Several shadowy craters on the dwarf planet Ceres contain ice, scientists reported Thursday. Deposits of ice have previously been spied in craters on Mercury and our moon, also in regions that are permanently in the dark. The discovery comes from pictures taken by NASA’s Dawn spacecraft, which has been in orbit for over a year…
NASA Troubleshooting Drill Problem on Mars Curiosity Rover
Engineers are troubleshooting a snag on NASA’s Curiosity that’s preventing the rover from moving its robotic arm and driving to another spot on Mars, the space agency said Tuesday. The problem involves a motor in the rover’s drill that is used to bore into rocks. Curiosity has been taking pictures and tracking the weather, but…
NASA: Jupiter Spacecraft Detects Problem, Turns Off Camera
A NASA spacecraft circling Jupiter has hit another snag. The space agency said Wednesday that Juno detected a problem, went into safe mode and shut off its cameras and instruments hours before it was supposed to pass over Jupiter’s dense cloud tops. Juno rebooted its onboard computer and can communicate with Earth, but its activities…
Jupiter May Have Water Plumes That Shoot Up 125 Miles
The Hubble Space Telescope has spied what appear to be water plumes on one of Jupiter’s icy moons shooting up as high as 125 miles. The geysers are apparently from an underground ocean that is thought to exist on Europa, considered one of the top places to search for signs of life in our solar…
Jupiter May Have Water Plumes That Shoot Up 125 Miles
The Hubble Space Telescope has spied what appear to be water plumes on one of Jupiter’s icy moons shooting up as high as 125 miles. The geysers are apparently from an underground ocean that is thought to exist on Europa, considered one of the top places to search for signs of life in our solar…
3-2-1: A Look at NASA’s Jupiter Mission by the Numbers
Since launching in 2011, NASA’s Juno spacecraft has been cruising toward the biggest planet in the solar system. On Monday, Juno is scheduled to perform a nail-biting move designed to enter orbit around Jupiter to explore its cloud-covered atmosphere and interior makeup. Here are a few key numbers about the $1.1 billion mission: — 1.8…
NASA Spacecraft Barreling Toward Jupiter for July 4 Meetup
A NASA spacecraft is bound for a Fourth of July encounter with Jupiter in the latest quest to study how the largest planet in the solar system formed and evolved. As Juno approaches Jupiter’s harsh radiation environment, it will fire its main engine to slow down and then slip into orbit around the planet. “It’s…
NASA’s Dawn Spacecraft Moves in on Dwarf Planet Ceres
The largest celestial body in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter welcomes its first visitor Friday. NASA’s Dawn spacecraft was due to slip into orbit around Ceres for the first exploration of a dwarf planet. Unlike other orbit captures that require thruster firings to slow down, the latest event is ho-hum by comparison, unfolding…
NASA Spacecraft Making First Visit to Dwarf Planet Ceres
A NASA spacecraft is about to reach the end of a nearly eight-year journey and make the first rendezvous with a dwarf planet. The Dawn craft will slip into orbit Friday around Ceres, a dwarf planet the size of Texas. Unlike robotic landings or other orbit captures, the arrival won’t be a nail-biter. Still, Dawn…