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Starship V3's Heat Shield Steals the Spotlight on Flight 12
2 hours ago•Source: Gizmodo
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16.935 min•4 days ago
Europa Plume Claims Doubted: Hydrogen Exosphere, Not Local Water Vapor
A new reanalysis of Hubble data reduces the 2014 claim of 200-km-high water-vapor plumes on Europa from 99.9% confidence to under 90%, suggesting the earlier signal may be statistical noise; meanwhile there’s evidence for a persistent hydrogen exosphere but no localized water vapor. Future missions like Europa Clipper and JUICE will help settle the question.
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Live Flyby: House-Sized Asteroid 2026 JH2 Skims Past Earth
Gizmodo•7 days ago
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Fluffy Ice Hazards Loom for Ocean Moon Landers
Gizmodo•10 days ago
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Perseverance Eyes Mars Ultramarathon as It Nears Record Distance
NASA’s Perseverance has driven more than 26.05 miles (41.92 km) on Mars over five years, closing in on Opportunity’s 28.06-mile record. After leaving Jezero Crater, it’s pushing into Lac de Charmes with future stops like Gardevarri and Singing Canyon, inching toward what could become the rover’s ultramarathon finish line later this month.
Earth’s Ice Reveals Traces of a Local Interstellar Cloud
New Antarctic ice analyses show trace iron-60, a signature of stellar explosions, was delivered to Earth as the solar system moves through the Local Interstellar Cloud. The measured iron-60 levels are lower than some predictions, but the dating (about 40,000–80,000 years ago) aligns with recent estimates that our solar system has been passing through the cloud within roughly 40,000–124,000 years, meaning Antarctica preserves a geological record of this interstellar journey.
Venus Cloud Waves Solved by a Planet-Scale Hydraulic Jump
A study of Venus, using Akatsuki data, shows that gigantic hydraulic jumps push sulfuric acid vapor upward into the lower-to-middle cloud layers, creating planet-spanning cloud fronts that can reach about 6,000 km and likely help sustain Venus’s extreme superrotation, resolving decades of mystery and offering clues for future missions and potentially similar processes on Mars.
A Crowded Sky: Artemis II Visualizes the LEO Traffic Jam
NASA's Artemis II composite animation visualizes a crowded low Earth orbit, showing thousands of objects— active satellites, dead satellites, rocket bodies and debris— streaking around Earth at about 17,550 mph and underscoring the collision risks as LEO traffic has surged in recent years.
Wayward SpaceX Stage on Course to Slam Moon at Mach 7
A Falcon 9 upper stage from SpaceX’s 2025 lunar mission remains in a highly elliptical Earth orbit and is predicted by independent analyst Bill Gray’s Project Pluto to collide with the Moon on August 5 at about Mach 7 (5,400 mph / 8,700 km/h). The impact would likely be on the Moon’s near side and would probably not be visible from Earth; the exact impact site is expected to tighten with more data, highlighting concerns about space junk disposal in the growing near‑Earth–Moon environment.
Astrobotic’s Chakram RDRE Delivers 4,000+ Lbf Thrust in NASA Hot-Fire Demo
Astrobotic tested its Chakram rotating detonation rocket engine at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, firing two prototypes to more than 4,000 pounds of thrust per engine for a combined 470 seconds of burn time across eight hot-fire tests, with no damage observed. The RDRE uses detonation shockwaves in a circular channel to boost efficiency and has potential for lunar landers and deep-space propulsion, supported by NASA SBIR awards and a Space Act Agreement; similar RDRE work is underway by Venus Aerospace and NASA.
Curiosity Unearths Giant Honeycomb Textures Across Martian Rocks
NASA’s Curiosity rover captured Mastcam mosaics showing thousands of polygonal, honeycomb-like textures across rocks near Antofagasta crater in Gale Crater, a pattern scientists are evaluating as a clue to Mars’ ancient watery past; researchers are testing hypotheses from drying/wetting cycles and groundwater mineralization, complementing other recent findings of organics in Martian rocks.
Uranus’s Distant Rings Reveal Two Separate Origins
Astronomers using Keck, Webb, and Hubble analyzed Uranus’ faint outer rings and found two distinct compositions: the blue μ ring consists of tiny icy grains likely sourced from Mab, while the red ν ring is rocky with about 10–15% carbon-rich organics, suggesting different formation histories for the planet’s second ring system. The study, published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, highlights how ring material traces back to source bodies and collisions, with implications for Uranus’s formation and a need for future close-up observations.
Artemis 2 Heat Shield Holds Up, Easing Artemis 1 Fears
After Artemis 2's splashdown, NASA said Orion's heat shield performed as expected with no unusual conditions, significantly reducing the abnormal charring seen in Artemis 1. Initial concerns about a missing chunk were clarified by recovery photos, and NASA's skip-entry adjustment appears to have mitigated gas buildup and damage. The agency will continue tests and imaging over the coming weeks, but early results show the shield did its job and clears the path for future crewed Moon missions.
NASA Responds to Federal Probe Into Deaths and Disappearances of Space-Linked Scientists
NASA says it’s cooperating with a federal probe into 11 missing or dead American scientists—three of whom were tied to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory—with officials noting there is no confirmed link or national-security threat, though several cases involve sensitive research and the full details are still under investigation.