Collaborate Disseminate
A new report published by NASA today says that the Cassini space probe has found evidence that hydrogen gas exists on the Saturnian moon Enceladus. The finding adds to the idea that the moon might harbor life in its subsurface ocean, as microbes could … Continue reading Saturn’s moon may be “like a candy store for microbes”
On the face of it, powering most spacecraft would appear to be a straightforward engineering problem. After all, with no clouds to obscure the sun, adorning a satellite with enough solar panels to supply its electrical needs seems like a no-brainer. Finding a way to support photovoltaic (PV) arrays of the proper size and making sure they’re properly oriented to maximize the amount of power harvested can be tricky, but having essentially unlimited energy streaming out from the sun greatly simplifies the overall problem.
Unfortunately, this really only holds for spacecraft operating relatively close to the sun. The tyranny of …read more
Continue reading The Deep Space Energy Crisis Could Soon Be Over
Carbon-rich molecules were detected in samples collected from Enceladus’ ocean—yet another indicator that it could host microbial life. Continue reading Evidence of Organic Molecules Found in Plumes Ejected From Saturn’s Moon
The Galileo spacecraft might have accidentally run through the sprinkler of Europa’s plumes. Continue reading Evidence of an Alien Ocean Found in Defunct 1990s Spacecraft Data
Humanity has been a spacefaring species for barely sixty years now. In that brief time, we’ve fairly mastered the business of putting objects into orbit around the Earth, and done so with such gusto that a cloud of both useful and useless objects now surrounds us. Communicating with satellites in Earth orbit is almost trivial; your phone is probably listening to at least half a dozen geosynchronous GPS birds right now, and any ham radio operator can chat with the astronauts aboard the ISS with nothing more that a $30 handy-talkie and a homemade antenna.
But once our spacecraft get …read more
Your daily round-up of some of the other stories in the news Continue reading News in brief: Uber faces criminal probe; Cassini dives through Saturn’s rings; police fined for data breach
The first foray between Saturn and its rings reveals this zone is… bizarrely quiet. Continue reading Cassini Just Dove Into ‘The Big Empty’ Between Saturn and Its Rings
The first foray between Saturn and its rings reveals this zone is… bizarrely quiet. Continue reading Cassini Just Dove Into ‘The Big Empty’ Between Saturn and Its Rings
Scientists find potential evidence of methanogenesis, a biological process, on Saturn’s moon Enceladus—which means methane-breathing aliens could be chilling there. Continue reading We Have Strong Evidence Saturn’s Moon Enceladus Can Support Microbial Alien Life
Your daily round-up of some of the other stories in the news Continue reading News in brief: NASA to crash probe into Saturn; laptop ban might widen; Facebook tool to spot fake news
