The rover recently drilled a sample from a new region with features that could reveal whether Mars’ subsurface once provided an environment suitable for life. New images from NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover show the first close-up views of a region scientists had previously observed only from orbit. The images and data being collected are already […]
Category: Jet Propulsion Laboratory
NASA Mars Orbiter Captures Volcano Peeking Above Morning Cloud Tops
The 2001 Odyssey spacecraft captured a first-of-its-kind look at Arsia Mons, which dwarfs Earth’s tallest volcanoes. A new panorama from NASA’s 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter shows one of the Red Planet’s biggest volcanoes, Arsia Mons, poking through a canopy of clouds just before dawn. Arsia Mons and two other volcanoes form what is known as […]
NASA’s Ready-to-Use Dataset Details Land Motion Across North America
An online tool maps measurements and enables non-experts to understand earthquakes, subsidence, landslides, and other types of land motion. NASA is collaborating with the Alaska Satellite Facility in Fairbanks to create a powerful web-based tool that will show the movement of land across North America down to less than an inch. The online portal and […]
3 Black Holes Caught Eating Massive Stars in NASA Data
Black holes are invisible to us unless they interact with something else. Some continuously eat gas and dust, and appear to glow brightly over time as matter falls in. But other black holes secretly lie in wait for years until a star comes close enough to snack on. Scientists have recently identified three supermassive black […]
NASA-French Satellite Spots Large-Scale River Waves for First Time
In a first, researchers from NASA and Virginia Tech used satellite data to measure the height and speed of potentially hazardous flood waves traveling down U.S. rivers. The three waves they tracked were likely caused by extreme rainfall and by a loosened ice jam. While there is currently no database that compiles satellite data on […]
Devil’s in Details in Selfie Taken by NASA’s Mars Perseverance Rover
The rover took the image — its fifth since landing in February 2021 — between stops investigating the Martian surface. A Martian dust devil photobombed NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover as it took a selfie on May 10 to mark its 1,500th sol (Martian day) exploring the Red Planet. At the time, the six-wheeled rover was […]
NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover to Take Bite Out of ‘Krokodillen’
Scientists expect the new area of interest on the lower slope of Jezero Crater’s rim to offer up some of the oldest rocks on the Red Planet. NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover is exploring a new region of interest the team is calling “Krokodillen” that may contain some of the oldest rocks on Mars. The area […]
NASA, French SWOT Satellite Offers Big View of Small Ocean Features
The international mission collects two-dimensional views of smaller waves and currents that are bringing into focus the ocean’s role in supporting life on Earth. Small things matter, at least when it comes to ocean features like waves and eddies. A recent NASA-led analysis using data from the SWOT (Surface Water and Ocean Topography) satellite found […]
NASA’s Magellan Mission Reveals Possible Tectonic Activity on Venus
Using archival data from the mission, launched in 1989, researchers have uncovered new evidence that tectonic activity may be deforming the planet’s surface. Vast, quasi-circular features on Venus’ surface may reveal that the planet has ongoing tectonics, according to new research based on data gathered more than 30 years ago by NASA’s Magellan mission. On […]
NASA Studies Reveal Hidden Secrets About Interiors of Moon, Vesta
Analyzing gravity data collected by spacecraft orbiting other worlds reveals groundbreaking insights about planetary structures without having to land on the surface. Although the Moon and the asteroid Vesta are very different, two NASA studies use the same technique to reveal new details about the interiors of both. In the lunar study, published May 14 […]