Jet Propulsion Laboratory

The mission team has celebrated several successes since its launch from Kennedy Space Center on Oct. 13. The latest is the operation of the spacecraft’s cameras. NASA’s Psyche spacecraft is on a roll. In the eight weeks since it left Earth on Oct. 13, the orbiter has performed one successful operation after another, powering on […]

Posted December 5, 2023

EMIT (Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation)

Dust Storms

Earth

Earth Science Division

Greenhouse Gases

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

NASA Mission Excels at Spotting Greenhouse Gas Emission Sources

Since launching 16 months ago, the EMIT imaging spectrometer aboard the International Space Station has shown an ability to detect more than just surface minerals.

Posted November 17, 2023

Cold Atom Laboratory (CAL)

Biological & Physical Sciences

Fundamental Physics

International Space Station (ISS)

ISS Research

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Physical Sciences

NASA’s Cold Atom Lab Sets Stage for Quantum Chemistry in Space

The remotely operated facility aboard the International Space Station has created another tool that researchers can use to probe the fundamental nature of the world around us. For the first time in space, scientists have produced a quantum gas containing two types of atoms.

Posted November 15, 2023

Kepler / K2

Exoplanet Science

Exoplanets

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Neptune-Like Exoplanets

Super-Earth Exoplanets

NASA Data Reveals Possible Reason Some Exoplanets Are Shrinking

A new study could explain the ‘missing’ exoplanets between super-Earths and sub-Neptunes. Some exoplanets seem to be losing their atmospheres and shrinking. In a new study using NASA’s retired Kepler Space Telescope, astronomers find evidence of a possible cause: The cores of these planets are pushing away their atmospheres from the inside out.

Posted November 15, 2023

NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar)

Earth

Earth Science

Earth Science Division

Earth System Observatory (ESO)

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Trailblazing New Earth Satellite Put to Test in Preparation for Launch

During three weeks in a thermal vacuum chamber in Bengaluru, India, the joint NASA-ISRO satellite demonstrated its hardiness in a harsh, space-like environment. NISAR, the trailblazing Earth-observing radar satellite being developed by the United States and Indian space agencies, passed a major milestone on Nov.

Posted November 14, 2023

Europa Clipper

Europa

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

The Solar System

Time Is Running Out to Add Your Name to NASA’s Europa Clipper

Six weeks remain for you to add your name to a microchip that will ride aboard the spacecraft as it explores Jupiter’s moon Europa. It’s not every day that members of the public have the chance to send their names into deep space beyond Mars, all the way to Jupiter and its moon Europa. But […]

Posted November 13, 2023

Mars

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Mars 2020

MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN)

Perseverance (Rover)

The Solar System

NASA’s Mars Fleet Will Still Conduct Science While Lying Low

Rovers and orbiters will continue collecting limited data during a two-week communications pause due to the position of Earth, the Sun, and the Red Planet. NASA will hold off sending commands to its Mars fleet for two weeks, from Nov. 11 to 25, while Earth and the Red Planet are on opposite sides of the […]

Posted November 10, 2023

Juno

Europa

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Jupiter

Jupiter Moons

Planets

The Solar System

NASA’s Juno Finds Jupiter’s Winds Penetrate in Cylindrical Layers

The finding offers deeper insights into the long-debated internal structure of the gas giant. Gravity data collected by NASA’s Juno mission indicates Jupiter’s atmospheric winds penetrate the planet in a cylindrical manner, parallel to its spin axis. A paper on the findings was recently published in the journal Nature Astronomy.

Posted November 9, 2023

SWOT (Surface Water and Ocean Topography)

Earth

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Oceans

Water on Earth

NASA Analysis Finds Strong El Niño Could Bring Extra Floods This Winter

Such high-tide flooding that inundates roads and buildings along the west coast of the Americas tends to be uncommon outside of El Niño years, but that could change by the 2030s. An analysis by NASA’s sea level change science team finds that if a strong El Niño develops this winter, cities along the western coasts […]

Posted November 8, 2023

Euclid

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Euclid Spots a Spiral Galaxy

This view of spiral galaxy IC 342 is one of five first science images released by the Euclid mission on Nov. 7, 2023. The ESA-led (European Space Agency) Euclid observatory, which will investigate the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy, is scheduled to begin regular science operations in early 2024. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in […]

Posted November 7, 2023