The moons of Mars are garnering increased attention, not only because they could provide a view of the solar system’s past but also because they could provide invaluable staging areas for any future human settlement on Mars itself. However, missions specifically designed to visit Phobos, the bigger of the two moons, have met with varying stages of failure. So why not make an inexpensive mission to do so – one that could launch multiple copies of itself if necessary? That’s the idea behind a CubeSat-based mission to Phobos, known as Perseus, which was initially described back in 2020.
Continue reading “A CubeSat Mission to Phobos Could Map Staging Bases for a Mars Landing”Interstellar Objects Can't Hide From Vera Rubin
We have studied the skies for centuries, but we have only found two objects known to come from another star system. The first interstellar object to be confirmed was 1I/2017 U1, more commonly known as ?Oumuamua. It was discovered with the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS) and stood out because of its large proper motion. Because ?Oumuamua swept through the inner solar system, it was relatively easy to distinguish. The second interstellar object, 2I/Borisov, stood out because it entered the inner solar system from well above the orbital plane. But while we have only discovered two alien visitors so far, astronomers think interstellar objects are common. It’s estimated that several of them visit our solar system each year, and there may be thousands within the orbit of Neptune on any given day. They just don’t stand out, so we don’t notice them. But that could soon change.
Continue reading “Interstellar Objects Can't Hide From Vera Rubin”The Early Earth Wasn’t Completely Terrible
Earth formed 4.54 billion years ago. The first period of the history of the Earth was known as the Hadean Period which lasted from 4.54 billion to 4 billion years ago. During that time, Earth was thought to be a magma filled, volcanic hellscape. It all sounds rather inhospitable at this stage but even then, liquid oceans of water are thought to have existed under an atmosphere of carbon dioxide and nitrogen. Recent research has shown that this environment may well have been rather more habitable than once thought.
Continue reading “The Early Earth Wasn’t Completely Terrible”Globular Clusters Evolve in Interesting Ways Over Time
Globular clusters are among the oldest objects in the Universe. The early Universe was filled with dwarf galaxies and its just possible that globular clusters are the remains of these ancient relics. Analysis of the stars in the clusters reveals ages in the region of 12-13 billion years old. A new paper just published shows that the globular clusters are home to two distinct types of stars; the primordial ones with normal chemical composition and those with unusual heavy amounts of heavier elements.
Continue reading “Globular Clusters Evolve in Interesting Ways Over Time”A Superfast Supercomputer Creates the Biggest Simulation of the Universe Yet
Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory have created the largest astrophysical simulation of the Universe ever. They used what was until recently the world’s most powerful supercomputer to simulate the Universe at an unprecedented scale. The simulation’s size corresponds to the largest surveys conducted by powerful telescopes and observatories.
Continue reading “A Superfast Supercomputer Creates the Biggest Simulation of the Universe Yet”How Much Are Asteroids Really Worth?
Popular media love talking about asteroid mining using big numbers. Many articles talk about a mission to Psyche, the largest metallic asteroid in the asteroid belt, as visiting a body worth $10000000000000000000, assumedly because their authors like hitting the “0” key on their keyboards a lot. But how realistic is that valuation? And what does it actually mean? A paper funded by Astroforge, an asteroid mining start-up based in Huntington Beach, and written by a professor at the Colorado School of Mine’s Space Resources Program takes a good hard look at what metals are available on asteroids and whether they’d genuinely be worth as much as the simple calculations say that would be.
Continue reading “How Much Are Asteroids Really Worth?”Euclid Could Find 170,000 Strong Gravitational Lenses
Gravitational lensing is a concept where dark matter distorts space revealing its presence through its interaction with light. ESA’s Euclid mission is mapping out the gravitational lensing events to chart the large scale structure of the Universe. Euclid is also expected to discover in excess of 170,000 strong gravitational lensing features too. AI is expected to help achieve this goal but machine learning is still in its infancy so human beings are likely to have to confirm each lens candidate.
Continue reading “Euclid Could Find 170,000 Strong Gravitational Lenses”Uranus’s Wobbling Moons Could Point to Oceans Under the Ice
Subsurface oceans of liquid water are a common feature of the moon’s of Jupiter and Saturn. Researchers are exploring whether the icy moons of Uranus and Neptune might have them as well. Their new paper suggests future missions to the outer Solar System could measure the rotation of the moons and detect any wobbles pointing to liquid oceans. Less wobble means the moons is mostly solid but large wobbles can indicate ice floating on an ocean of liquid.
Continue reading “Uranus’s Wobbling Moons Could Point to Oceans Under the Ice”Stem Cells Grown in Space Could Revolutionize Medicine Here on Earth
Extended periods spent in microgravity can take a serious toll on the human body, leading to muscular atrophy, bone density loss, vision problems, and changes to the cardiovascular, endocrine, and nervous systems. At the same time, however, scientists have found that microgravity may play a key role in the future of medicine. This includes bioprinting in space, where cultured cells are printed out to form organic tissues and organs without the need for grafts. Printing in microgravity also ensures that fragile cell structures do not collapse due to pressures caused by Earth’s gravity.
However, space medicine may also have applications for stem cell research, which also benefit from a microgravity environment. Stem cells have countless applications in medicine because of their ability to quickly replicate and differentiate into many different types of cells. Based on experiments carried out aboard the International Space Station (ISS), researchers from the Mayo Clinic in Florida determined that these abilities are enhanced when grown in space. These findings could have significant benefits in the study of disease prevention and treatment on Earth, as well as medical treatments delivered in space.
Continue reading “Stem Cells Grown in Space Could Revolutionize Medicine Here on Earth”Magnetic Tornado is Stirring up the Haze at Jupiter’s Poles
Jupiter is a stunning planet to observe. Whether it be visible light or any other wavelength. In a stunning new image released by the University of California -Berkley, Jupiter is seen in ultraviolet light. The familiar Great Red Spot appears as a blue oval as do many of the familiar belt features. Around the polar regions are revealed a brown haze which is thought to be caused by a high altitude vortex mixing up the atmosphere. The jury is still out on the mechanism behind this though but it may be an interaction between Jupiter’s strong magnetic field which pierces the atmosphere near the poles.
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