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Origami-Inspired Materials Could Soften the Blow for Reusable Spacecraft
University of Washington
University of Washington researchers used the paper folding art of origami to develop a novel solution to help reduce the forces associated with impact -- like in car crashes, football helmets, landing spacecraft and more.
Strange Martian mineral deposit likely sourced from volcanic explosions
Brown University
Ashfall from ancient volcanic explosions is the likely source of a strange mineral deposit near the landing site for NASA's next Mars rover
STAR Detector has a New Inner Core
Brookhaven National Laboratory
A newly installed upgrade of the STAR detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) gives nuclear physicists more particle tracks than ever to gain insight into the building blocks of matter and the force that bound them to form the visible matter of our world.
Sandia launches a bus into space
Sandia National Laboratories
Sandia National Laboratories recently launched a bus into space. Not the kind with wheels that go round and round, but the kind of device that links electronic devices. The bus was among 16 total experiments that were part of the National Nuclear Security Administration's HOT SHOT program.
Unexpected observation of ice at low temperature, high pressure questions ice, water theory
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory studying super-cold states of water discovered a pathway to the unexpected formation of dense, crystalline phases of ice thought to exist beyond Earth's limits. Their findings, reported in Nature, challenge accepted theories and could lead to better understanding of ice found on other planets, moons and elsewhere in space.
Space Travel and Your Joints
Henry Ford Health System
A novel Henry Ford Hospital study of mice aboard a Russian spaceflight may raise an intriguing question for the astronauts of tomorrow: Could traveling in space be bad for your joints? Researchers found early signs of cartilage breakdown in the mice, suggesting that the reduced biomechanical forces of spaceflight are at play on the musculoskeletal system. While it's premature to translate the finding to humans, this first-of-its kind study adds to a growing body of research about the health effects of spaceflight on the musculoskeletal system.
Four scientists at PPPL awarded national and international honors
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
Feature profiles four PPPL scientists who have received high honors.
Formation of the moon brought water to Earth
University of Munster
The Earth is unique in our solar system: It is the only terrestrial planet with a large amount of water and a relatively large moon
Artificial intelligence -- an exciting new way to speed development of fusion energy
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
Feature introduces video of interview with physicist William Tang describing the role of artificial of intelligence in fusion research. Feature includes a link to the video
CosmoGAN: Training a Neural Network to Study Dark Matter
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
A Berkeley Lab-led research group is using a deep learning method known as generative adversarial networks to enhance the use of gravitational lensing in the study of dark matter.
Galaxy Blazes with New Stars Born from Close Encounter
Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
This Hubble Space Telescope image of the irregular galaxy NGC 4485 shows all signs of the galaxy having been involved in a hit-and-run accident with its larger galactic neighbor.
Apollo 11 inspired one generation, still challenges the next
Cornell University
The moon is quaking as it shrinks
University of Maryland, College Park
A 2010 analysis of imagery from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) found that the moon shriveled like a raisin as its interior cooled
Mayo Clinic aerospace medicine experts look ahead 50 years after Apollo 11
Mayo Clinic
Gravitational Waves Leave a Detectable Mark, Physicists Say
Cornell University
New research shows gravitational waves leave behind plenty of "memories" that could help detect them even after they've passed.
Flexible 'soft robots' offer new possibilities for space exploration
Cornell University
A New Filter to Better Map the Dark Universe
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
To address messy measurements of the cosmic web that connects matter in the universe, researchers at Berkeley Lab developed a way to improve the accuracy and clarity of these measurements based on the stretching of the universe's oldest light.
Giant Lasers Crystallize Water With Shockwaves, Revealing the Atomic Structure of Superionic Ice
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Scientists from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory used giant lasers to flash-freeze water into its exotic superionic phase and record X-ray diffraction patterns to identify its atomic structure for the very first time - all in just a few billionths of a second.
Comet-Enabled Simulations Showcase Black Holes and Their Magnetic Bubbles
University of California and Princeton scientists have been collaborating on a computational astrophysics project to learn more about the recent discovery of a black hole, which sits in the middle of a galaxy called Messier 87 (M87), approximately 55 million light years from Earth.
