Browsing Tag
planetary science
9 posts
Are there thunderstorms on Mars? A planetary scientist explains the red planet’s dry, dusty storms
Mars doesn’t get rain like Earth does, but dust storms are common on the red planet. NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of…
What actually is fire? A physicist explains
Pixabay/Pexels Emma Brown, CQUniversity Australia Fire is an ancient technology that has helped shape human evolution. Our ancestors…
Space exploration in the backyard, on a budget – how NASA simulates conditions in space without blasting off
Analog missions, like those conducted at NASA’s CHAPEA facility at the Johnson Space Center, help scientists study human…
Mars has a solid core, resolving a longstanding planetary mystery — new study
NASA Kevin Olsen, University of Oxford and Mhairi Reid, University of Oxford Scientists have discovered that Mars has…
UW study: Flaw in rover tests risks future Mars missions
New computer simulations reveal a critical flaw in how space agencies test rovers, leading to overly optimistic predictions for missions on the moon and Mars.
Study: Mars self-regulated as a desert planet
New research suggests a negative feedback loop involving carbon-trapping rocks may have doomed Mars to become a self-regulating desert planet with only fleeting periods of habitability.
Why collect asteroid samples? 4 essential reads on what these tiny bits of space rock can tell scientists
The OSIRIS-REx sample return capsule contained rock from the asteroid Bennu. NASA/Keegan Barber Mary Magnuson, The Conversation China’s…
Scientists claim to have found evidence of alien life. But ‘biosignatures’ might hide more than they reveal
Artist’s impression of the exoplanet K2-18b. A. Smith/N. Madhusudhan (University of Cambridge) Campbell Rider, University of Sydney Whether…
Why is one half of Mars so different to the other? ‘Marsquakes’ may have just revealed the answer
A map showing the ‘Martian dichotomy’: the southern highlands are in yellows and oranges, the northern lowlands in…