What tests can be performed on Earth to help us find signs of ancient life on Mars? This is what a recent study published in Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences hopes to address as a team of researchers…
Category: 2. Space
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Lucy Captures Its First Images of Main-Belt Asteroid Donaldjohanson
NASA’s Lucy spacecraft will fly by the small asteroid Donaldjohanson on April 20, 2025.
By blinking between images captured by NASA’s Lucy spacecraft on February 20 and 22, 2025, this animation shows the perceived motion of Donaldjohanson…
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Mars May Have Solid Inner Core
A team of researchers at the Bayerisches Geoinstitut has conducted high-pressure-temperature laboratory experiments to determine the crystal structure and density of the iron-sulfide phase in the Martian core.
Man et al. show that the…
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Adsorptive regolith on Mars soaks up water, researchers reveal
Mars, the next frontier in space exploration, still poses many questions for scientists. The planet was once more hospitable, characterized by a warm and wet climate with liquid oceans. But today Mars is cold and dry, with most water now located…
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LTT 9779 b: A Window into Extreme Exoplanetary Weather
What can an extremely hot Neptune-sized exoplanet teach scientists about exoplanetary weather? This is what a recent study published Nature Astronomy hopes to address as an international team of researchers…
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Water-Rich Iron Mineral May Be Main Culprit behind Mars’ Red Color
Called ferrihydrite, this iron mineral formed during a cold, wet period on early Mars under oxidative conditions, followed by a transition to the current hyper-arid environment.
This image from Mars Express’ High Resolution Stereo Camera…
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How Mars’ Red Color Rewrites Its Water History
What can Mars’ red hue that’s been observed for thousands of years teach us about when water existed on its surface potentially millions, or even billions, of years ago? This is what a recent study…
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Early Mars Was Home to Sun-Soaked, Sandy Beaches, New Study Suggests
Using data gathered by China’s Zhurong rover, planetary researchers have identified hidden layers of rock under the Martian surface that strongly suggest the presence of an ancient northern ocean.
A panoramic photo taken by China’s Zhurong…
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ESO observations help almost fully rule out 2024 YR4 asteroid impact
New observations of 2024 YR4 conducted with the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (ESO’s VLT) and facilities around the world have all but ruled out an impact of the asteroid with our planet. The asteroid has been closely…
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Lunar Trailblazer blasts off to map water on the moon
On Wednesday 26 February, a thermal imaging camera built by researchers at the University of Oxford’s Department of Physics blasted off to the Moon as part of NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer mission. This aims to map sources of water on the Moon to shed…
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