Rutgers Senior Heads Student-Led Rocket Launch
Rutgers University-New Brunswick
Timothy Nuber, an aerospace engineering senior at Rutgers-New Brunswick's School of Engineering, is gearing up to watch a rocket he helped construct with Operation Space launch at the end of this month. Nuber founded and serves as president of the Space Technology Association of Rutgers (STAR), a democratic community of students that work together, not against each other, to stand out in the highly competitive space industry, and they plan to build and launch their own rocket here at Rutgers.
Hubble Astronomers Assemble Wide View of the Evolving Universe
Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
Astronomers have assembled an image containing about 265,000 galaxies that stretch back through 13.3 billion years of time. Called the Hubble Legacy Field, the snapshot represents the largest and most comprehensive "history book" of galaxies ever made. Astronomers assembled the wide portrait from 7,500 individual exposures taken from 16 years' worth of Hubble observations in ultraviolet to near-infrared wavelengths, capturing the key features of galaxy assembly over time.
Stars and stories: University of Washington astronomer Emily Levesque gathering material for book on 'true tales of observational astronomy'
University of Washington
Emily Levesque, UW assistant professor of astronomy, and an increasingly well-known name in her field, is working on material for a new book for science-loving general readers, to be called "The Last Stargazers: True Tales of the Colorful and Vanishing World of Observational Astronomy."
Black Hole's Tug on Space Pulls Fast-Moving Jets in Rapid Wobble
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
A spinning black hole pulls in material from a companion star, and its gravitational effect causes ejected jets of material to wobble like a child's spinning top.
Squid Skin Inspires Creation of Next-Generation Space Blanket
University of California, Irvine
Irvine, Calif., April 29, 2019 - Drawing design inspiration from the skin of stealthy sea creatures, engineers at the University of California, Irvine have developed a next-generation, adaptive space blanket that gives users the ability to control their temperature. The innovation is detailed in a study published today in Nature Communications.
Mystery of the Universe's Expansion Rate Widens with New Hubble Data
Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope say they have crossed an important threshold in revealing a discrepancy between the two key techniques for measuring the universe's expansion rate. The recent study strengthens the case that new theories may be needed to explain the forces that have shaped the cosmos.
New Hubble Measurements Confirm Universe Is Outpacing All Expectations of its Expansion Rate
Johns Hopkins University
New measurements from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope confirm that the Universe is expanding about 9% faster than expected based on its trajectory seen shortly after the big bang, astronomers say.
UNH Scientists Find Auroral "Speed Bumps" Are More Complicated
University of New Hampshire
Researchers at the University of New Hampshire Space Science Center find that "speed bumps" in space, which can slow down satellites orbiting closer to Earth, are more complex than originally thought.
Rensselaer Team Developing Tool to Battle Space Debris
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)
A team of researchers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is building a semi-autonomous trash collector for space, which they have fittingly named OSCaR.
Florida Tech to Host Space Technology Day May 23
The Florida Tech Office of Research in collaboration with NASA will host Space Technology Day on the university's Melbourne campus Thursday, May 23. This free, daylong event will bring together professors, students, engineers, technologists and business leaders from around Florida to engage on NASA's current and future space technology activities and the agency's plans for exploring the Moon, Mars and beyond.
Cassini's last Titan flyby reveals deep methane lakes, Earth-like cycles
Cornell University
By examining data from the Cassini spacecraft's last close encounter with Saturn's moon Titan, scientists have found that its methane-filled lakes are up to 300 feet deep, much deeper than previously thought.
Hubble Celebrates 29th Anniversary with a Colorful Look at the Southern Crab Nebula
Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
In celebration of the 29th anniversary of the launch of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers captured this festive, colorful look at the tentacled Southern Crab Nebula.
A "Jellyfish" Galaxy Swims Into View of NASA's Upcoming Webb Telescope
Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
As the spiral galaxy ESO 137-001 plunges into a galaxy cluster, gas is being pulled off of it as though it faced a cosmic headwind. Within that gas, stars are forming to create the appearance of giant, blue tentacle-like streamers. Astronomers, puzzled that stars could form within such tumult, plan to use Webb to study this galaxy and its stellar offspring.
