Using an imaging spectrometer on MRO, researchers detected signatures of hydrated minerals on slopes where mysterious streaks are seen on the Red Planet. These darkish streaks appear to ebb and flow over time. They darken and appear to flow down steep slopes during warm seasons, and then fade in cooler seasons. They appear in several locations on Mars when temperatures are above minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 23 Celsius), and disappear at colder times.What does this mean? The press release continues:
“It took multiple spacecraft over several years to solve this mystery, and now we know there is liquid water on the surface of this cold, desert planet,” said Michael Meyer, lead scientist for NASA’s Mars Exploration Program at the agency’s headquarters in Washington. “It seems that the more we study Mars, the more we learn how life could be supported and where there are resources to support life in the future.”That is key - existing life and future life. We may want to determine the former before we become the latter. We are certainly making progress as we poke, observe, and roam the Red Planet.
Even some die-hard SpaceX supporters are questioning the sacrifices they’re being asked to make, including the possibility of being asked to evacuate their homes on certain launch days. Frank Kawalski, who moved to Boca Chica from Key West, Florida, a decade ago, unfurled a giant "Welcome SpaceX" sign on his house when he heard the company was coming to town. Today? "I’ve never left my house for hurricanes or anything," said Kawalski, who owns three homes in Boca Chica and lives with his son, 4 dogs, 7 cats, 12 macaws and a pet rattlesnake named Low Rider.I presume Texas is still happy with the deal, but some placating of the company's neighbors may be necessary. One way to keep them happy is to build the town a nice private bar with a view of the launches, and throw in a few drinks and a barbecue with each launch. Keeping the neighbors happy should not be rocket science.
Just 15 minutes after its closest approach to Pluto on July 14, 2015, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft looked back toward the sun and captured this near-sunset view of the rugged, icy mountains and flat ice plains extending to Pluto’s horizon. The smooth expanse of the informally named Sputnik Planum (right) is flanked to the west (left) by rugged mountains up to 11,000 feet (3,500 meters) high, including the informally named Norgay Montes in the foreground and Hillary Montes on the skyline. The backlighting highlights more than a dozen layers of haze in Pluto’s tenuous but distended atmosphere. The image was taken from a distance of 11,000 miles (18,000 kilometers) to Pluto; the scene is 230 miles (380 kilometers) across.
Climate change is reshaping the Arctic in profound ways. The global Arctic has warmed approximately twice as fast as the rest of the world, resulting in significant impacts on land and sea. Among the most noticeable changes is the retreat of Arctic sea ice, which has experienced significant, sustained declines in both extent and thickness in recent decades...As sea-ice cover diminishes because of climate change, marine traffic is expected to increase in the Arctic, including traffic from fishing and mineral exploration to cargo shipping and tourism...That is why the Administration will propose to accelerate acquisition of a replacement heavy icebreaker to 2020 from 2022, begin planning for construction of additional icebreakers, and call on Congress to work with the Administration to provide sufficient resources to fund these critical investments. These heavy icebreakers will ensure that the United States can meet our national interests, protect and manage our natural resources, and strengthen our international, state, local, and tribal relationships.Can we do it all? Explore the Arctic and Mars? Certainly. We fought a war while putting men on the moon. Yet that is not the ideal situation at anytime, and especially in these budget-cutting times. Let's hope we have the vision and the funding to build both Martian rovers and icebreakers.
The ship has been modified eight times since it was built in 1964. But the studio model's 1967 appearance in the episode “Trouble with Tribbles” was the last time the Enterprise was modified during the original "Star Trek" television series.
Fans are encouraged to submit firsthand, original images or film of the ship under construction, during filming or on public display at any time before 1976.
The images used to create this view were obtained with the Cassini-Huygens wide-angle camera at a distance of approximately 603 000 kilometres from Dione through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of ultraviolet light.Giovanni Domenico Cassini discovered Dione in 1684, it being one of the four moons he identified and named Sidera Lodoicea, or "the stars of Louis," to honor king Louis XIV. A comparison of Dione to the Earth and its moon is shown below.
As design nerds, we think the Worm is almost perfect, and the system behind it is a wonderful example of modernist design and thinking.
But for everyone, we think the Worm and its design system represent an agency whose goal is to explore space and push the boundaries of science. Where the Meatball feels cartoon-like and old fashioned; the worm feels sleek, futuristic, forward-thinking. All good things for a space agency at the bleeding-edge of science and exploration.
We think this manual and others like it—regardless of the organization—are a beautiful example of rational, systematic design. The NASA manual is one of those examples that sets the standard for design excellence—a document well worth preserving for the future as a learning tool, a gorgeous object, and a moment in design history.I guess there is something for everyone. I have no problem with the current "meatball" NASA logo, but tastes will differ. By the way, who is pushing the meatball manual?
It is called the Twin Jet Nebula as well as answering to the slightly less poetic name of PN M2-9.This Hubblecast video provides more on the nebula above and others.
The M in this name refers to Rudolph Minkowski, a German-American astronomer who discovered the nebula in 1947. The PN, meanwhile, refers to the fact that M2-9 is a planetary nebula. The glowing and expanding shells of gas clearly visible in this image represent the final stages of life for an old star of low to intermediate mass. The star has not only ejected its outer layers, but the exposed remnant core is now illuminating these layers — resulting in a spectacular light show. However, the Twin Jet Nebula is not just any planetary nebula, it is a bipolar nebula.
Ordinary planetary nebulae have one star at their center, bipolar nebulae have two, in a binary star system. Astronomers have found that the two stars in this pair each have around the same mass as the sun, ranging from 0.6 to 1.0 solar masses for the smaller star, and from 1.0 to 1.4 solar masses for its larger companion. The larger star is approaching the end of its days and has already ejected its outer layers of gas into space, whereas its partner is further evolved, and is a small white dwarf.
The mission is the first dedicated to the investigation of the deep interior of the planet. It will place the first seismometer directly on the surface of Mars to measure Martian quakes and use seismic waves to learn about the planet's interior. It also will deploy a self-hammering heat probe that will burrow deeper into the ground than any previous device on the Red Planet. These and other InSight investigations will improve our understanding about the formation and evolution of all rocky planets, including Earth.Go here to add your name. And go here to learn more about the InSight spacecraft and lander.
Sadly, if the space community seeks to turn “The Martian” into a commercial for sending people to Mars, we will fail miserably. The 2000 movie “Castaway” was nominated for multiple awards, including an Academy Award for Tom Hanks. It did not increase public support for sending people to deserted islands. Neither will “The Martian” bring them closer to Mars.