Two possibilities exist: Either we are alone in the Universe or we are not.
Both are equally terrifying.

— Arthur C. Clarke

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Who is Sean Duffy, NASA's new interim chief? From champion lumberjack, reality TV star and Cabinet secretary to space

Space.com - Fri, 07/11/2025 - 6:00am
President Donald Trump has tapped Transportation Secretary and former reality TV star Sean Duffy to lead NASA on an interim basis. Here's what we know about the man.
Categories: Astronomy

Astronomers say new interstellar visitor 3I/ATLAS is 'very likely to be the oldest comet we have ever seen'

Space.com - Fri, 07/11/2025 - 5:01am
3I/ATLAS isn't just fascinating because it is the third interstellar visitor found in the solar system; new research suggests it's also the oldest comet ever seen, at over 7 billion years old.
Categories: Astronomy

Earth from Space: Lake District, UK

ESO Top News - Fri, 07/11/2025 - 4:00am
Image: The varied landscape of England’s Lake District is featured in this image captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.
Categories: Astronomy

ESA Council receives Anniversary Statement

ESO Top News - Fri, 07/11/2025 - 3:25am

The Council of the European Space Agency has received the Anniversary Statement as signed by Member States marking 50 years of the agency.

Categories: Astronomy

$249 off these Canon image stabilized binoculars — make stargazing easy

Space.com - Fri, 07/11/2025 - 3:00am
Grab the Canon 10x42L IS WP Binoculars for just $1210 at Newegg and gaze at the lunar surface during the Buck moon!
Categories: Astronomy

Hay fever relief could come in the form of a nasal 'molecular shield'

New Scientist Space - Cosmology - Fri, 07/11/2025 - 1:00am
Mice experienced far fewer hay fever symptoms when a pollen-blocking antibody was applied within their nose
Categories: Astronomy

Hay fever relief could come in the form of a nasal 'molecular shield'

New Scientist Space - Space Headlines - Fri, 07/11/2025 - 1:00am
Mice experienced far fewer hay fever symptoms when a pollen-blocking antibody was applied within their nose
Categories: Astronomy

Curiosity Blog, Sols 4593-4594: Three Layers and a Lot of Structure at Volcán Peña Blanca

NASA News - Thu, 07/10/2025 - 10:12pm
Curiosity Navigation

4 min read

Curiosity Blog, Sols 4593-4594: Three Layers and a Lot of Structure at Volcán Peña Blanca NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity used its Mast Camera (Mastcam) to acquire this image showing a part of Volcán Peña Blanca from about 10 meters away (about 33 feet). It is already possible to see the different layers and make out that some of them are parallel, while others are at an angle. Curiosity acquired this image on July 6, 2025 — Sol 4591, or Martian day 4,591 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission — at 10:13:13 UTC. NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Written by Susanne P. Schwenzer, Professor of Planetary Mineralogy at The Open University, UK

Earth planning date: Monday, July 7, 2025

A few planning sols ago, we spotted a small ridge in the landscape ahead of us. Ridges and structures that are prominently raised above the landscape are our main target along this part of Curiosity’s traverse. There are many hypotheses on how they formed, and water is one of the likely culprits involved. That is because water reacts with the original minerals, moves the compounds around and some precipitate as minerals in the pore spaces, which is called “cement” by sedimentologists, and generally known as one mechanism to make a rock harder. It’s not the only one, so the Curiosity science team is after all the details at this time to assess whether water indeed was responsible for the more resistant nature of the ridges. Spotting one that is so clearly raised prominently above the landscape — and in easy reach of the rover, both from the distance but also from the path that leads up to it — was therefore very exciting. In addition, the fact that we get a side view of the structure as well as a top view adds to the team’s ability to read the geologic record of this area. “Outcrops,” as we call those places, are one of the most important tools for any field geologist, including Curiosity and team!

Therefore, the penultimate drive stopped about 10 meters away (about 33 feet) from the structure to get a good assessment of where exactly to direct the rover (see the blog post by my colleague Abby). You can see an example of the images Curiosity took with its Mast Camera above; if you want to see them all, they are on the raw images page (and by the time you go, there may be even more images that we took in today’s plan.

