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☆ NASA’s space shuttle program reimagined rocketry. What went wrong?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-05 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

The CNN Original Series “Space Shuttle Columbia: The Final Flight” uncovers the events that ultimately led to disaster. Deemed an “engineering marvel,” the first of five winged orbiters — the space shuttle Columbia — made its inaugural flight in 1981. Crews aboard the recovery ships Liberty Star and Freedom Star retrieve a reusable right solid rocket booster (below) after a space shuttle mission. Space Shuttle Columbia launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 10:39 a.m. NASA Space Shuttle Columbia lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on January 16, 2003.

Persons: ”, Sean O’Keefe, Casey Dreier, Crews, O’Keefe, Scott Andrews, NASA's, Michael P, Anderson, William C, McCool, Rick D, David M, Brown, Laurel, Ilan Ramon, Kalpana Chawla, Joe Skipper, Karl Ronstrom, Ramon, NASA Chawla, Clark, Chawla, Robert Giroux, Kathryn O'Neill, Zachary, Brett Coomer, Florida Sen, Bill Nelson, Matt Stroshane, Tommy Peltier, Eric Gay, Smiley, Gene Theriot, Sean O'Keefe, George W, Bush, Ron Dittemore, Joe Cavaretta, O'Keefe, Mannie Garcia, NASA Sandy Anderson, Carlos Noriega, Michael L, Coats, Evelyn Husband, Thomas, John Raoux, Glenn Benson, Kim Shiflett, Rodney Rocha, Columbia’s, Rick Husband, “ Roger, Sen, Mark Kelly, “, ” Kelly Organizations: CNN, Shuttle Columbia, Sunday, NASA, Columbia, America’s, Planetary Society, European Space Agency, Space, International Space, Hubble, Liberty Star, NASA’s Ames Research Center, Space Shuttle Columbia, Kennedy Space Center, Reuters Space Shuttle Columbia, Scott Andrews People, Control Center, Getty, NASA Space, Israeli Air Force, Space Shuttle, Red Team, Blue Team, Johnson Space Center, Former, Houston, Houston Chronicle, People, US Navy Corps, Columbia Reconstruction, NASA Workers, Astronauts Memorial Foundation, Reuters, Bannock, Bannock Junior, Senior, Bannock High School, Johnson Space, Challenger, Shuttle, East Texas Locations: Columbia, America’s Soviet, Florida, Houston, Israel, SPACEHAB, New York, Laguna Hills , California, Texas, San Augustine , Texas, Washington ,, Shoshone, Fort Hall , Idaho, New Mexico, East

☆ Water molecules found on asteroids thought to be ‘completely dry’
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-16 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Water molecules have been detected on the surface of asteroids for the first time, proving that these remnants from the formation of our solar system aren’t just dried-up space rocks. Searching for water across the solar systemThe researchers attempted to look for water on two other asteroids using SOFIA, but the detection was too faint. Now, the team is using the James Webb Space Telescope to zero in on different asteroids and search for water signatures. “We really weren’t expecting to find water on these silicate-rich asteroids,” Arredondo said. I want to know if the carbon-rich asteroids have significantly more water than silicate-rich asteroids, or if they have similar amounts.”

Persons: Iris, Massalia, SOFIA, Anicia, Maggie McAdam, Arredondo, ” Arredondo, McAdam’s, James Webb, Webb, “, ” Webb, REx Organizations: CNN, Astronomy, Boeing, SOFIA, Science, Southwest Research Institute, NASA’s Ames Research Locations: SOFIA, San Antonio, Mountain View , California, Iris

☆ Hubble finds water vapor in small exoplanet’s atmosphere
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope have detected water molecules in the atmosphere of a small, blazing-hot exoplanet 97 light-years from Earth. The planet, named GJ 9827d, is about twice Earth’s diameter, and it’s the smallest exoplanet found to have water vapor in its atmosphere, according to a new study. Starlight filtering through the planet’s atmosphere helped astronomers measure the signature of water molecules. It’s possible that the planet is a mini-Neptune with a hydrogen-rich atmosphere that contains water vapor. Or astronomers suspect that GJ 9827d could be a warmer version of Jupiter’s icy moon Europa, which contains an ocean beneath a thick, icy crust.

Persons: ”, Laura Kreidberg, Max Planck, Björn Benneke, Hubble, Ian Crossfield, Pierre, Alexis Roy, we’re, ” Benneke, “, GJ, Benneke, Thomas Greene, James Webb, Webb, ” Kreidberg Organizations: CNN —, Hubble, Max, Max Planck Institute, Astronomy, University of Montreal’s Trottier Institute for Research, University of Kansas, University of Montreal’s Trottier Institute, GJ 9827d, NASA’s Ames Research, James Webb Space Telescope, ”, 9827d Locations: Heidelberg, Germany, Lawrence , Kansas, Silicon

☆ Did the same collision that formed the moon create mysterious blobs inside Earth?
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The theory, called the giant-impact hypothesis, explains many fundamental features of the moon and Earth. And many scientists assumed any debris Theia left behind on Earth was blended in the fiery cauldron of our planet’s interior. They were already aware that there are two massive, distinct blobs that are embedded deep within the Earth. That’s when he learned new details about Theia, the mysterious projectile that presumably struck Earth billions of years ago. And, as a trained geophysicist, he knew of those mysterious blobs hidden in Earth’s mantle.

Persons: Qian Yuan, Yuan, ” Yuan, Hernán, ”, Steve Desch, it’s, wouldn’t, Desch, “, Dr, Seth Jacobson, —, Jacobson, Theia, ” Jacobson Organizations: CNN —, California Institute of Technology, Arizona State University, Arizona State’s School of Earth, Exploration, Arizona State, Caltech, NASA’s Ames Research Center, Michigan State University Locations: Africa, Arizona, Shanghai

☆ In Antitrust Trial, Google Argues That Smart Employees Explain Its Success
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( Steve Lohr | More About Steve Lohr | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

In its antitrust confrontation with the government, the pillar of Google’s defense has been that innovation — not restrictive contracts, backed by billions in payments to industry partners — explains its success as the giant of internet search. Its competitive advantage, it says, is brilliant people, working tirelessly to improve its products. Pandu Nayak, Google’s first witness in the antitrust trial that began last month, is the face of that defense. Mr. Nayak, a vice president of search, was raised in India and graduated at the top of his class at one of that nation’s elite technical schools. He came to America, earned his Ph.D. in computer science at Stanford University and then spent seven years as a research scientist on artificial intelligence projects at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley.

Persons: —, Pandu Nayak, Google’s, Nayak Organizations: Stanford University, NASA’s Ames Research Locations: India, America, Silicon Valley

☆ Viking 1 may have landed at site of ancient Martian megatsunami
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The mystery of the Viking landing site has long puzzled scientists, who believe an ocean once existed there. Now, new research suggests that the lander touched down where a Martian megatsunami deposited materials 3.4 billion years ago, according to a study published Thursday in the journal Scientific Reports. The interest in the potential for life on the red planet prompted scientists to select its northern equatorial region, Chryse Planitia, as the first Martian landing site for Viking I. “The landing site selection needed to fulfill a critical requirement — the presence of extensive evidence of former surface water. Next, the team wants to investigate Pohl crater as a potential landing site for a future rover, since the location might contain evidence of ancient life.

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