ScientistPankaj: NASA's Mars exploration plans need 'paradigm shifts' to succeed, report finds

NASA's Mars plans need 'paradigm shifts' to succeed | Astronomer captures possible Geminid lunar impacts | Geminid meteor shower peaks tonight!

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December 13, 2024

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The Launchpad

NASA's Mars plans need 'paradigm shifts' to succeed

(NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS)

NASA has released a new document that highlights planned programmatic paradigm shifts in Mars exploration over the next 20 years. This plan was prepared for the NASA Science Mission Directorate's Mars Exploration Program (MEP). The report is titled "Expanding the Horizons of Mars Science: A Plan for a Sustainable Science Program at Mars -- Mars Exploration Program 2024-2044."

Full Story: Space (12/13)

Astronomer captures possible Geminid lunar impacts

(LeonardoFernndezLzaro / 500px via Getty Images)

As we approach the peak of the Geminid meteor shower overnight on Friday (Dec. 13), the skies are beginning to light up with impressive meteors striking Earth's atmosphere. But Earth isn't the only target; the moon is regularly bombarded with such meteors, and Daichi Fujii, the curator of the Hiratsuka City Museum in Japan, has captured some of the most recent collisions.

Full Story: Space (12/12)

Skywatching

Geminid meteor shower peaks tonight!

(Li Xiang viaGetty Images))

The Geminid meteor shower, one of the most prolific meteor showers of the year peaks tonight, Dec. 13. Famed for its bright, vividly colored meteors, the Geminids promise a spectacle as Earth passes through the debris left behind by asteroid 3200 Phaethon. Under optimal conditions, the Geminids can produce up to 120 meteors per hour, but this year's near full-moon will likely wash out fainter meteors, reducing visibility. Still, if you have clear skies, it's worth braving the chill for a glimpse of this celestial treat.

Full Story: Space (12/13)

Spaceflight

We need to act now to prevent an orbital debris crisis

(NASA)

Earth orbit is getting more and more crowded, with both active satellites and pieces of debris. There's so much stuff up there that it's far from alarmist to start worrying about the Kessler syndrome, a nightmare scenario in which a collision or two leads to many more, vastly increasing the amount of junk circling our planet. "We have to get serious about this and recognize that, unless we do something, we are in imminent danger of making a whole part of our Earth environment unusable," Dan Baker, director of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado, Boulder (UC-Boulder), said in a panel Wednesday (Dec. 11) at the 2024 meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in Washington, D.C.

Full Story: Space (12/13)

Science & Astronomy

What causes volcanic eruptions on Jupiter's moon Io?

((left) NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS Image processing by Emma Wälimäki; (inset) NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/AndreaLuck)

Jupiter's volcanic moon Io doesn't appear to have a subsurface ocean of magma, resolving some issues about how Io's volcanoes erupt and raising broader questions about similar magma oceans within other moons and planets. But new measurements from Juno, coupled with archival data from the Galileo mission, have seemingly put to bed to the possibility of a magma ocean beneath the surface of Io.

Full Story: Space (12/12)

Search for Life

Extraterrestrial life may look nothing like life on Earth

(kasezo via Getty Images)

We have only one example of biology forming in the universe - life on Earth. But what if life can form in other ways? How do you look for alien life when you don't know what alien life might look like? These questions are preoccupying astrobiologists, who are scientists who look for life beyond Earth. Astrobiologists have attempted to come up with universal rules that govern the emergence of complex physical and biological systems both on Earth and beyond.

Full Story: Space (12/13)

Entertainment

'SALLY' at Sundance: NatGeo film on 1st US woman in space

(National Geographic)

A new documentary about the life and love of America's first woman in space will premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. "SALLY," from National Geographic and director Cristina Costantini, reveals the legacy of NASA astronaut Sally Ride. Featuring archival footage filmed both on the ground and in space, along with new interviews with Ride's close friends and colleagues, the documentary allows access to the "real Ride," who struggled with the "limits and sacrifices true heroism demands."

Full Story: Space (12/12)