With all the information from the last parking spot, the rover drivers parked Curiosity in perfect operating distance for all instruments. In direct view of the rover was a part of Volcán Peña Blanca that shows several units; this blogger counts at least three — but I am a mineralogist, not a sedimentologist! I am really looking forward to the chemical data we will get in this plan. My sedimentologist colleagues found the different angles of smaller layers in the three bigger layers especially interesting, and will look at the high-resolution images from the MAHLI instrument very closely.

With all that in front of us, Curiosity has a very full plan. APXS will get two measurements, the target “Parinacota” is on the upper part of the outcrop and we can even clean it from the dust with the brush, aka DRT. MAHLI will get close-up images to see finer structures and maybe even individual grains. The second APXS target, called “Wila Willki,” is located in the middle part of the outcrop and will also be documented by MAHLI. The third activity of MAHLI will be a so-called dog’s-eye view of the outcrop. For this, the arm reaches very low down to align MAHLI to directly face the outcrop, to get a view of the structures and even a peek underneath some of the protruding ledges. The team is excitedly anticipating the arrival of those images. Stay tuned; you can also find them in the raw images section as soon as we have them!

ChemCam is joining in with two LIBS targets — the target “Pichu Pichu” is on the upper part of the outcrop, and the target “Tacume” is on the middle part. After this much of close up looks, ChemCam is pointing the RMI to the mid-field to look at another of the raised features in more detail and into the far distance to see the upper contact of the boxwork unit with the next unit above it. Mastcam will first join the close up looks and take a large mosaic to document all the details of Volcán Peña Blanca, and to document the LIBS targets, before looking into the distance at two places where we see small troughs around exposed bedrock.

Of course, there are also atmospheric observations in the plan; it’s aphelion cloud season and dust is always of interest. The latter is regularly monitored by atmosphere opacity experiments, and we keep searching for dust devils to understand where, how and why they form and how they move. Curiosity will be busy, and we are very much looking forward to understanding this interesting feature, which is one piece of the puzzle to understand this area we call the boxwork area.


For more Curiosity blog posts, visit MSL Mission Updates


Learn more about Curiosity’s science instruments

Share

Details

Last Updated

Jul 10, 2025

Related Terms Explore More

3 min read Continuing the Quest for Clays

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2 min read Curiosity Blog, Sols 4589–4592: Setting up to explore Volcán Peña Blanca

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Last Updated

Jul 10, 2025

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3 min read Continuing the Quest for Clays

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2 days ago

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Categories: NASA

Curiosity Blog, Sols 4593-4594: Three Layers and a Lot of Structure at Volcán Peña Blanca

NASA - Breaking News - Thu, 07/10/2025 - 10:12pm
Curiosity Navigation

4 min read

Curiosity Blog, Sols 4593-4594: Three Layers and a Lot of Structure at Volcán Peña Blanca NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity used its Mast Camera (Mastcam) to acquire this image showing a part of Volcán Peña Blanca from about 10 meters away (about 33 feet). It is already possible to see the different layers and make out that some of them are parallel, while others are at an angle. Curiosity acquired this image on July 6, 2025 — Sol 4591, or Martian day 4,591 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission — at 10:13:13 UTC. NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Written by Susanne P. Schwenzer, Professor of Planetary Mineralogy at The Open University, UK

Earth planning date: Monday, July 7, 2025

A few planning sols ago, we spotted a small ridge in the landscape ahead of us. Ridges and structures that are prominently raised above the landscape are our main target along this part of Curiosity’s traverse. There are many hypotheses on how they formed, and water is one of the likely culprits involved. That is because water reacts with the original minerals, moves the compounds around and some precipitate as minerals in the pore spaces, which is called “cement” by sedimentologists, and generally known as one mechanism to make a rock harder. It’s not the only one, so the Curiosity science team is after all the details at this time to assess whether water indeed was responsible for the more resistant nature of the ridges. Spotting one that is so clearly raised prominently above the landscape — and in easy reach of the rover, both from the distance but also from the path that leads up to it — was therefore very exciting. In addition, the fact that we get a side view of the structure as well as a top view adds to the team’s ability to read the geologic record of this area. “Outcrops,” as we call those places, are one of the most important tools for any field geologist, including Curiosity and team!