New SmartSuit promises a better fit for astronauts
Texas A&M University
A new intelligent hybrid SmartSuit design proposed by Dr. Ana Diaz Artiles from Texas A&M University has the potential to solve some of the current design and health risks associated with the current spacesuit worn by astronauts.
Texas State faculty member sheds light on groundbreaking black hole image
Texas State University
Dr. Blagoy Rangelov, assistant professor of physics at Texas State University, gives insight to the black hole image that captivated audiences around the world last week.
Deep Space X-Ray Burst Gives Astronomers New Signal to Detect Neutron Star Mergers
University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)
An international team of astronomers has discovered a new way to spot when collisions occur in distant galaxies between two neutron stars - incredibly dense, city-sized celestial bodies that possess the most powerful magnetic fields in the universe. The team's findings validate predictions first made in 2013 by UNLV astrophysicist Bing Zhang, a member of the research team and one of the study's corresponding authors.
Quarks Under Pressure in the Proton
Pressure in the middle of a proton is about 10 times higher than in a neutron star.
Astronomers discover third planet in the Kepler-47 circumbinary system
San Diego State University
Astronomers have discovered a third planet in the Kepler-47 system, securing the system's title as the most interesting of the binary-star worlds.
CubeSats Prove Their Worth for Scientific Missions
American Physical Society (APS)
Only a few years ago, the astronomy and heliophysics communities were skeptical about whether CubeSats could reliably obtain scientific data. But these breadloaf-size satellites have proven their ability to return useful data. During the APS April Meeting 2019, Christopher S. Moore will describe how the twin Miniature X-ray Solar Spectometer CubeSats measure soft X-rays from the Sun. These were the first solar science-oriented CubeSat missions flown for the NASA Science Mission Directorate.
How to Defend the Earth from Asteroids
American Physical Society (APS)
The Chelyabinsk meteor caused extensive ground damage and numerous injuries when it exploded on impact with Earth's atmosphere in February 2013; to prevent another such impact, Amy Mainzer and colleagues use a simple yet ingenious way to spot these tiny near-Earth objects as they hurtle toward the planet. She will outline the work of NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office this week at the APS April Meeting in Denver -- including her team's NEO recognition method and how it will aid the efforts to prevent future Earth impacts.
Astounding Black Hole Image Opens a New Era of Science, UB Physicist Says
University at Buffalo
Magnetic Levitation of Ultracold Neutrons Yields New Measurement of the Neutron Lifetime
Storing extremely slow neutrons in a novel trap enables precise measurement of a basic property of particle physics.
TESS finds its first Earth-sized planet
Carnegie Institution for Science
A nearby system hosts the first Earth-sized planet discovered by NASA's Transiting Exoplanets Survey Satellite, as well as a warm sub-Neptune-sized world, according to a new paper from a team of astronomers that includes Carnegie's Johanna Teske, Paul Butler, Steve Shectman, Jeff Crane, and Sharon Wang.
Sizing Up a Starry Night
University of Delaware
We gaze up at them, we wish upon them, we even sing about swinging on them. But the one thing we haven't been able to do with stars is figure out how big they are...until now.
Astronomers take first, high-resolution look at huge star-forming region of Milky Way
Iowa State University
A team of astronomers used a newly commissioned radio telescope in South Korea to make the first high-resolution observations of the molecular clouds within a star-forming region of the Milky Way. The first good look at the region indicated large molecular clouds about 180 light years across.
Notre Dame Stories: Lunar Samples, Rome Studies 50th Anniversary
University of Notre Dame
We chat with Notre Dame geologist and moon expert Clive Neal, who is part of a team that will examine previously sealed lunar samples obtained during the Apollo missions. In addition, we look at the School of Architecture's Rome Studies Program, as it marks its 50th Anniversary in the Eternal City.
