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☆ Oceans of water may be trapped deep beneath the Martian surface
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-12 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN —Data from a retired NASA mission has revealed evidence of an underground reservoir of water deep beneath the surface of Mars, according to new research. A team of scientists estimates that there may be enough water, trapped in tiny cracks and pores of rock in the middle of the Martian crust, to fill oceans on the planet’s surface. NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter took an image of InSight sitting on the Martian surface on February 2, 2019. “It’s certainly true on Earth — deep, deep mines host life, the bottom of the ocean hosts life. Windows into Martian historyThe findings add a new piece to the Martian water puzzle.

Persons: ”, Vashan Wright, ‘, Mars, orbiters, InSight’s seismometer, Wright, James Tuttle Keane, Aaron Rodriguez, Michael Manga, “ It’s, haven’t, Alberto Fairén, Fairén, Bruce Banerdt, we’re, Banerdt, al, ” Banerdt, “, ” Wright Organizations: CNN, NASA, National Academy of Sciences, Reconnaissance Orbiter, JPL, Caltech, University of Arizona, University of California, Diego’s Scripps, of Oceanography, Mars, Interior Exploration, Transport, Scripps Institute of Oceanography, University of Maryland, Cornell University Locations: Mars, Berkeley

☆ We put Elon Musk's dream to colonize Mars up against Jeff Bezos' vision of living in space — and one is more realistic
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-29 | by ( Ellyn Lapointe | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

ConstructionElon Musk's vision of a Martian city (top) and an artist's concept of Bezos' O'Neill space colony (bottom). Bezos' space stations could be built to resemble Earth more easily — no massive terraforming necessary. "If I had to pick a billionaire's vision of the future, I would definitely go with Elon Musk's Martian colony," Gonçalves told BI. That's why Rachael Seidler thinks Musk's Martian cities are a better bet than Bezos' space stations. Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesThe majority of experts BI spoke with agreed that Musk's Martian colony is more feasible than Bezos' enormous space stations.

Persons: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Musk, Bezos, he's, O'Neill, Anthony Longman, Longman, I'm, Rebeca Gonçalves, Gonçalves, Elon, Rachael Seidler, SEBASTIAN KAULITZKI, roaches, we've, Adam Watkins, It's, Watkins, it's, Joe Raedle Organizations: SpaceX, Origin, Business, Elon, YouTube, Space Station, NASA, Wikimedia, University of Florida, University of Nottingham, Elon Musk

☆ Surprising element traced back to Renaissance alchemist’s basement laboratory
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-28 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Editor’s note: A version of this story appeared in CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Thousands of years ago, our ancestors produced the first maps of the stars and practiced alchemy, the precursor to chemistry. But ancient alchemists actually developed technology and discovered chemical elements that are still widely used today. Now, a new discovery links both astronomy and alchemy in one intriguing figure who lived during the Renaissance. Once the Starliner mission concludes, SpaceX will ferry a quartet of astronauts for NASA’s Crew-9 mission to the space station.

Persons: Sir Isaac Newton, Uraniborg, Tycho Brahe, Brahe, wasn’t, Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams, Mark Nappi, Craig Smith, Diva Amon, Andrew Sweetman, Sweetman, ”, David Flannery, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt Organizations: CNN, Chemists, Lund University Danish, NASA, Boeing, Engineers, SpaceX, NASA’s, Marine, Scottish Association for Marine Science, JPL, Caltech, Perseverance, CNN Space, Science Locations: Ireland, Brazil, Mars

☆ NASA Perseverance rover’s rock find may show microbial life existed on Mars
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-26 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —The NASA Perseverance rover may have found a pivotal clue that’s central to its mission on Mars: geological evidence that could suggest life existed on the red planet billions of years ago. “These spots are a big surprise,” said David Flannery, member of the NASA Perseverance science team and an astrobiologist at the Queensland University of Technology in Australia, in a statement. But the arrowhead-shaped specimen could help the Perseverance team unlock whether Mars was once a planet hospitable to life. Perseverance rover captured a 360-degree panorama of a region on Mars called “Bright Angel,” where a river flowed billions of years ago. Exploring Mars’ pastSince landing on Mars, Perseverance has crossed Jezero Crater and explored an ancient river delta in search of microfossils of past life.

Persons: ”, David Flannery, haven’t, Mars, “ We’re, Briony Horgan, we’ve, —, Morgan Cable, MSSS “ We’ve, Ken Farley, it’s, Perseverance, Nicola Fox, Bill Nelson, ” Horgan, ” Farley Organizations: CNN, NASA, Queensland University of Technology, Purdue University, Chemicals, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, JPL, Caltech, ASU, ” Cable, California Institute of Technology, MSSS Geologists, Science Locations: Australia, West Lafayette , Indiana, Mars, Pasadena , California, Cheyava, Pasadena, Neretva

☆ Scientists unveil prototype spacesuit system that recycles urine as drinking water
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-12 | by ( Amarachi Orie | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Now, such technology appears to be on the horizon, with scientists unveiling a prototype spacesuit system that turns urine into drinking water. When spending these long periods on spacewalks, astronauts currently wear the familiar white puffy EVA suits, which contain a maximum absorbency garment. Above is a side view of the whole system, worn as a backpack. ‘Dune’ systemTo “promote astronaut wellbeing,” the researchers have designed a novel in-suit urine collection and filtration system, or “Dune” system,” Etlin said. Luca BielskiThe liquid would then enter the filtration system, a two-step apparatus that removes water from urine into a salt solution, with a pump then separating pure water from salt.

