JPL News - SciTechDaily

5 Things To Know About the PREFIRE Mission – NASA’s Tiny Twin Polar Satellites

Jet Propulsion Laboratory — Sun, 19 May 2024 17:30:24 +0000

NASA’s PREFIRE mission, utilizing twin CubeSats, will measure the far-infrared energy emitted by Earth’s polar regions to boost our understanding of how much heat Earth’s...

NASA’s Juno Spacecraft Reveals Dynamic Shifts on Europa’s Frozen Surface

Jet Propulsion Laboratory — Fri, 17 May 2024 12:28:37 +0000

NASA’s Juno has provided images that support the theory of true polar wander on Europa, showing the moon’s ice shell has shifted. Images from the...

Stunning Images From Juno’s Close Flyby of Jupiter Unveil Hidden Surprise

Jet Propulsion Laboratory — Thu, 16 May 2024 07:02:43 +0000

NASA’s Juno mission captured detailed images of Jupiter during its 59th close flyby, revealing the planet’s colorful belts, swirling storms, and the tiny moon Amalthea....

Don’t Miss: Eta Aquariid Meteor Shower, Red Giant Star Antares, and May Planets

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory — Fri, 03 May 2024 08:15:07 +0000

What are some skywatching highlights in May 2024? Mars and Saturn tussle with the Moon, Mercury makes a brief a.m. appearance, East Coasters can see...

NASA’s PREFIRE Mission To Study Polar Heat Escape Set To Launch

Jet Propulsion Laboratory — Thu, 02 May 2024 19:09:04 +0000

Data from NASA’s PREFIRE mission will improve our understanding of how the Arctic and Antarctic help to regulate Earth’s climate, the mechanisms of polar ice...

NASA’s New Global Accounting of Earth’s Rivers Reveals “Fingerprints” of Intense Water Use

Jet Propulsion Laboratory — Thu, 02 May 2024 11:16:09 +0000

The novel approach to estimating river water storage and discharge also identifies regions marked by ‘fingerprints’ of intense water use. A study led by NASA...

NASA on Alert: Scientists Gear Up for Solar Storms at Mars

NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center — Wed, 01 May 2024 12:35:27 +0000

The Sun will be at peak activity this year, providing a rare opportunity to study how solar storms and radiation could affect future astronauts on...

Data From the Void: NASA Receives Laser Communications From 140+ Million Miles Away

Jet Propulsion Laboratory — Tue, 30 Apr 2024 08:18:58 +0000

NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications experiment also interfaced with the Psyche spacecraft’s communication system for the first time, transmitting engineering data to Earth. Riding aboard...

Peering Into the Heart of Clouds: NASA’s CloudSat Wraps a Revolutionary Journey

Sally Younger, Jet Propulsion Laboratory — Mon, 29 Apr 2024 00:56:29 +0000

Over the course of nearly two decades, its powerful radar provided never-before-seen details of clouds and helped advance global weather and climate predictions. CloudSat, a...

Martian Methane Baffles Scientists: Curiosity Rover’s Surprising Discovery

Lonnie Shekhtman, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center — Sat, 27 Apr 2024 08:13:44 +0000

A recent paper may help explain why a portable chemistry lab on NASA’s Curiosity rover has continually sniffed out traces of the gas near the...

Back From the Brink: NASA’s Voyager 1 Restores Data Transmission After 5 Months

Jet Propulsion Laboratory — Tue, 23 Apr 2024 08:19:42 +0000

NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft has begun transmitting usable engineering data for the first time since November after a chip failure in one of its onboard...

Ingenuity’s Final Transmission: NASA’s Mars Helicopter Team Says Goodbye … for Now

Jet Propulsion Laboratory — Mon, 22 Apr 2024 00:38:37 +0000

The final downlink shift by the Ingenuity team was a time to reflect on a highly successful mission — and to prepare the first aircraft...

NASA’s Juno Unlocks Secrets of Io’s Volcanic Fury and Jupiter’s Storms

Jet Propulsion Laboratory — Sun, 21 Apr 2024 15:25:34 +0000

Imagery from the solar-powered spacecraft provides close-ups of intriguing features on the hellish Jovian moon. Scientists on NASA’s Juno mission to Jupiter have transformed...

NASA Unveils Secrets of Death Valley’s Temporary Lake

Jane Lee, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory — Wed, 17 Apr 2024 03:23:17 +0000

Researchers used satellite data to calculate the depth of water in this transient freshwater body. California’s Death Valley, the driest place in North America, has...

Salty Secrets: NASA Decodes El Niño’s Coastal Impact

Jet Propulsion Laboratory — Thu, 11 Apr 2024 15:13:08 +0000

New findings have revealed a coastal realm highly sensitive to changes in runoff and rainfall on land. After helping stoke record heat in 2023 and...

NASA’s NEOWISE Unveils Hidden Universe of Near-Earth Objects

Jet Propulsion Laboratory — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 16:09:37 +0000

As the infrared space telescope continues its long-duration survey of the universe, it is creating a unique resource for future astronomers to make new discoveries....

NASA’s Perseverance Rover Hits the Mark – “This Is the Kind of Rock We Had Hoped To Find”

Jet Propulsion Laboratory — Tue, 09 Apr 2024 12:35:39 +0000

The 24th sample taken by the six-wheeled scientist offers new clues about Jezero Crater and the lake it may have once held. Analysis by instruments...

Surging Seas: NASA Links Spike in 2023 Global Sea Level to El Niño

Jet Propulsion Laboratory — Thu, 04 Apr 2024 18:27:42 +0000

A long-term sea level dataset shows ocean surface heights continuing to rise at faster and faster rates over decades of observations. Global average sea level...

Jupiter’s Moon Europa Beckons As NASA’s Clipper Prepares for the Unknown

Jet Propulsion Laboratory — Wed, 03 Apr 2024 22:18:58 +0000

A gantlet of tests prepared the spacecraft for its challenging trip to the Jupiter system, where it will explore the icy moon Europa and its...

NASA’s DART Impact Changed Asteroid’s Shape and Orbit

Jet Propulsion Laboratory — Wed, 03 Apr 2024 17:15:28 +0000

After NASA’s historic Double Asteroid Redirection Test, a JPL-led study has shown that the shape of asteroid Dimorphos has changed and its orbit has shrunk....

Don’t Miss: Total Solar Eclipse, Mars and Saturn Rising, Slim Lunar Crescent, Comet 12P

Preston Dyches, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory — Tue, 02 Apr 2024 12:39:22 +0000

What are some skywatching highlights in April 2024? Catch Mars and Saturn rising, and Jupiter hangs out with Comet 12P. Plus NASA has you covered...

NASA’s Curiosity Rover Unearths Mars’ Ancient Water Secrets

Jet Propulsion Laboratory — Tue, 02 Apr 2024 01:48:20 +0000

The rover has arrived at an area that may show evidence liquid water flowed on this part of Mars for much longer than previously thought....

Cool Coating for a Hot Mission: NISAR’s Final Preparations

NASA — Sun, 31 Mar 2024 07:11:01 +0000

NISAR, nearing its launch, will undergo final enhancements for temperature management. This NASA-ISRO mission will advance Earth observation, studying surface changes globally. The NISAR (NASA...

Webb’s Ethanol Discovery Fuels Search for Alien Life

Jet Propulsion Laboratory — Mon, 18 Mar 2024 22:52:20 +0000

Astronomers identified icy compounds made of complex organic molecules like alcohol and likely acetic acid, using Webb’s MIRI instrument, which was managed through launch by...