NASA unveils newly returned carbon-rich asteroid sample
Reuters NASA on Wednesday gave the public a first glimpse of what scientists found inside a sealed capsule that was returned to Earth last month carrying a carbon-rich soil sample scooped from an asteroid’s surface, including water-bearing clay minerals. A small quantity of the material collected by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft three years ago from the […]
NASA’s first asteroid sample parachutes into Utah desert
Reuters A NASA space capsule carrying the largest soil sample ever scooped up from the surface of an asteroid streaked through Earth’s atmosphere on Sunday and parachuted into the Utah desert, delivering the celestial specimen to scientists. The gumdrop-shaped capsule, released from the robotic spacecraft OSIRIS-REx as the mothership passed within 107,826 kilometres of Earth […]
Asteroid named after Pope behind Gregorian calendar reform
Rome, ItalyAP Pope Gregory XIII, the 16th century pontiff responsible for what is today known as the Gregorian calendar, now has another, celestial claim to fame. A working group of the International Astronomical Union has named an asteroid after him, the Vatican Observatory said Tuesday. The sun sets behind the dome of St Peter’s Basilica, […]
Asteroid’s path altered in NASA’s first test of planetary defence system
Reuters The spacecraft that NASA deliberately crashed into an asteroid last month succeeded in nudging the rocky moonlet out of its natural orbit – the first time humanity has altered the motion of a celestial body – NASA officials announced on Tuesday. The $US330 million proof-of-concept mission, which was seven years in development, also marked […]
NASA’s DART spacecraft hits target asteroid in test of planetary defence system
Reuters Hurtling through the solar system at hypersonic speed on Monday, NASA’s DART spacecraft slammed itself into a distant asteroid in a test of the world’s first planetary defence system, designed to prevent a potential doomsday meteorite collision with Earth. The finale to the suicide spaceflight, humanity’s first attempt to alter the motion of an […]
Japan retrieves asteroid samples in hunt for origins of planets
Tokyo, Japan/Melbourne, AustraliaReuters Japan has retrieved a capsule of asteroid dust from Australia’s remote outback after a six-year mission that may help uncover more about the origins of the planets and water, the Asian nation’s space agency said on Sunday. The mission of the Japanese spacecraft, Hayabusa2, spotlights Asia’s growing role in space exploration, with […]
StrangeSights: A new “mini moon” for Earth; three toed socks; and, a plea for iconic missing teddies sign…
DAVID ADAMS writes about the odder side of life…
STRANGESIGHTS: HERMIT REQUIRED; NASA’S MISSION TO A VALUABLE ASTEROID; AND, SHARING A NAME…
DAVID ADAMS writes about the odder side of life…