft relocatable lander to Titan’s surface in the mid-2030s, has big goals.
NASA Model Describes Nearby Star Which Resembles Ours in Its Youth
New research led by NASA provides a closer look at a nearby star thought to resemble our young Sun.