Background Human exploration of Mars will expose crews to a persistent, fine particulate environment whose physicochemical properties and health implications remain only partly understood. Because no samples of authentic Martian airborne dust have been returned to Earth, NASA must rely on lunar dust toxicology, Martian regolith simulants, and extensive rover/lander geochemical and mineralogical datasets to […]
A team of NASA-sponsored scientists and engineers has developed a novel approach to observing high-energy particles in the near-Earth space environment, incorporating miniaturized sensors into a compact, multi-view particle detection instrument unlike any before it. Built for NASA’s Relativistic Electron Atmospheric Loss (REAL) CubeSat mission, the innovative instrument (also called REAL) enables more complete measurements […]
The initial investigation into why a Lufthansa Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner experienced a nose gear collapse at Frankfurt Airport on June 4th, 2026 has revealed that the downlock pin was missing. The absence of this component caused the plane’s front to suddenly collapse, plummeting to the ground, while being prepared at the gate for a flight to Los Angeles.