All articles tagged with #space science
A 50-year-old scientific conclusion from the Viking Mars mission, which declared Mars lifeless due to the absence of detected organics, is now believed to be mistaken. New evidence from recent missions suggests that Mars may harbor or have harbored life, prompting a reevaluation of past assumptions and the need for dedicated future missions to search for life on Mars.
NASA's flagship science center, Goddard, faces significant cuts and closures amid a government shutdown and controversial budget implementation, risking mission safety, scientific progress, and employee morale, with allegations of illegal activity and political influence impacting the agency's operations.
Croydon High School in London is on track to become the first all-girls school to send a satellite into space, aiming to inspire more girls to pursue STEM fields by designing and building their own satellite for launch into low-Earth orbit, with a focus on climate science and atmospheric research.
Bill Nye is leading a coalition of science groups to oppose proposed 47% cuts to NASA's science budget under the Trump administration, emphasizing the importance of space exploration for scientific discovery, economic growth, and global leadership, especially as China accelerates its space missions.
An internal NASA chart indicates positive developments in budget allocations and project continuations at NASA Goddard, including restored funding for key divisions and rescinded cancellations, though final outcomes depend on future budget decisions and funding execution.
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is reportedly attempting to sell off its satellites, including Earth-monitoring ones, amid budget cuts and plans to shut down certain projects, raising concerns about the future of space science and environmental monitoring. The move appears to be driven by the Trump administration's budget proposals and a broader anti-science stance, with NASA trying to offload assets to private and government buyers. The scientific community is alarmed by these developments, which threaten ongoing and future space research efforts.
The largest known Martian meteorite, NWA 16788, weighing 54 pounds and discovered in Niger, sold for $5.3 million at Sotheby's auction, highlighting its rarity and scientific significance, though some debate its sale versus donation for research and public display.
India's first astronaut in 40 years, Shubhanshu Shukla, inspires students across India through his trip to the ISS, sparking interest in space science and astronomy, especially among students from remote and low-income areas, supported by educational workshops and innovative learning tools.
All seven living former NASA science chiefs have signed a letter opposing the Trump administration's proposed 47% cut to NASA's 2026 science budget, warning that such cuts would harm current and future missions, damage the U.S. leadership in space science, and waste taxpayer investments, emphasizing the broad benefits of NASA's science programs.
The proposed 2026 US budget cuts could significantly reduce funding for NASA's Hubble and James Webb telescopes, potentially impacting their operations, scientific output, and public outreach, though they are not outright canceled. These cuts may lead to fewer missions, layoffs, and diminished support for scientific research and publicity efforts, raising concerns among scientists about the future of space astronomy in the US.
The article discusses the potential devastating impact of the Trump administration's proposed nearly 50% cuts to NASA's science programs and 24% overall budget, which threaten to cancel ongoing projects, undermine scientific progress, and jeopardize America's leadership in space exploration, all while highlighting the political and strategic implications of these cuts.
The European Space Agency's JUICE mission, launched on April 14, 2023, aims to explore Jupiter and its icy moons, including Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto, to study their composition, geology, and potential habitability. The mission involves complex navigation, including a critical lunar-Earth flyby in August 2024, to propel the spacecraft towards Jupiter. Equipped with advanced instruments, JUICE will investigate subsurface oceans, surface compositions, and Jupiter's atmosphere and magnetosphere, contributing to our understanding of the Jovian system and the search for extraterrestrial life.
The heliosphere, the vast region of space influenced by the sun, acts as a shield against cosmic rays and interstellar particles. Scientists aim to understand its shape and interactions with the interstellar medium, but current probes like Voyager lack the necessary instruments. NASA is considering launching a new interstellar probe to study the heliosphere from the outside, which could provide invaluable data on its structure and behavior.
Despite a failure in one of its gyroscopes, NASA has switched the Hubble Space Telescope to a backup control mode, allowing it to continue operations with some limitations. The telescope is expected to remain functional into the 2030s, and a proposed mission to boost its altitude using a SpaceX Crew Dragon has been ruled out for now.
Researchers have simulated the conditions on the planetesimal Arrokoth and found that its red color likely comes from a surface rich in sugars formed by cosmic ray bombardment over 1.8 billion years. This discovery, made using data from NASA's New Horizons spacecraft, suggests that similar processes on comets could have contributed to the origins of life on Earth.