Therefore, the penultimate drive stopped about 10 meters away (about 33 feet) from the structure to get a good assessment of where exactly to direct the rover (see the blog post by my colleague Abby). You can see an example of the images Curiosity took with its Mast Camera above; if you want to see them all, they are on the raw images page (and by the time you go, there may be even more images that we took in today’s plan.

With all the information from the last parking spot, the rover drivers parked Curiosity in perfect operating distance for all instruments. In direct view of the rover was a part of Volcán Peña Blanca that shows several units; this blogger counts at least three — but I am a mineralogist, not a sedimentologist! I am really looking forward to the chemical data we will get in this plan. My sedimentologist colleagues found the different angles of smaller layers in the three bigger layers especially interesting, and will look at the high-resolution images from the MAHLI instrument very closely.

With all that in front of us, Curiosity has a very full plan. APXS will get two measurements, the target “Parinacota” is on the upper part of the outcrop and we can even clean it from the dust with the brush, aka DRT. MAHLI will get close-up images to see finer structures and maybe even individual grains. The second APXS target, called “Wila Willki,” is located in the middle part of the outcrop and will also be documented by MAHLI. The third activity of MAHLI will be a so-called dog’s-eye view of the outcrop. For this, the arm reaches very low down to align MAHLI to directly face the outcrop, to get a view of the structures and even a peek underneath some of the protruding ledges. The team is excitedly anticipating the arrival of those images. Stay tuned; you can also find them in the raw images section as soon as we have them!

ChemCam is joining in with two LIBS targets — the target “Pichu Pichu” is on the upper part of the outcrop, and the target “Tacume” is on the middle part. After this much of close up looks, ChemCam is pointing the RMI to the mid-field to look at another of the raised features in more detail and into the far distance to see the upper contact of the boxwork unit with the next unit above it. Mastcam will first join the close up looks and take a large mosaic to document all the details of Volcán Peña Blanca, and to document the LIBS targets, before looking into the distance at two places where we see small troughs around exposed bedrock.

Of course, there are also atmospheric observations in the plan; it’s aphelion cloud season and dust is always of interest. The latter is regularly monitored by atmosphere opacity experiments, and we keep searching for dust devils to understand where, how and why they form and how they move. Curiosity will be busy, and we are very much looking forward to understanding this interesting feature, which is one piece of the puzzle to understand this area we call the boxwork area.


For more Curiosity blog posts, visit MSL Mission Updates


Learn more about Curiosity’s science instruments

Share

Details

Last Updated

Jul 10, 2025

Related Terms Explore More

3 min read Continuing the Quest for Clays

Article


2 days ago

2 min read Curiosity Blog, Sols 4589–4592: Setting up to explore Volcán Peña Blanca

Article


3 days ago

2 min read Curiosity Blog, Sol 4588: Ridges and troughs

Article


3 days ago

Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA

Mars

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, and the seventh largest. It’s the only planet we know of inhabited…


All Mars Resources

Explore this collection of Mars images, videos, resources, PDFs, and toolkits. Discover valuable content designed to inform, educate, and inspire,…


Rover Basics

Each robotic explorer sent to the Red Planet has its own unique capabilities driven by science. Many attributes of a…


Mars Exploration: Science Goals

The key to understanding the past, present or future potential for life on Mars can be found in NASA’s four…

Share

Details

Last Updated

Jul 10, 2025

Related Terms Explore More

3 min read Continuing the Quest for Clays

Article


2 days ago

2 min read Curiosity Blog, Sols 4589–4592: Setting up to explore Volcán Peña Blanca

Article


3 days ago

2 min read Curiosity Blog, Sol 4588: Ridges and troughs

Article


3 days ago

Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics

Missions


Humans in Space


Climate Change


Solar System

Categories: NASA

This Planet Makes Its Star Flare and the Planet Suffers Because Of It

Universe Today - Thu, 07/10/2025 - 9:14pm

Astronomers have discovered hundreds of exoplanets on extremely short orbits of less than 10 days. Our Solar System has nothing like this, and these planets are so close to their stars that they can disrupt the stars' magnetic fields. Scientists think this can induce stellar flaring, and researchers have detected the first example of exoplanet-induced stellar flaring.

