Scientists are deploying ShadowCam’s high-sensitivity imaging and cosmic ray radar simulations to locate and quantify lunar water ice, a critical resource for future lunar bases that could provide drinking water or be processed into rocket fuel components.
Around 1 billion years ago, a meteorite collided with Earth, leaving behind a trail of clues in the rocks of northwest Scotland. This event may have shaped the earliest forms of life on land. By studying minerals trapped in ancient rock layers, scientists now suggest that the impact could have altered the environment in ways that influenced microbial ecosystems. The findings open new questions about the role of such collisions in Earth’s early biological history.
Gold may not come from where you think. According to new research, some of the gold found in objects like phones and laptops could have been forged in violent magnetar explosions billions of years ago.
A new study shows that the latitude of solar coronal holes and the Sun’s B0 angle significantly influence high-speed solar wind streams, potentially improving the accuracy of space weather forecasts. The research introduces a predictive algorithm based on L5-L1 observations to enhance forecasting capabilities.
Geologists from the University of Colorado Boulder report that extensive valley networks on Mars were likely formed by widespread precipitation, challenging previous theories that attributed their formation to runoff from melting ice caps. Using landscape evolution models and topographic data from NASA missions, the researchers found that valley head elevations across Mars’ southern highlands are more consistent with rain or snowmelt than with localized ice melting.
Astronomers have uncovered a new exoplanet that’s slowly breaking apart. Located 140 light-years away, this Mercury-sized planet is losing material at an alarming rate, creating a massive trail of vaporized minerals as it orbits its star. This discovery gives scientists a rare chance to study how intense heat and gravity affect a planet’s fate.
Researchers predict that solar cycle 25 will produce 2 ± 1 extremely strong solar flares (stronger than X14.3) after spring 2027, along with a broader estimate of 5 ± 2 flares exceeding X10, based on solar observations since 1975.
Scientists analyzing data from NASA’s Perseverance rover have discovered diverse volcanic rocks in Jezero Crater. The findings point to prolonged volcanic activity and possible past water interaction, raising new questions about Mars’ potential to support life.
A Chinese research team tracked sulfur dioxide (SO2) from Iceland’s Sundhnukagigar volcano, which traveled over 2 000 km (1 243 miles) to the Svalbard Islands in the Arctic in 2023, causing significant smog. The findings, published in The Innovation Geoscience, documented the long-distance environmental impact of the eruption.
A NASA experiment shows how solar wind can form water on the lunar surface. The study, conducted with Apollo 17 samples, simulated 80,000 years of solar wind exposure.