DIY Gravitational Waves with 'BlackHoles@Home'
American Physical Society (APS)
Researchers hoping to better interpret data from the detection of gravitational waves generated by the collision of binary black holes are turning to the public for help. West Virginia University assistant professor Zachariah Etienne is leading what will soon become a global volunteer computing effort. The public will be invited to lend their own computers to help the scientific community unlock the secrets contained in gravitational waves observed when black holes smash together.
Travel Through Wormholes is Possible, But Slow
American Physical Society (APS)
A Harvard physicist has shown that wormholes can exist: tunnels in curved space-time, connecting two distant places, through which travel is possible. But don't pack your bags for a trip to other side of the galaxy yet; although it's theoretically possible, it's not useful for humans to travel through, said the author of the study, Daniel Jafferis, from Harvard University, written in collaboration with Ping Gao, also from Harvard and Aron Wall from Stanford University.
VIDEO: The Making of the Largest 3D Map of the Universe
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
In this video, Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) project participants share their insight and excitement about the project and its potential for new and unexpected discoveries.
Researchers observe formation of a magnetar 6.5 billion light years away
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
A University of Arkansas researcher is part of a team of astronomers who have identified an outburst of X-ray emission from a galaxy approximately 6.5 billion light years away, which is consistent with the merger of two neutron stars to form a magnetar -- a large neutron star with an extremely powerful magnetic field. Based on this observation, the researchers were able to calculate that mergers like this happen roughly 20 times per year in each region of a billion light years cubed.
NASA Twins Study: A year in space has little effect on gut microbiome
University of Illinois at Chicago
A year in space seems to have a small but significant, transient effect on the gut microbiome, according to a new paper on the NASA Twins Study published in the journal Science.The microbiome findings, authored by a team of researchers in Chicago, are among the results from 10 other research teams examining how the human body responds to spaceflight that are reported in the paper.
NASA Twin Study Provides a Multi-omics View of the Human Body's Response to a Year in Space
University of California San Diego Health
The NASA Twins Study is the most comprehensive integrated multi-omics, molecular, physiological, and behavioral analysis of how the human body responds to space flight to date. Study results were published in the April edition of Science.
Astronaut Has No Lingering, Major Epigenetic Differences From Earthbound Twin Brother
Johns Hopkins Medicine
In a landmark study, a group of U.S. scientists from Johns Hopkins, Stanford University and other institutions has found no long-lasting, major differences between the epigenomes of astronaut Scott Kelly, who spent a year in space aboard the International Space Station, and his twin brother, Mark, who remained on Earth.
First-ever black hole image offers tantalizing prospect for space-time exploration
Cornell University
EHT Radio Astronomy Newsroom
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
The first direct visual evidence of a black hole will help scientists understand how the universe behaves under conditions of extreme gravity, forces so strong that they warp the fabric of space and time.
New Model Accurately Predicts Harmful Space Weather
Los Alamos National Laboratory
A new, first-of-its-kind space weather model reliably predicts space storms of high-energy particles that are harmful to many satellites and spacecraft orbiting in the Earth's outer radiation belt.
Researcher sheds light on mysteries of black holes
Kennesaw State University
Physics Tip Sheet: APS April Meeting
American Physical Society (APS)
This tip sheet highlights interesting presentations from the upcoming 2019 APS April Meeting in Denver -- a major international meeting that features talks and presentations about discoveries in astrophysics, particle physics, energy research and many other areas of modern physics. The meeting runs from Saturday, April 13 through Tuesday, April 16 at the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel, located at 1550 Court Place in downtown Denver.
Life could be evolving right now on nearest exoplanets
Cornell University
Rocky, Earth-like planets orbiting our closest stars could host life, according to a new study that raises the excitement about exoplanets.
Why is space debris such a problem? Why is NASA so concerned about India's recent anti-satellite test?
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)
Event Horizon Telescope may reveal images of two black holes
Cornell University
Tiny planet discovery around white dwarf opens up possibilities for life
Cornell University
NASA Awards 2019 Postdoctoral Fellowships
Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
NASA has selected 24 new Fellows for its prestigious NASA Hubble Fellowship Program (NHFP). The program enables outstanding postdoctoral scientists to pursue independent research in any area of NASA Astrophysics, using theory, observation, experimentation, or instrument development. Each fellowship provides the awardee up to three years of support.
