Tag: Astrobiology

NASA’s Perseverance Rover Reaches Top of Jezero Crater Rim

NeRD

5 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover used its right-front navigation camera to capture this first view over the rim of Jezero Crater on Dec. 10, 2024, the 1,354th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. The camera is facing west from a location nicknamed “Lookout Hill.” NASA/JPL-Caltech NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover captured this scene showing the slippery terrain that’s made its climb up to the rim of Jezero Crater challenging. Rover tracks can be seen trailing off into the distance, back…

Read More

NASA Performs First Aircraft Accident Investigation on Another World

NeRD

5 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, right, stands near the apex of a sand ripple in an image taken by Perseverance on Feb. 24, 2024, about five weeks after the rotorcraft’s final flight. Part of one of Ingenuity’s rotor blades lies on the surface about 49 feet (15 meters) west of helicopter (at left in image). NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL/CNES/CNRS The review takes a close look the final flight of the agency’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, which was the first aircraft to fly on another…

Read More

NASA’s New Edition of Graphic Novel Features Europa Clipper

NeRD

A new edition of Issue #4 of Astrobiology: The Story of our Search for Life in the Universe has been released to include the NASA Europa Clipper mission. NASA Astrobiology/Aaron Gronstal To celebrate the successful launch of NASA’s Europa Clipper mission, the agency’s Astrobiology program has released a new edition of Issue #4 – Missions to the Outer Solar System – of its graphic history series Astrobiology: The Story of our Search for Life in the Universe. Issue #4 tells the story of the outer solar system, from beyond the…

Read More

Journey to a Water World: NASA’s Europa Clipper Is Ready to Launch

NeRD

5 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket with the Europa Clipper spacecraft aboard is seen at Launch Complex 39A as preparations continue for the mission, Sunday, Oct. 13, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA Find details about the launch sequences for the orbiter, which is targeting an Oct. 14 liftoff on its mission to search for ingredients of life at Jupiter’s moon Europa. In less than 24 hours, NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft is slated to launch from the agency’s…

Read More

Can Life Exist on an Icy Moon? NASA’s Europa Clipper Aims to Find Out

NeRD

6 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) The puzzling surface of Jupiter’s icy moon Europa looms large in this reprocessed color view made from images taken by NASA’s Galileo spacecraft in the late 1990s. The images were assembled into a realistic color view of the surface that approximates how Europa would appear to the human eye. NASA/JPL-Caltech/SETI Institute With a spacecraft launching soon, the mission will try to answer the question of whether there are ingredients suitable for life in the ocean below Europa’s icy crust.…

Read More

The Making of Our Alien Earth: The Undersea Volcanoes of Santorini, Greece

NeRD

14 Min Read The Making of Our Alien Earth: The Undersea Volcanoes of Santorini, Greece The expedition team and crew prepare to deploy Nereid Under Ice (NUI) into the sea. The following expedition marks the third installment of NASA Astrobiology’s fieldwork series, the newly rebranded Our Alien Earth, streaming on NASA+. Check out all three episodes following teams of astrobiologists from the lava fields of Holuhraun, Iceland, to the Isua Greenstone Belt of Greenland, and finally, the undersea volcanoes of Santorini, Greece. And stay tuned for the lava tubes of…

Read More

NASA Scientists on Why We Might Not Spot Solar Panel Technosignatures

NeRD

5 min read NASA Scientists on Why We Might Not Spot Solar Panel Technosignatures One of NASA’s key priorities is understanding the potential for life elsewhere in the universe. NASA has not found any credible evidence of extraterrestrial life — but NASA is exploring the solar system and beyond to help us answer fundamental questions, including whether we are alone in the universe. For those who study the potential for life beyond Earth, one of the questions has long been trying to determine the likelihood of microbial life versus complex…

Read More

NASA’s Perseverance Rover Scientists Find Intriguing Mars Rock

NeRD

7 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA’s Perseverance rover discovered “leopard spots” on a reddish rock nicknamed “Cheyava Falls” in Mars’ Jezero Crater in July 2024. Scientists think the spots may indicate that, billions of years ago, the chemical reactions in this rock could have supported microbial life; other explanations are being considered. NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS An annotated version of the image of “Cheyava Falls” indicates the markings akin to leopard spots, which have particularly captivated scientists, and the olivine in the rock. The image was captured…

Read More

Here’s How AI Is Changing NASA’s Mars Rover Science

NeRD

6 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video In this time-lapse video of a test conducted at JPL in June 2023, an engineering model of the Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry (PIXL) instrument aboard NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover places itself against a rock to collect data. NASA/JPL-Caltech Artificial intelligence is helping scientists to identify minerals within rocks studied by the Perseverance rover. Some scientists dream of exploring planets with…

Read More

NASA SCoPE Engages and Empowers at AbSciCon 2024 with Gaming Activities and Childcare Support

NeRD

2 min read NASA SCoPE Engages and Empowers at AbSciCon 2024 with Gaming Activities and Childcare Support At the AbSciCon conference held from May 6-10, 2024 in Providence, RI, NASA SCoPE (SMD Community of Practice for Engagement) left a lasting impression with its engaging activities centered around gaming. The NASA SCoPE exhibit hall booth was a vibrant hub featuring three digital game consoles, where nearly 150 of the 900 conference attendees, had the opportunity to learn about NASA Science Activation, the NASA SCoPE project, and avenues for proposing funded projects…

Read More