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

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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

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On the quest for other Earths

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In the search for planets capable of sustaining life, an international research team with members from ETH has taken a significant step forward.

As the researchers reported recently in the journal Nature Communications, they found signs of a Neptune-sized planet in the Alpha Centauri star system, a mere 4.4 light years away from Earth.

This exoplanet is located in a zone that may offer suitable conditions for life. The team was able to collect data with unprecedented sensitivity, thus registering even very weak signals. [Read more…] about On the quest for other Earths

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