Science and Technology News

Dedicated to the wonder of discovery

crater

Perseverance’s first year on Mars: Purdue professor, mission team member looks at what is ahead

by Leave a Comment

Almost one year into the Mars rover mission, accomplishing its goal is on the horizon for Purdue University’s Briony Horgan and the Perseverance team.

February 18 will mark one year since the rover landed on the red planet following a seven-month, 300-million-mile flight across space.

Horgan, associate professor of planetary science in the Purdue College of Science’s Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, says anticipation is building as the team focuses on the mission goal: researching a now-dry large river delta. [Read more…] about Perseverance’s first year on Mars: Purdue professor, mission team member looks at what is ahead

Related Posts

  • ABB provides Ty-Rap cable ties for NASA Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Mission
    31
    ABB provides Ty-Rap cable ties for NASA Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover MissionAs NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover begins exploring its new planetary home after landing on February 18, 2021, it’s operating with the world’s most advanced technology while being equipped with Ty-Rap cable ties from ABB, the same ties that are widely used on earth. Found in buildings, subways, the deepest oceans…
    Tags: space, mars, rover, perseverance, mission, features

Did heat from impacts on asteroids provide the ingredients for life on Earth?

by

A research group from Kobe University has demonstrated that the heat generated by the impact of a small astronomical body could enable aqueous alteration and organic solid formation to occur on the surface of an asteroid.

They achieved this by first conducting high-velocity impact cratering experiments using an asteroid-like target material and measuring the post-impact heat distribution around the resulting crater.

From these results, they then established a rule-of-thumb for maximum temperature and the duration of the heating, and developed a heat conduction model from this. [Read more…] about Did heat from impacts on asteroids provide the ingredients for life on Earth?

Related Posts

  • Planetary defense: Physicists propose new way to defend Earth against cosmic impacts
    31
    Planetary defense: Physicists propose new way to defend Earth against cosmic impactsIs Planetary Defense PI in the Sky? In February of 2013, skywatchers around the world turned their attention toward asteroid 2012 DA14, a cosmic rock about 150 feet (50 meters) in diameter that was going to fly closer to Earth than the spacecraft that bring us satellite TV. Little did…
    Tags: earth, asteroid, asteroids, impact, space

Researchers discover new type of ancient crater lake on Mars

by

Researchers from Brown University have discovered a previously unknown type of ancient crater lake on Mars that could reveal clues about the planet’s early climate.

In a study published in Planetary Science Journal, a research team led by Brown Ph.D. student Ben Boatwright describes an as-yet unnamed crater with some puzzling characteristics.

The crater’s floor has unmistakable geologic evidence of ancient stream beds and ponds, yet there’s no evidence of inlet channels where water could have entered the crater from outside, and no evidence of groundwater activity where it could have bubbled up from below. [Read more…] about Researchers discover new type of ancient crater lake on Mars