Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Scientists from around the world are gathering this week in California to take stock of the state of science from Mars and discuss goals for the next steps in exploration of the Red Planet. In the spirit of Mars 10, formally known as the 10th International Conference on Mars, here are 10 recent significant events […]

Posted July 24, 2024

Juno

Jupiter

NASA’s Juno Mission Captures the Colorful and Chaotic Clouds of Jupiter

During its 61st close flyby of Jupiter on May 12, 2024, NASA’s Juno spacecraft captured this color-enhanced view of the giant planet’s northern hemisphere. It provides a detailed view of chaotic clouds and cyclonic storms in an area known to scientists as a folded filamentary region. In these regions, the zonal jets that create the […]

Posted July 19, 2024

Earth Science

Earth

Earth Science Division

Earth's Moon

GRACE (Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment)

GRACE-FO (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-on)

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

NASA-Funded Studies Explain How Climate Is Changing Earth’s Rotation

Researchers used more than 120 years of data to decipher how melting ice, dwindling groundwater, and rising seas are nudging the planet’s spin axis and lengthening days. Days on Earth are growing slightly longer, and that change is accelerating. The reason is connected to the same mechanisms that also have caused the planet’s axis to […]

Posted July 19, 2024

Curiosity (Rover)

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Mars

Mars Science Laboratory (MSL)

NASA’s Curiosity Rover Discovers a Surprise in a Martian Rock

Among several recent findings, the rover has found rocks made of pure sulfur — a first on the Red Planet. Scientists were stunned on May 30 when a rock that NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover drove over cracked open to reveal something never seen before on the Red Planet: yellow sulfur crystals. Since October 2023, the […]

Posted July 18, 2024

Perseverance (Rover)

Astrobiology

High-Tech Computing

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Mars

Mars 2020

Radioisotope Power Systems (RPS)

Robotics

Science-enabling Technology

Here’s How AI Is Changing NASA’s Mars Rover Science

Artificial intelligence is helping scientists to identify minerals within rocks studied by the Perseverance rover. Some scientists dream of exploring planets with “smart” spacecraft that know exactly what data to look for, where to find it, and how to analyze it.

Posted July 16, 2024

Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA)

Asteroids

Deep Space Network

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Planetary Defense

Planetary Defense Coordination Office

Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)

Space Communications & Navigation Program

NASA’s Planetary Radar Tracks Two Large Asteroid Close Approaches

The Deep Space Network’s Goldstone planetary radar had a busy few days observing asteroids 2024 MK and 2011 UL21 as they safely passed Earth. Scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California recently tracked two asteroids as they flew by our planet. One turned out to have a little moon orbiting it, while the […]

Posted July 3, 2024

Ecostress (ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station)

Earth Science

Extreme Weather Events

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Weather and Atmospheric Dynamics

NASA’s ECOSTRESS Maps Burn Risk Across Phoenix Streets

Roads and sidewalks in some areas get so hot that skin contact could result in second-degree burns. Researchers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California have mapped scorching pavement in Phoenix where contact with skin — from a fall, for example — can cause serious burns. The image shows land surface temperatures across a […]

Posted July 2, 2024

NEOWISE

Comets

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA)

NEO Surveyor (Near-Earth Object Surveyor Space Telescope)

Planetary Defense

Planetary Defense Coordination Office

WISE (Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer)

NASA’s NEOWISE Infrared Heritage Will Live On

NASA’s near-Earth-object-hunting mission NEOWISE is nearing its conclusion. But its work will carry on with NASA’s next-generation infrared mission: NEO Surveyor. After more than 14 successful years in space, NASA’s NEOWISE (Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) mission will end on July 31.

Posted July 2, 2024

Armstrong Flight Research Center

Ames Research Center

Glenn Research Center

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Langley Research Center

Space Technology Mission Directorate

NASA Parachute Sensor Testing Could Make EPIC Mars Landings

Landing rovers and helicopters on Mars is a challenge. It’s an even bigger challenge when you don’t have enough information about how the parachutes are enduring strain during the descent to the surface.

Posted June 27, 2024

Mars Odyssey

Deimos

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Mars

Mars Moons

Phobos

NASA’s Mars Odyssey Captures Huge Volcano, Nears 100,000 Orbits

The 23-year-old orbiter is taking images that offer horizon-wide views of the Red Planet similar to what astronauts aboard the International Space Station see over Earth. NASA’s longest-lived Mars robot is about to mark a new milestone on June 30: 100,000 trips around the Red Planet since launching 23 years ago. During that time, the […]

Posted June 27, 2024