NASA – planetaria

NASA back in the search for alien technosignatures

October 5, 2018 by Paul Scott Anderson

Here’s a buzzword you might or might not have heard before: technosignatures. SETI pioneer Jill Tarter has proposed that the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) be renamed the search for technosignatures. Although the question of whether we’re alone in the universe is one of humanity’s …

Let NASA take you on a virtual trip to exoplanets

June 14, 2018June 14, 2018 by Paul Scott Anderson

Many of us dream about being able to go into space and visit different planets in our Solar System or even venture to more distant worlds around other stars. Exoplanets would be particularly exciting, since we haven’t seen any of them close up yet, but …

NASA live science chat tomorrow: New evidence for water vapour plumes on Europa?

May 13, 2018May 13, 2018 by Paul Scott Anderson

NASA will be hosting a live stream update tomorrow about Jupiter’s moon Europa with new analysis as to the habitability of this ocean world. Tune in on Monday, May 14 at 10 a.m. PDT (1 p.m. EDT) for the latest information. While specific details are still …

Titan quadcopter or comet sample-return? NASA announces competition finalists for 2020s mission

February 26, 2018December 27, 2017 by Paul Scott Anderson

Wednesday was an exciting day for space exploration enthusiasts, as NASA announced the two finalist missions selected as part of its New Frontiers Program – a new robotic mission to be launched in the mid-2020s. The two winners are a sample return mission from a …

What are those weird dark streaks on Venus? NASA CubeSat mission could find out

August 26, 2017August 22, 2017 by Paul Scott Anderson

Even though Venus is Earth’s closest planetary neighbour, it is still one of the most mysterious. Numerous landers and orbiters have visited this extremely hostile world, but there are still many unanswered questions to be resolved. Now, NASA is proposing a new mission using a …

Joint NASA/ESA mission proposed to search for life on Europa

May 3, 2017May 3, 2017 by Paul Scott Anderson

Ocean world: new proposed mission would search for evidence of life in Europa’s subsurface water ocean. Photo Credit: NASA/JPL/Ted Stryk

Europa is one of the most fascinating places in the Solar System, and is considered to be at or near the top of the list of worlds to search for possible evidence of life. Beneath its outer ice crust lies a deep and dark salty ocean, thought to be quite to Earth’s own oceans. Could that ocean be inhabited, even if just by microbes? Scientists want to know, and now a new proposal calls for a joint orbiter/lander mission between NASA and ESA (European Space Agency), to try to answer that question.

Venus beckons part 2: A new NASA collaborative mission with Russia?

March 17, 2017 by Paul Scott Anderson

Artist’s conception of the Venera-D spacecraft in orbit around Venus. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Last week, Planetaria reported on why NASA should return to Venus, and new technology being developed to help make that happen, especially as in longer-lived landers or rovers. With its extremely hostile conditions, Venus has been much less of a priority in more recent years, at least in terms of surface missions, despite it being Earth’s closest planetary neighbour. But now there may be more impetus towards a new mission – not one that NASA would do alone, but rather a joint mission with Russia, known as Venera-D.

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