Hackaday Links: October 8, 2023

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Too much of a good thing is generally a bad thing, but a surfeit of asteroid material is probably a valid exception to that rule. Such was NASA’s plight as …read more Continue reading Hackaday Links: October 8, 2023

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission lands safely in Utah

After a two-and-a-half-year astral trek and seven years since lift off, asteroid samples from NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security – Regolith Explorer OS(IRIS-REx) have been brought down to Earth.Continue Readin… Continue reading NASA’s OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission lands safely in Utah

NASA installs laser communication system on Psyche asteroid probe

When NASA’s Psyche probe launches in October on its mission to a metal asteroid as much as 309 million miles (497 million km) from Earth, it will be carrying a new laser communications system that promises to revolutionize deep space missions.Continue … Continue reading NASA installs laser communication system on Psyche asteroid probe

NASA probe knocked boulders from asteroid after cosmic collision

After focussing on an asteroid that was struck in 2022 by a half-tonne NASA robotic probe traveling over seven times faster than a bullet, the Hubble Space Telescope has detected a swarm of 37 boulders that were dislodged by the impact.Continue Reading… Continue reading NASA probe knocked boulders from asteroid after cosmic collision

Table salt found in asteroid shakes up how water surfaced on Earth

Researchers just can’t seem to keep their hands off asteroid Itokawa, and with good reason. Following on from the discovery of pyroxene, which contains water in its crystal structure, in a sample taken from the stony space mass, another team at the Uni… Continue reading Table salt found in asteroid shakes up how water surfaced on Earth

Webb confirms water in weird comet, but something else is missing

The James Webb Space Telescope has detected water vapor on an object in the asteroid belt, a region of the solar system where it wasn’t known to survive. The new observations also reveal something missing unexpectedly.Continue ReadingCategory: Space, S… Continue reading Webb confirms water in weird comet, but something else is missing

This strange blue asteroid has another big surprise for us

This space-rock oddity has long puzzled scientists for its rather non-asteroid-like behaviors, and it’s just revealed yet another curious characteristic.Continue ReadingCategory: Space, ScienceTags: Asteroid, NASA, California Institute of Technology, S… Continue reading This strange blue asteroid has another big surprise for us

Asteroid Ryugu provides clues about beginnings of life on Earth

Samples taken from the near-Earth asteroid 162173 Ryugu continue to provide scientists with important insights, this time about the potential beginnings of life on our planet.Continue ReadingCategory: Space, ScienceTags: Space exploration, Hayabusa 2, … Continue reading Asteroid Ryugu provides clues about beginnings of life on Earth