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NASA SPHEREx Mission to Map Water Ice in the Milky Way for Life’s Origins
NASA’s SPHEREx mission, launching February 27, will search for water ice and frozen compounds in the Milky Way’s molecular clouds. By surveying over 9 million regions, the mission aims to understand how these compounds influence planet and star formation. Findings will complement data from the James Webb Space Telescope, enhancing insights into...
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Newly Confirmed Super-Earth HD 20794 d May Support Life in Habitable Zone
A super-Earth, HD 20794 d, has been confirmed within a habitable zone 20 light years from Earth. The planet, first detected in 2022, has a mass six times that of Earth and orbits a sun-like star. Although its elliptical orbit affects temperature stability, its potential to sustain liquid water makes it a key target for upcoming space missions. Scie...
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Bennu Asteroid Sample Reveals Organic Compounds That May Hint at Life Beyond Earth
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission has delivered a sample from asteroid Bennu, revealing amino acids, nucleobases, ammonia, and minerals formed in saltwater. These organic compounds, vital to life, suggest that the building blocks for life might have existed in other regions of the early solar system. The discovery of evaporite minerals, including halite ...
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Donald Trump Asks Elon Musk to Help Rescue 'Stranded' Sunita Williams
SpaceX founder Elon Musk has confirmed that his company will be responsible for returning astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore from the International Space Station (ISS) in late March 2025. The astronauts were originally scheduled to return in June 2024 but were delayed due to technical issues with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. NASA had ...
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NASA SPHEREx Telescope to Map the Universe and Search for Life’s Ingredients
NASA’s SPHEREx mission, set to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on February 27, aims to explore the origins of the universe and the formation of galaxies. Using near-infrared light, the telescope will study over 450 million galaxies and 100 million stars in the Milky Way. It will also search for water and organic molecules in regions where ...
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Organic Molecules in Space: A Key to Understanding Life's Cosmic Origins
Organic molecules, the building blocks of life, have been discovered across space—from interstellar clouds to asteroids and comets. Findings from missions like Rosetta, Hayabusa2, and Osiris-Rex reveal that these compounds existed long before the Sun formed. Scientists believe organic molecules survived planetary formation in protoplanetary disks...
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NASA Eyes Innovative Strategies for Mars Exploration Success by 2044
NASA has detailed a 20-year strategy for Mars exploration in a report calling for innovative approaches, cost-efficient missions, and global partnerships. The plan addresses core scientific questions, including Mars’ habitability and signs of life, and focuses on developing advanced technology to access challenging terrains. Public engagement and...
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Cosmic Rays Could Erase Signs of Life on Mars, Study Reveals
A new study highlights how cosmic radiation is destroying signs of ancient life on Mars. Organic materials like lipids degrade quickly under radiation, especially in salt-rich environments. Scientists suggest future Mars exploration should focus on deeper drilling, such as ESA's upcoming Rosalind Franklin Rover mission, to avoid surface radiation e...
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Space Exploration Highlights 2024: Lunar Missions, Mars Discoveries, and More
2024 saw significant space exploration advancements. Japan's SLIM mission exceeded expectations, while NASA’s Perseverance found evidence of ancient life on Mars. The Europa Clipper launched to investigate subsurface oceans on Jupiter's moon Europa, promising new discoveries by 2030.
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New Clues Point To Possible Alien Life Beneath Mars' Surface
By analyzing data from various Mars missions, the team has identified a subsurface zone, between 4.3 and 8.8 kilometres deep, where conditions could support microbial activity.
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New Chemical Models Might Reveal Whether Icy Moons of Saturn and Jupiter Contain Life
Recent studies aim to determine the habitability of Saturn's moon Enceladus using improved chemical models. These tools simulate how organic compounds interact with icy environments under extreme conditions. The research, led by Charity Phillips-Lander and Florent Bocher, focuses on phenomena such as organic-doped ice pores, replicating conditions ...
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NASA SWIM Robots Tested for Future Missions to Explore Oceans on Europa
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is testing SWIM robots to potentially explore the subsurface oceans of Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons, believed to contain conditions suitable for life. The robots are designed to navigate autonomously and gather data through temperature, pH, and chemical sensors, helping scientists identify potential life...
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NASA’s Viking Mission May Have Destroyed Martian Life with Water Experiments
In 1975, NASA’s Viking mission tested Martian soil for microbial life using liquid water. A recent theory suggests this approach may have destroyed microbes adapted to Mars' dry, salt-driven conditions. Astrobiologist Dirk Schulze-Makuch proposes revisiting our assumptions about life on Mars and prioritising methods suited to its hyperarid enviro...
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Father and Daughter Decode Mysterious Signal From Space: What Does It Mean?
In 2023, a cosmic puzzle was decoded by a father-daughter team of citizen scientists. The message, originating from Mars, reveals five amino acids. While the project simulated an extraterrestrial transmission, the meaning of these amino acids remains uncertain. Could they represent life? Or perhaps something more? This fascinating puzzle has ignite...
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Perseverance Rover Captures Bizarre Mars Rock That Looks Like a Human Head
NASA’s Perseverance rover has made a bizarre discovery on Mars: a rock that strikingly resembles a human head. Captured on 27 September 2024, the image showcases the rock's peculiar shape and orientation, which play tricks on our brains, a phenomenon known as pareidolia. This occurrence leads us to see familiar patterns, like faces, in random obj...