Persons: “, Sofia Etlin, Weill Cornell Medical College’s, Karen Morales, ” Etlin, Luca Bielski, Spacesuits, Etlin, Artemis, ” Organizations: CNN, Cornell University, Space Technology, NASA, Collins Aerospace, Weill Cornell Medical, Astronauts Locations: New York, Houston, Mars

☆ Jeff Bezos has a vision to colonize space with a trillion people. We asked experts to put it to the test.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-13 | by ( Ellyn Lapointe | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Jeff Bezos's space colonies would look like cylindersAn artist's concept of an O'Neill space colony, which could theoretically emulate Earth-like living conditions in space. O'Neill space colonies would be large enough to host entire cities, 10,000-foot-tall mountains, and millions of people. AdvertisementBezos isn't suggesting that people will be living in O'Neill space colonies by the end of the century. AdvertisementSaving Earth would be far easier than building Bezos' space colonies, he told BI. Even if we never make it to space colonies, the work of researchers studying extraterrestrial colonization could benefit us here on Earth.

Persons: —, Jeff Bezos, podcaster Lex Fridman, Bezos, Fridman, astrobiologists —, Jeff Bezos's, O'Neill, Gerard K, Anthony Longman, Longman, Rebeca Gonçalves, Adam Watkins, we've, Watkins, you've, We've, Martin Rees, Gonçalves, Rees Organizations: Service, Business, Elon, SpaceX, European Space Agency, NASA, University of Nottingham, United, Royal Locations: Antonio , TX, O'Neill

☆ Scientists propose sweeping new law of nature, expanding on evolution
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Evolution occurs, it holds, when these various configurations are subject to selection for useful functions. "We have well-documented laws that describe such everyday phenomena as forces, motions, gravity, electricity and magnetism and energy," Hazen said. The subsequent generation of stars that formed from the remnants of the prior generation then similarly forged almost 100 more elements. "Imagine a system of atoms or molecules that can exist in countless trillions of different arrangements or configurations," Hazen said. "Only a small fraction of all possible configurations will 'work' - that is, they will have some useful degree of function.

Persons: Charles Darwin, Darwin, Robert Hazen, Hazen, Michael Wong, Jonathan Lunine, Will Dunham, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: Carnegie Institution for Science, National Academy of Sciences, Carnegie, Cornell, Thomson Locations: British

☆ I'm one of only 26 Black women astrophysicists in America. Acting helped me overcome the stereotypes I felt as a woman of color in STEM.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Yoonji Han | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

She's long grappled with her two loves, acting and astronomy, spending 11 years acting before getting her Ph. Shields said her acting experience helped her break free of the stereotypes she faced as a woman of color in science. D. program in astrophysics. D. program. D. program.

Persons: Aomawa Shields, Shields, astrobiologist, Kelly McGillis, Charlotte Blackwood, I'd, didn't, I've, Spitzer, — Organizations: Service, UC Irvine, Blue Angels, Miramar Air Force Base, Diego's La Jolla Playhouse, MIT, Lowell Observatory, Madison, PBS, University of Washington Locations: America, Wall, Silicon, San Diego, Shields, Miramar, Diego's, . Wisconsin, Los Angeles, grad

☆ NASA rover reveals new evidence about organic molecules on Mars
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The latest evidence comes from an instrument called SHERLOC mounted on the six-wheeled rover's robotic arm that enables a detailed mapping and analysis of organic molecules. They obtained evidence indicating the presence of organic molecules in multiple rock samples, including some collected for potential return to Earth for future analysis. Signs of organic molecules were first detected on Mars in 2015 by a different rover called Curiosity, followed by more evidence in subsequent years. With Perseverance now detecting possible signatures of organic molecules, the evidence is accumulating that organic molecules may be relatively common on Mars, though at low levels. "There are both biotic and abiotic mechanisms that can form organic molecules.

Persons: astrobiologist Sunanda Sharma, Sherlock Holmes, WATSON, Ryan Roppel, Roppel, Will Dunham, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, University, Pittsburgh, Thomson Locations: California, Jezero

☆ NASA Mars Ingenuity helicopter broke its own record
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —More than a year and a half after its first flight on Mars, the Ingenuity helicopter has set a new record. “Ingenuity’s success has led to NASA’s decision to take two Ingenuity class helicopters on the Mars Sample Retrieval Lander scheduled for later in this decade,” wrote Bob Balaram, Ingenuity chief engineer emeritus, in a NASA blog update. A more capable Mars Science Helicopter with the ability to carry almost 5 kg of science payloads is also in early conceptual and design stages.”Mars sample collectionMeanwhile, the Perseverance rover continues to collect intriguing samples from Mars. The cache will be collected by future missions during the Mars Sample Return campaign and returned to Earth in the 2030s. The Perseverance rover recently used a specialized drill bit to collect its first samples of broken rock and dust.

David Grinspoon, an astrobiologist at the Planetary Science Institute, called the new Webb image “just spectacular beyond words.”“Oh. Young stars, estimated to be only a few hundred thousand years old, are the bright red orbs in the image. New stars form within clouds of dust and gas as dense clumps of mass collapse under their own gravity and begin to heat up. The Webb Telescope captured this dynamic journey in progress, according to Thomas Zurbuchen, the associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate. These are baby stars that are forming within the gas & dust," he tweeted.

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