Portal origin URL: SOFIA Returns to Flight Studying GalaxiesPortal origin nid: 464043Published: Monday, August 31, 2020 - 13:00Featured (stick to top of list): noPortal text teaser: NASA’s flying observatory, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, has returned to science operations with a new series of flights designed to study the chemistry of...

Portal origin URL: Global Survey Using NASA Data Shows Dramatic Growth of Glacial LakesPortal origin nid: 464056Published: Monday, August 31, 2020 - 10:14Featured (stick to top of list): noPortal text teaser: In the largest-ever study of glacial lakes, researchers using 30 years of NASA satellite data have found that the volume of these lakes worldwide has increased by...

Portal origin URL: NASA Selects Proposals for New Space Environment MissionsPortal origin nid: 464030Published: Friday, August 28, 2020 - 13:59Featured (stick to top of list): noPortal text teaser: NASA has selected five proposals for concept studies of missions to help improve understanding of the dynamics of the Sun and the constantly changing space environment with...

Link: What We StudyCategory: Space Experiments

Portal origin URL: Pinpointing Tropical Forests with High Ecological 'Quality'Portal origin nid: 463932Published: Tuesday, August 25, 2020 - 15:00Featured (stick to top of list): noPortal text teaser: High-resolution NASA satellite data have made it possible for scientists to develop maps showing the "quality" of tropical forests.Portal image: Map of...

Portal origin URL: Magnetic ‘Rivers’ Feed Young StarsPortal origin nid: 463753Published: Thursday, August 20, 2020 - 08:00Featured (stick to top of list): noPortal text teaser: NASA’s telescope on an airplane, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA, discovered magnetic fields in the Serpens South star cluster can further fuel star...

Eyebrow: Citizen Science NewsBody: Members of the public helped make 95 discoveries through Backyard Worlds: Planet 9, a NASA-funded citizen science project that is a collaboration between volunteers and professional scientists. Link: Read...

We’ve never met some of the Sun’s closest neighbors until now. In a new study, astronomers report the discovery of 95 objects known as brown dwarfs, many within a few dozen light-years of the Sun. They’re well outside the solar system, so don’t experience heat from the Sun, but still inhabit a region astronomers consider our cosmic neighborhood. This collection represents some of the...

PROJECT Advanced FUV/UV/Visible Photon Counting and Ultralow Noise Detectors SNAPSHOT Researchers have developed methods to alter the surface properties of ultraviolet detectors and produce instruments with unprecedented sensitivity and performance. The ultraviolet (UV) spectral range is rich with information about the atmospheres of exosolar planets, star formation, supernovae, the...

Several years ago, planetary scientist Lynnae Quick began to wonder whether any of the more than 4,000 known planets beyond our solar system might resemble some of the watery moons around Jupiter and Saturn. Though some of these moons don’t have atmospheres and are covered in ice, they are still among the top targets in NASA’s search for life beyond Earth. Saturn’s moon Enceladus...

Life as we know it requires three ingredients: energy, organic molecules, and liquid water. Our search for life beyond Earth is a search for planets, dwarf planets, and moons that harbor substantial liquid water. We call these places “ocean worlds.” We’re learning that ocean worlds could be ubiquitous in the galaxy. Just in our solar system, we have found evidence of oceans on...

Portal origin URL: NASA Researchers Track Slowly Splitting 'Dent' in Earth’s Magnetic FieldPortal origin nid: 463634Published: Monday, August 17, 2020 - 12:00Featured (stick to top of list): noPortal text teaser: A host of NASA scientists in geomagnetic, geophysics, and heliophysics research groups observe and model the SAA, to monitor and predict future changes – and...

Transmission electron microscope image showing SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.Credits: National Institutes of Health A Facebook live event brought together nearly 1,450 researchers from 18 countries, representing 100 institutions—to present recent findings about COVID-19 coronavirus transmission, host interactions, screening diagnosis and treatment therapies.  The event, held...

Do you have ideas for potential scientific, exploration, and technology demonstration investigations for the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) Program? If you are from U.S. industry, a university, a non-profit organization, a NASA center or other U.S. government agency, NASA wants your ideas. This Request For Information (RFI) is a joint effort between the Science Mission...

ASGSR 2018-2019 President Kevin Sato and Anna-Lisa Paul, 2019 annual meeting chair The “planets are aligning” for the United States to make monumental leaps in research that both enables space exploration and is enabled by space exploration. Congressional and executive branch support for NASA’s Artemis program, as well as for future missions to Mars, has led to significant levels of...

NASA astronauts (left to right) Christina Koch and Jessica Meir harvested Mizuna mustard greens on Thanksgiving day inside the ESA (European Space Agency) laboratory module's VEGGIE facility. It’s a once-in-a-decade opportunity: the chance to identify the most compelling science and technology questions facing the decade ahead. This year, the National Academies of Science, Engineering and...

To some, it may seem an unlikely collaboration: Procter & Gamble (P&G), a world leader in consumer-packaged goods, partnering with NASA. Both, however, share a common goal: bettering life on Earth by defying gravity and conducting research in space. People around the world use P&G’s products every day—they own multiple brands providing skincare, haircare, personal health...

The Exploration Research and Technology Programs at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida hosted a two-day workshop, Aug. 6 and 7, 2019, focusing on robotics and automation in space crop production.Credits: NASA/Kim Shiflett Researchers from around the world convened at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in August for a two-day workshop focused on the use of autonomy and robotics...

Graduate student working in the fatigue lab at the National Center for Additive Manufacturing Excellence (NCAME) to determine the effect of powder feedstock recycling on the fatigue performance of additively manufactured materials. When most people think of NASA, they picture mission control in Houston or maybe space shuttle launches from Cape Canaveral in Florida. But Vermont? Puerto Rico?...

Peter Vekilov is surprised and delighted. When he and his colleagues at the University of Houston set out to study advanced crystallization processes as part of ground-based research before an upcoming spaceflight experiment, they had hoped to learn more about how crystals form and degrade. They ended up evaluating how drugs for malaria interact with each other at the molecular level and...

The 3-D printer that went up to the International Space Station NASA’s Artemis program is focused on sustainably exploring the Moon and preparing to send astronauts to Mars. Attendees of the Materials Science in Space Workshop gathered at the 2019 International Space Station Research and Development Conference in Atlanta to help define the next generation of materials research, including...

Basic atomic structure Metals and glass don't seem to have anything in common. Glass is generally transparent and fragile while metals are opaque and extremely strong; but under the right conditions, metals can form glass, and when they do, what results is an opaque, durable, scratch- and corrosion-resistant material that is often stronger than steel. Metallic glass is so versatile it can...

Most of the energy and power used on Earth comes from burning fossil fuels. Combustion sparked the industrial revolution, and today it provides us with reliable power, clean water, a stable food supply and a whole lot more. Unfortunately, one downside of all that progress is pollution, which leads to climate change. To help address this problem, investigators for NASA’s Advanced...