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NASA SPHEREx Mission to Map Water Ice in the Milky Way for Life’s Origins
NASA’s SPHEREx mission, launching February 27, will search for water ice and frozen compounds in the Milky Way’s molecular clouds. By surveying over 9 million regions, the mission aims to understand how these compounds influence planet and star formation. Findings will complement data from the James Webb Space Telescope, enhancing insights into...
-
Newly Confirmed Super-Earth HD 20794 d May Support Life in Habitable Zone
A super-Earth, HD 20794 d, has been confirmed within a habitable zone 20 light years from Earth. The planet, first detected in 2022, has a mass six times that of Earth and orbits a sun-like star. Although its elliptical orbit affects temperature stability, its potential to sustain liquid water makes it a key target for upcoming space missions. Scie...
-
Bennu Asteroid Sample Reveals Organic Compounds That May Hint at Life Beyond Earth
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission has delivered a sample from asteroid Bennu, revealing amino acids, nucleobases, ammonia, and minerals formed in saltwater. These organic compounds, vital to life, suggest that the building blocks for life might have existed in other regions of the early solar system. The discovery of evaporite minerals, including halite ...
-
Donald Trump Asks Elon Musk to Help Rescue 'Stranded' Sunita Williams
SpaceX founder Elon Musk has confirmed that his company will be responsible for returning astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore from the International Space Station (ISS) in late March 2025. The astronauts were originally scheduled to return in June 2024 but were delayed due to technical issues with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. NASA had ...
-
NASA SPHEREx Telescope to Map the Universe and Search for Life’s Ingredients
NASA’s SPHEREx mission, set to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on February 27, aims to explore the origins of the universe and the formation of galaxies. Using near-infrared light, the telescope will study over 450 million galaxies and 100 million stars in the Milky Way. It will also search for water and organic molecules in regions where ...
-
Organic Molecules in Space: A Key to Understanding Life's Cosmic Origins
Organic molecules, the building blocks of life, have been discovered across space—from interstellar clouds to asteroids and comets. Findings from missions like Rosetta, Hayabusa2, and Osiris-Rex reveal that these compounds existed long before the Sun formed. Scientists believe organic molecules survived planetary formation in protoplanetary disks...
-
NASA Eyes Innovative Strategies for Mars Exploration Success by 2044
NASA has detailed a 20-year strategy for Mars exploration in a report calling for innovative approaches, cost-efficient missions, and global partnerships. The plan addresses core scientific questions, including Mars’ habitability and signs of life, and focuses on developing advanced technology to access challenging terrains. Public engagement and...
-
Cosmic Rays Could Erase Signs of Life on Mars, Study Reveals
A new study highlights how cosmic radiation is destroying signs of ancient life on Mars. Organic materials like lipids degrade quickly under radiation, especially in salt-rich environments. Scientists suggest future Mars exploration should focus on deeper drilling, such as ESA's upcoming Rosalind Franklin Rover mission, to avoid surface radiation e...
-
Space Exploration Highlights 2024: Lunar Missions, Mars Discoveries, and More
2024 saw significant space exploration advancements. Japan's SLIM mission exceeded expectations, while NASA’s Perseverance found evidence of ancient life on Mars. The Europa Clipper launched to investigate subsurface oceans on Jupiter's moon Europa, promising new discoveries by 2030.
-
New Clues Point To Possible Alien Life Beneath Mars' Surface
By analyzing data from various Mars missions, the team has identified a subsurface zone, between 4.3 and 8.8 kilometres deep, where conditions could support microbial activity.
-
New Chemical Models Might Reveal Whether Icy Moons of Saturn and Jupiter Contain Life
Recent studies aim to determine the habitability of Saturn's moon Enceladus using improved chemical models. These tools simulate how organic compounds interact with icy environments under extreme conditions. The research, led by Charity Phillips-Lander and Florent Bocher, focuses on phenomena such as organic-doped ice pores, replicating conditions ...
-
NASA SWIM Robots Tested for Future Missions to Explore Oceans on Europa
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is testing SWIM robots to potentially explore the subsurface oceans of Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons, believed to contain conditions suitable for life. The robots are designed to navigate autonomously and gather data through temperature, pH, and chemical sensors, helping scientists identify potential life...
-
NASA’s Viking Mission May Have Destroyed Martian Life with Water Experiments
In 1975, NASA’s Viking mission tested Martian soil for microbial life using liquid water. A recent theory suggests this approach may have destroyed microbes adapted to Mars' dry, salt-driven conditions. Astrobiologist Dirk Schulze-Makuch proposes revisiting our assumptions about life on Mars and prioritising methods suited to its hyperarid enviro...
-
Father and Daughter Decode Mysterious Signal From Space: What Does It Mean?
In 2023, a cosmic puzzle was decoded by a father-daughter team of citizen scientists. The message, originating from Mars, reveals five amino acids. While the project simulated an extraterrestrial transmission, the meaning of these amino acids remains uncertain. Could they represent life? Or perhaps something more? This fascinating puzzle has ignite...
-
Perseverance Rover Captures Bizarre Mars Rock That Looks Like a Human Head
NASA’s Perseverance rover has made a bizarre discovery on Mars: a rock that strikingly resembles a human head. Captured on 27 September 2024, the image showcases the rock's peculiar shape and orientation, which play tricks on our brains, a phenomenon known as pareidolia. This occurrence leads us to see familiar patterns, like faces, in random obj...