UW-Milwaukee astrophysicist elected spokesperson of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Astrophysicist Patrick Brady has been elected spokesperson for the LIGO Scientific Collaboration as new run begins with Virgo.
Dark Energy Instrument's Lenses See the Night Sky for the First Time
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
On April 1 the dome of the Mayall Telescope near Tucson, Arizona, opened to the night sky, and starlight poured through the assembly of six large lenses that were carefully packaged and aligned for the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument project.
NSF press conference on first result from Event Horizon Telescope project
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) project and the National Science Foundation (NSF) will hold a press conference on April 10 to announce a groundbreaking result.
VLA Makes First Direct Image of Key Feature of Powerful Radio Galaxies
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
A dusty, doughnut-shaped feature, long thought an essential part of the "engines" of active galaxies, is found in one of the most powerful galaxies in the Universe.
Bacterial Factories Could Manufacture High-Performance Proteins for Space Missions
American Chemical Society (ACS)
Nature has evolved protein-based substances with mechanical properties that rival even the best synthetic materials. Pound for pound, spider silk is stronger and tougher than steel. But unlike steel, the natural fiber cannot be mass-produced.
Physicist named 2019 Cottrell Scholar
West Virginia University - Eberly College of Arts and Sciences
A West Virginia University physicist is using her experiences as a Cottrell Scholar to further her research efforts and create a new curriculum. Weichao Tu, an assistant professor of physics in the WVU Department of Physics and Astronomy, has been named a 2019 Cottrell Scholar.
New Evidence of Deep Groundwater on Mars
Researchers at the USC Arid Climate and Water Research Center (AWARE) have published a study that suggests deep groundwater could still be active on Mars and could originate surface streams in some near-equatorial areas on Mars. The researchers at USC have determined that groundwater likely exists in a broader geographical area than just the poles of Mars and that there is an active system, as deep as 750 meters, from which groundwater comes to the surface through cracks in the specific craters they analyzed.
Hubble Watches Spun-up Asteroid Coming Apart
Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
Using the Hubble Space Telescope, all-sky surveys, and several other ground- and space-based telescopes, an international team of astronomers watching asteroid (6478) Gault say it has spun up so fast that its ejected dusty material formed two long, thin, comet-like tails. Each tail represents an episode in which the asteroid gently shed its material -- key evidence that Gault is beginning to come apart.
Data flows from NASA's TESS Mission, leads to discovery of Saturn-sized planet
Iowa State University
Astronomers who study stars contributed to the analysis of a planet discovered by NASA's new TESS Mission. It's the first planet identified by TESS for which the oscillations -- "starquakes" -- of the planet's host star could be measured.
Cosmic Fireworks in the Clouds: Volunteer Detectives Sought for Magellanic Clouds Cluster Search
Caught in a cosmic dance, our nearest neighbor galaxies, the Magellanic Clouds, are cartwheeling and circling each other as they fall toward our galaxy, the Milky Way. The gravitational interaction between the Clouds sparks cosmic fireworks--bursts of star formation as new clusters of stars flame on. How many and what kind of star clusters have been born this way over the history of the Clouds? A new project, the Local Group Cluster Search, invites citizen scientists to help find out!
In Hunt for Life, Astronomers Identify Most Promising Stars
Cornell University
NASA's new Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is designed to ferret out habitable exoplanets, but with hundreds of thousands of sunlike and smaller stars in its camera views, which of those stars could host planets like our own? A team of astronomers from Cornell University, Lehigh University and Vanderbilt University has identified the most promising targets for this search in the new "TESS Habitable Zone Star Catalog," published in Astrophysical Journal Letters.
Ultra-sharp Images Make Old Stars Look Absolutely Marvelous!
Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA)
Using high-resolution adaptive optics imaging from the Gemini Observatory, astronomers have uncovered one of the oldest star clusters in the Milky Way Galaxy. The remarkably sharp image looks back into the early history of our Universe and sheds new insights on how our Galaxy formed.