Categories: Astronomy

Finding An Ocean On An Exoplanet Would Be Huge and the Habitable Worlds Observatory Could Do It

Universe Today - Thu, 07/10/2025 - 9:14pm

The search for habitable exoplanets boils down to the search for water. Exoplanet scientists lack the technological capability to detect surface water on exoplanets from great distances, so instead they can only search for planets in habitable zones where surface water is likely. But what if we could directly detect the surface water itself?

Categories: Astronomy

Finding PBHs Using The LSST Will Be A Statistical Challenge

Universe Today - Thu, 07/10/2025 - 9:14pm

With the recent first light milestone for the Vera Rubin observatory, it's only a matter of time before one of astronomy’s most long-awaited surveys begins. The Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) is set to start on November 5th, and will scan the sky of billions of stars for at least ten years. One of the most important things it hopes to find is evidence (or lack thereof) of primordial black holes (PBHs), one of the primary candidates for dark matter. A new paper from researchers at Durham University and the University of New Mexico looks at the difficulties the LSST will have in finding those enigmatic objects, especially the statistical challenges, and how they might be overcome.

Categories: Astronomy

New Heat Sink Tested in Space Uses Melting Wax to Regulate Temperature

Universe Today - Thu, 07/10/2025 - 9:14pm

It's cold in space, but overheating is a bigger problem than low temperatures. That's because the only way to regulate a spacecraft's heat is through radiation, or slowing down its computing. Engineers have tested a new type of heat sink in space that contains a wax-based phase change material that melts within the normal operating temperature range of the electronics, absorbing heat and then helping to radiate it away. The heat sink was part of a CubeSat launched in August 2024.

Categories: Astronomy

Two Powerful Space Telescopes are Better Than One

Universe Today - Thu, 07/10/2025 - 9:14pm

When the JWST was being built, some labelled it as the Hubble's successor. In some ways it is, even though the Hubble is still performing important science observations. When the two telescopes team up, we get the best of both.

Categories: Astronomy

Could Bioplastics be the Solution to Living Beyond Earth?

Universe Today - Thu, 07/10/2025 - 9:14pm

An international team of scientists led by the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) proposed a new method for living beyond Earth. Their experiment demonstrated how bioplastic structures can be grown using algae, which would be rugged enough to survive the hostile Martian environment.

Categories: Astronomy

NASA, SpaceX targeting July 31 for launch of Crew-11 astronaut mission to ISS

Space.com - Thu, 07/10/2025 - 6:18pm
NASA and SpaceX are targeting July 31 for the launch of the four-astronaut Crew-11 mission, which will fly a mix of rookies and spaceflight veterans to the ISS.
Categories: Astronomy

Why bizarre Cold War hoverboats are making a comeback

New Scientist Space - Cosmology - Thu, 07/10/2025 - 5:56pm
Sea-skimming crafts – which fly just above the water – were once considered Cold War relics of a failed Soviet experiment. Now, China and the US are resurrecting the technology as a possible Pacific conflict looms
Categories: Astronomy

Why bizarre Cold War hoverboats are making a comeback

New Scientist Space - Space Headlines - Thu, 07/10/2025 - 5:56pm
Sea-skimming crafts – which fly just above the water – were once considered Cold War relics of a failed Soviet experiment. Now, China and the US are resurrecting the technology as a possible Pacific conflict looms
Categories: Astronomy

10 best Lego Star Wars sets of 2025 so far: Amazon Prime Day

Space.com - Thu, 07/10/2025 - 5:30pm
In a galaxy not so far, far away, here are the 10 best Lego Star Wars sets released so far this year, now that Prime Day is underway.
Categories: Astronomy

James Webb Space Telescope celebrates 3 years of science with dazzling 'toe beans' image of Cat's Paw Nebula

Space.com - Thu, 07/10/2025 - 5:00pm
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is celebrating three years of transformational science with a striking new image of the Cat's Paw Nebula.
Categories: Astronomy