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☆ NASA’s Curiosity rover makes its ‘most unexpected’ find on Mars
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-20 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN —The Curiosity rover has made its most unusual find to date on Mars: rocks made of pure sulfur. “I think it’s the strangest find of the whole mission and the most unexpected,” said Ashwin Vasavada, Curiosity project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Previously, while exploring Mars, NASA’s Spirit rover broke one of its wheels and had to drag it along while using the other five to drive backward. And Vasavada says it’s what inspired the team to “look behind” the Curiosity rover — otherwise they wouldn’t have seen the crushed sulfur. To determine what process formed the sulfur rocks, the team considered nearby bedrock instead.

Persons: ”, Ashwin Vasavada, “, Sharp, White, Vasavada, ” Vasavada, Briony Horgan, Curiosity, Mount Sharp, Becky Williams, Gediz, “ It’s, we’re, ” Curiosity’s, “ I’m Organizations: CNN, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, JPL, NASA, Caltech, Mars, NASA SVS, Spirit, Purdue University, Planetary Science Institute, Curiosity’s Locations: Pasadena , California, ”, Mars, West Lafayette , Indiana, Mt, Gediz, Gale, Tucson , Arizona

☆ First confirmed moon cave could provide future astronauts shelter
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-20 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The surface feature is Mare Tranquillitatis, or the Sea of Tranquility, where the Apollo 11 mission landed on the afternoon of July 20, 1969. Scientists have discovered a large lunar cave connected to a pit found within the moon's Sea of Tranquility. NASA/Goddard/Arizona State UniversityScientists have found a subterranean cavity beneath the Sea of Tranquility, and it may provide shelter for future lunar astronauts in the form of a cave. Lunar caves, or underground passages formed by volcanic processes during the moon’s early history, are connected to pits covering the lunar surface. The long, wide cave, found by reviewing archival NASA data, could be used to protect astronauts from harsh radiation and extreme temperature swings as well as provide a new avenue to study lunar rocks.

Persons: revel, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Artemis, Ramses, Hamilton, Lori Hilton, Maine coons, squint, ”, Dana Varble, Sharp, Jürgen, Missy Elliott’s, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt Organizations: CNN, NASA, Goddard, Arizona State University Scientists, European Space Agency, French bulldogs, North American Veterinary Community, Space Agency, Sharks, New, CNN Space, Science Locations: Maine, Hamilton, Mexico, Mexican, Nuevo, Argentina, Americas, New Zealand, —, Cambodia, New York City, New Jersey

☆ Solar storm hits Mars, creating planet-engulfing auroras, NASA says
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-14 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —When the sun unleashed an extreme solar storm and hit Mars in May, it engulfed the red planet with auroras and an influx of charged particles and radiation, according to NASA. Solar radiation hits MarsThe most extreme storm occurred on May 20 after an X12 flare released from the sun, according to data collected by the Solar Orbiter spacecraft currently studying the sun. The Curiosity rover, currently exploring Gale Crater just south of the Martian equator, took black-and-white images using its navigation cameras during the solar storm. But Mars lost its magnetic field billions of years ago, which means the planet has no shield from incoming energized solar particles. By tracing the data from multiple Martian missions, scientists were able to watch how the solar storm unfolded.

Persons: Gale, “, ”, Don Hassler, ” Auroras, Mars, Deborah Padgett, MAVEN, Christina Lee Organizations: CNN, NASA, Solar Orbiter, Goddard Space Flight, Mars, Caltech, JPL, Southwest Research, Exploration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, University of California, Space Sciences Laboratory Locations: Northern California, Alabama, Greenbelt , Maryland, Boulder , Colorado, Pasadena , California

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