NASA's Webb to Explore Galaxies from Cosmic Dawn to Present Day
Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
How did the first galaxies in the universe form, and did they make the universe transparent to light? How did later galaxies produce and disperse into the universe the heavier elements that are the building blocks of stars, planets, and even humans? These are questions astronomers will address in some of the first observations made by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope.
2019 APS April Meeting: Preliminary Highlights & Last Call for Hotel Registration
American Physical Society (APS)
Information on the 2019 American Physical Society April Meeting in Denver, which explores research from "Quarks to Cosmos." It runs from Saturday, April 13 through Tuesday, April 16 at the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel. At the meeting, the latest breaking research in particle and astrophysics will be presented -- from long views of massive, ancient objects in the universe to short-lived, subatomic interactions. The meeting will also feature thoughtful presentations by experts in education, policy, the history of physics, and many other areas.
Astronomers Find 'Cannonball Pulsar' Speeding Through Space
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
Astronomers using the National Science Foundation's Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) have found a pulsar speeding away from its presumed birthplace at nearly 700 miles per second, with its trail pointing directly back at the center of a shell of debris from the supernova explosion that created it. The discovery is providing important insights into how pulsars -- superdense neutron stars left over after a massive star explodes -- can get a "kick" of speed from the explosion.
Lunar Landing Site Revealed
Weizmann Institute of Science
Beresheet, Israel's first lunar landing craft, is heading towards that rocky outpost. Weizmann Institute scientist Prof. Oded Aharonson and Brown University's Prof. Jim Hood have now identified the best site for the craft to land in order to study the Moon's magnetic field.
Asteroid Bennu, target of NASA's sample return mission, is rotating faster over time
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
In late 2018, the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft arrived at Bennu, the asteroid it will be studying and sampling over the next several years.
Jefferson Lab Particle Accelerator Quality Testing Facility Is Going Stronger Than Ever After 5,000 Tests
Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility
Throughout its nearly 30-year history, the VTA has contributed to the success of large-scale superconducting radiofrequency accelerators across the United States and around the world and continues to enable researchers to expand the frontiers of accelerator science and serve the needs of cutting-edge particle accelerator research facilities worldwide.
UAH scientists getting first look at trove of data from Parker Solar Probe
University of Alabama Huntsville
The Parker Solar Probe (PSP) is streaming data from the Solar Wind Electrons Alphas and Protons (SWEAP) instrument suite to NASA and then to The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), where the SWEAP team is analyzing it.
When Semiconductors Stick Together, Materials Go Quantum
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
A team led by DOE's Berkeley Lab has developed a method that could turn ordinary semiconducting materials into quantum machines - devices marked by extraordinary electronic behavior that could help to revolutionize a number of industries aiming for energy-efficient electronic systems.
What Does the Milky Way Weigh? Hubble and Gaia Investigate
Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
Astronomers using Hubble and Gaia have made a precise measurement of the total mass of our Milky Way galaxy, which weighs in at 1.5 trillion times the mass of our Sun.
New Surprises from Jupiter and Saturn
American Physical Society (APS)
The latest data from the giant planets has sent researchers back to the drawing board. Cassini orbited Saturn for 13 years before its dramatic final dive into the planet's interior, while Juno has been orbiting Jupiter for two and a half years; the data collected has been "invaluable but also confounding," said David Stevenson from Caltech, who will present an update of both missions at the 2019 APS March Meeting in Boston. Innovative design that protected the instruments from fierce radiation and powered the mission on solar energy alone has reaped plenty of surprises.
Scientists levitate particles with sound to find out how they cluster together
University of Chicago
Scientists from the University of Chicago and the University of Bath used sound waves to levitate particles, revealing new insights about how materials cluster together in the absence of gravity--principles which underlie everything from how molecules assemble to the very early stages of planet formation from space dust.
Breaking Up is Hard to Do: Asteroids are Stronger, Harder to Destroy Than Previously Thought
Johns Hopkins University
A popular theme in the movies is that of an incoming asteroid that could extinguish life on the planet, and our heroes are launched into space to blow it up. But incoming asteroids may be harder to break than scientists previously thought, finds a Johns Hopkins study that used a new understanding of rock fracture and a new computer modeling method to simulate asteroid collisions.
