southwest research institute

Evidence of internal geochemical activity on the icy dwarf planets Eris and Makemake suggests they may host subsurface oceans, challenging previous notions of these distant worlds as cold and inert. This discovery, made possible by the James Webb Space Telescope, opens new avenues for research on planetary habitability and the dynamic nature of Kuiper Belt objects.The Webb telescope has observed what appear to be young methane deposits on the surfaces of Eris and Makemake.A team co-led by Southwest Research Institute has…

Utilizing SOFIA data, researchers have identified water molecules on asteroid surfaces, marking a significant step in understanding water’s distribution and its role in the solar system’s formation and potential for supporting life. Future studies with the James Webb Space Telescope aim to expand this knowledge by examining more celestial bodies. Credit: NASA/Carla Thomas/Southwest Research InstituteThe FORCAST instrument on SOFIA discovered water on asteroids that were previously considered dry.Scientists from the…

Zipping far above Earth, it’s not exactly easy for satellites to find a corner gas station when the fuel gauge gets low. To tackle this cosmic conundrum, a Space Force-funded initiative is working on an innovative solution to refuel distant satellites on-the-fly.Astronomers Could Soon Get Warnings When SpaceX Satellites Threaten Their ViewOn Wednesday, Space Force awarded Astroscale a $25.5 million contract to design and construct an orbital transfer vehicle, also known as a space tug. The vehicle, dubbed the Astroscale…

The mutilated surface of Jupiter’s moon Io was revealed in great detail by the Juno spacecraft, which has been exploring the Jovian system since 2016 and recently pulled off the closest flyby of the volcanic world.Let’s Eat a Chocolate Xbox ControllerNASA’s Jupiter probe had its close encounter with Io on Saturday, December 30, flying at a distance of 930 miles (1,500 kilometers) away from its hellish surface. This marked not only the closest flyby of Io by Juno, but by any spacecraft in the past 20 years, according to…

This image shows the “moonrise” of the satellite, now named Selam, as it emerges from behind asteroid Dinkinesh as seen by the Lucy Long-Range Reconnaissance Imager (L’LORRI), one of the most detailed images returned by NASA’s Lucy spacecraft during its flyby of the asteroid binary. This image was taken at 12:55 p.m. EDT (1655 UTC) on November 1, 2023, within a minute of closest approach, from a range of approximately 270 miles (430 km). Credit: NASA/Goddard/SwRI/Johns Hopkins APL/NOAO The satellite discovered during the…

The JUICE spacecraft captured its first ultraviolet views of the cosmos, revealing a beautiful streak of the Milky Way littered with shining stars fromthe southern sky. It’s not the most spectacular image, but it signals operational progress. Teyonah Parris and John Boyega on Working With Jamie Foxx | io9 InterviewJUICE’s Ultraviolet Spectrograph (UVS) instrument recently sprung into action, collecting its first set of data that was later imaged by the mission team. “On June 20, we opened the UVS aperture door to collect…

The Space Shuttle Columbia during its final launch, January 16, 2003. Photo: NASAThe 28th flight of NASA’s Space Shuttle Columbia ended in disaster on February 1, 2003, while it was 27 miles above the state of Texas, marking the second catastrophic mission of NASA’s shuttle program. Twenty years later,the tragic event serves as an important reminder of the dangers posed by space exploration—and why astronaut safety should always be a priority.A falling chunk of insulating foam weighing no more than 1.67 pounds—that’s all…

Graphic showing Lucy’s trajectory shortly before the planned asteroid encounter.Graphic: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight CenterThere’s been a slight change to Lucy’s already-impressive itinerary. The NASA spacecraft, currently en route to visit Jupiter’s mysterious Trojan asteroids, will fly past a tiny main belt asteroid in order to test an innovative tracking system.The targetasteroid, designated (152830) 1999 VD57, is located within the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Measuring just 0.4 miles (700 meters) across,…

This newly revealed image of Io was taken on July 5, 2022 from a distance of 50,000 miles (80,000 kilometers).Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/ASI/INAF/JIRAMThe latest image from NASA’s Juno mission reveals Jupiter’s moon Io in infrared, showing the volcanic hotspots that pepper its surface and fuel Jupiter’s auroras. Io is the most volcanically active world in the solar system, with hundreds of volcanoes peppering the moon’s silicate crust, which isteeming with molten sulphur. Some of these volcanoes can eject lava tens of…

Orion’s view of the Moon on December 5, the 20th day of the mission.Photo: NASANASA’s Artemis 1 mission concluded with Orion’s immaculate splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on Sunday. Seemingly a billion years—and most assuredly a few billion dollars—in the making, the mission ended far too quickly for space junkies like me. But in those short few weeks, it managed to nail all its primary objectives. Artemis 1 was strictly meant as a demonstration mission, a way for NASA to test its new SLS megarocket and Orion…