Sixth International Conference on Mars Polar Science and Exploration; Reykjavík, Iceland; 5–9 September 2016
Space & Planets
Posted inResearch Spotlights
How Lightning Creates "Killer Electrons" in Earth's Radiation Belts
New calculations show that lightning-triggered plasma waves in Earth's magnetosphere absorb energy from slow particles and energize electrons to levels that can damage satellites severely.
Posted inNews
New Images of Pan, Saturn's Walnut Moon, in Unprecedented Detail
The finely detailed images can help future scientists study small bodies with weak gravity.
Posted inEditors' Vox
Imagining a Different Earth
Data will be critical to start to answer whether the newly found TRAPPIST-1 worlds are truly Earth-like.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
After Decades, High-Altitude Observations Revived at Jicamarca
Recent upgrades to the Jicamarca Radio Observatory in Peru allow it to probe electron densities several thousand kilometers above Earth, a feat it hasn't accomplished in 50 years.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Studying Martian Rocks Without Leaving Planet Earth
Matching Martian rock formations to those found on Earth can help researchers learn more about the Red Planet.
Posted inNews
Apollo 11 Command Module Goes on Tour
The exhibit includes Buzz Aldrin's gloves and an injector plate from the rocket's first-stage engine, which was recovered from the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.
Posted inNews
Focus NASA on Mars and Moon, Not Earth, Witnesses Tell Hearing
One speaker, the former chief scientist of NASA, spoke up for NASA's Earth science program as broadly beneficial and affordable within the agency's existing budget.
Posted inNews
Seven Earth-Sized Planets Seen Whizzing Around One Cool Star
Although all the exoplanets orbit closer than Mercury does to our Sun, liquid water may persist on some of them because their star radiates so little heat.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Plasma Waves Pinpointed at the Site of Magnetic Reconnection
When the Earth's and the Sun's magnetic fields meet, they realign in explosive and mysterious reconnections. Data suggest that plasma waves called kinetic Alfvén waves play a key role.