Clues to Martian life found in Chilean desert
Newswise Review
A robotic rover deployed in the most Mars-like environment on Earth, the Atacama Desert in Chile, has successfully recovered subsurface soil samples during a trial mission to find signs of life. The samples contained unusual and highly specialized microbes that were distributed in patches, which researchers linked to the limited water availability, scarce nutrients and chemistry of the soil. These findings, published in Frontiers in Microbiology, will aid the search for evidence of signs of life during future planned missions to Mars.
Exiled planet linked to stellar flyby 3 million years ago
University of California, Berkeley
Some of the peculiar aspects of our solar system -- an enveloping cloud of comets, dwarf planets in weird orbits and, if it truly exists, a possible Planet Nine far from the sun -- have been linked to the close approach of another star in our system's infancy flung things helter-skelter.
S&T Launches Polar Scout Satellites Using SpaceX Falcon 9 Vehicle
Homeland Security's Science And Technology Directorate
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) launched two miniature cube-shaped satellites (CubeSats) into space on December 3, 2018, via the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
Missouri S&T joins LIGO Scientific Collaboration and world-class astrophysics research
Missouri University of Science and Technology
This spring semester, Missouri University of Science and Technology became the state's only institution to join the worldwide LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory) Scientific Collaboration (LSC) of researchers committed to detecting cosmic gravitational waves. This research explores the fundamental physics of gravity using the emerging field of gravitational wave science as a tool for astronomical discovery.
New NASA Mission Could Find More Than 1,000 Planets
Ohio State University
A NASA telescope that will give humans the largest, deepest, clearest picture of the universe since the Hubble Space Telescope could find as many as 1,400 new planets outside Earth's solar system, new research suggests. The new telescope paves the way for a more accurate, more focused search for extraterrestrial life, according to researchers. The study, by a team of astronomers at The Ohio State University, provides the most detailed estimates to date of the potential reach of the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope mission (nicknamed WFIRST.) It was designed by NASA and astronomers throughout the country to find new planets and research dark energy, the mysterious force that pervades otherwise empty space and that could hold the keys to understanding how the universe expands. Their work was published Feb. 25 in the Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series.
Building a growable habitat for sustainable life in space
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M researchers have proposed a growable habitat with 1 G of gravitational force to meet the need for a program providing sustainable life for long periods in space.
From New Jersey Railways to Outer Space, Rutgers Student Helps NASA Discover Planets
Rutgers University-New Brunswick
Rutgers Student Pedro Gerum recently landed an internship at NASA's Ames Research Center in California, where he will be working on the agency's TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) mission to help discover exoplanets.
Senior design students develop materials for space station
South Dakota State University
Mechanical engineering students are working with NASA engineers to develop 3D printing materials that one day be used at the International Space Station, as part of the eXploration Systems and Habitation Academic Innovation Challenge.
Tiny Neptune Moon Spotted by Hubble May Have Broken from Larger Moon
Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
A team of astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope, and older Voyager 2 spacecraft data, have studied the origin of the smallest known moon orbiting the planet Neptune. The moon, which was discovered in 2013 and has now received the official name Hippocamp, may actually be a fragment broken from its larger neighboring moon Proteus.
Weather on Mars: Chilly with a chance of 'dust devils'
Cornell University
Beginning today, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory will provide daily weather reports for Mars, courtesy of the red planet's newest robotic resident, InSight.
'Imagine the feel' of Martian winds -- InSight reports weather from red planet
Cornell University
First evidence discovered of a gigantic remnant around an exploding star
San Diego State University
A San Diego State University astrophysicist has helped discover evidence of a gigantic remnant surrounding an exploding star--a shell of material so huge, it must have been erupting on a regular basis for millions of years.
Argonne expertise contributes to the foundation for future electron-ion collider
Argonne National Laboratory
Scientists from U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) national laboratories and a number of top U.S. research universities are proposing to build, within the next decade, an electron ion collider that will provide scientists with one of the best in-depth views of the interior of atomic nuclei.