Tweeting from the ISS
Astronaut Karen Nyberg (@AstroKarenN) posted this photo on Oct. 28 along with the following on twitter: W/ departure of #ATV4, aft docking port empty. We move our Soyuz there Fri making room for @AstroRM & @Astro_Wakata pic.twitter.com/lpatsjbAoA. Two days later she followed that with another tweet: Up early to suit up, get in Soyuz, undock …
Titan’s northern lakes resemble Earth’s salt flats
With the sun now shining down over the north pole of Saturn’s moon Titan, a little luck with the weather, and trajectories that put the spacecraft into optimal viewing positions, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has obtained new pictures of the liquid methane and ethane seas and lakes that reside near Titan’s north pole. The images reveal …
Generations of windblown sediments on Mars
This colorful scene is situated in the Noctis Labyrinthus region of Mars, perched high on the Tharsis rise in the upper reaches of the Valles Marineris canyon system. Targeting the bright rimmed bedrock knobs, the image also captures the interaction of two distinct types of windblown sediments. Surrounding the bedrock knobs is a network of …
Planets rich in carbon may be waterless worlds
Planets rich in carbon, including so-called diamond planets, may lack oceans, according to NASA-funded theoretical research. Our sun is a carbon-poor star, and as result, our planet Earth is made up largely of silicates, not carbon. Stars with much more carbon than the sun, on the other hand, are predicted to make planets chock full …
NASA Spinoffs from Mars exploration
In 1997, NASA’s Sojourner robot became the first rover to explore the surface of Mars. NASA has since launched other successful rover missions, gathering precious information in preparation for an undertaking that has long captured people’s imaginations—a manned mission to Mars. The challenges such an enterprise poses have necessitated new technologies that are not only …
Cassini swings high above Saturn to take a portrait
It’s a view as good as gold. A loop high above Saturn by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft revealed this stately view of the golden-hued planet and its main rings. The observation and resulting image mosaic were planned as one of three images for Cassini’s 2013 Scientist for a Day essay contest. The contest challenges students to …