The first scoop of soil analyzed by the analytical suite in the belly of NASA’s Curiosity rover reveals that fine materials on the surface of the planet contain several percent water by weight. The results were published today in Science as one article in a five-paper special section on the Curiosity mission. The Sample Analysis at Mars [continue reading]
Researchers searching the galaxy for exoplanets that could pass the litmus test of sustaining water-based life must find whether those planets fall in what’s known as a habitable zone. New work, led by a team of Penn State researchers, will help scientists in that search. A new definition of the habitable zone around stars, [continue reading]
Researchers using NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) see seasonal changes on far-northern Martian sand dunes caused by warming of a winter blanket of frozen carbon dioxide. Seasonal Changes on Far-Northern Mars: The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter snapped this series of false-color pictures of sand dunes in the [continue reading]
Venus Express has spied a surprisingly cold region high in the planet’s atmosphere that may be frigid enough for carbon dioxide to freeze out as ice or snow. This image of the Venus southern hemisphere illustrates the terminator – the transitional region between the dayside (left) and nightside of the planet (right). The south [continue reading]
NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) data have given scientists the clearest evidence yet of carbon dioxide snowfalls on Mars. This reveals the only known example of carbon dioxide snow falling anywhere in our Solar System. NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter passes over the planet’s south polar region in this artist’s concept illustration. Image Credit: JPL/NSA [continue reading]
Mars’ carbon dioxide ‘snowflakes’ are about the size of red blood cells. Researchers have determined the size of CO2 snow particles on Mars, depicted in this artist’s rendering as a mist or fog that eventually settles to the surface as carbon dioxide snow. Image credit: NASA, Christine Daniloff/MIT News In the dead of a Martian [continue reading]