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NASA’s Perseverance Rover Investigates Geologically Rich Mars Terrain

Januar 21, 2025Januar 21, 2025adminLeave a Comment

NASA’s Perseverance rover is well into its second science campaign, collecting rock-core samples from features within an area long considered by scientists to be a top prospect for finding signs of ancient microbial life on Mars. The rover has collected four samples from an ancient river delta in the Red Planet’s Jezero Crater since July 7, bringing the total count of scientifically compelling rock samples to 12.
“We picked the Jezero Crater for Perseverance to explore because we thought it had the best chance of providing scientifically excellent samples – and now we know we sent the rover to the right location,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA’s associate administrator for science in Washington. “These first two science campaigns have yielded an amazing diversity of samples to bring back to Earth by the Mars Sample Return campaign.”
Twenty-eight miles (45 kilometers) wide, Jezero Crater hosts a delta – an ancient fan-shaped feature that formed about 3.5 billion years ago at the convergence of a Martian river and a lake. Perseverance is currently investigating the delta’s sedimentary rocks, formed when particles of various sizes settled in the once-watery environment. During its first science campaign, the rover explored the crater’s floor, finding igneous rock, which forms deep underground from magma or during volcanic activity at the surface.
“The delta, with its diverse sedimentary rocks, contrasts beautifully with the igneous rocks – formed from crystallization of magma – discovered on the crater floor,” said Perseverance project scientist Ken Farley of Caltech in Pasadena, California. “This juxtaposition provides us with a rich understanding of the geologic history after the crater formed and a diverse sample suite. For example, we found a sandstone that carries grains and rock fragments created far from Jezero Crater – and a mudstone that includes intriguing organic compounds.”
“Wildcat Ridge” is the name given to a rock about 3 feet (1 meter) wide that likely formed billions of years ago as mud and fine sand settled in an evaporating saltwater lake. On July 20, the rover abraded some of the surface of Wildcat Ridge so it could analyze the area with the instrument called Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics & Chemicals, or SHERLOC.
SHERLOC’s analysis indicates the samples feature a class of organic molecules that are spatially correlated with those of sulfate minerals. Sulfate minerals found in layers of sedimentary rock can yield significant information about the aqueous environments in which they formed.
What Is Organic Matter?
Organic molecules consist of a wide variety of compounds made primarily of carbon and usually include hydrogen and oxygen atoms. They can also contain other elements, such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur. While there are chemical processes that produce these molecules that don’t require life, some of these compounds are the chemical building blocks of life. The presence of these specific molecules is considered to be a potential biosignature – a substance or structure that could be evidence of past life but may also have been produced without the presence of life.
In 2013, NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover found evidence of organic matter in rock-powder samples, and Perseverance has detected organics in Jezero Crater before. But unlike that previous discovery, this latest detection was made in an area where, in the distant past, sediment and salts were deposited into a lake under conditions in which life could potentially have existed. In its analysis of Wildcat Ridge, the SHERLOC instrument registered the most abundant organic detections on the mission to date.
“In the distant past, the sand, mud, and salts that now make up the Wildcat Ridge sample were deposited under conditions where life could potentially have thrived,” said Farley. “The fact the organic matter was found in such a sedimentary rock – known for preserving fossils of ancient life here on Earth – is important. However, as capable as our instruments aboard Perseverance are, further conclusions regarding what is contained in the Wildcat Ridge sample will have to wait until it’s returned to Earth for in-depth study as part of the agency’s Mars Sample Return campaign.”
The first step in the NASA-ESA (European Space Agency) Mars Sample Return campaign began when Perseverance cored its first rock sample in September 2021. Along with its rock-core samples, the rover has collected one atmospheric sample and two witness tubes, all of which are stored in the rover’s belly.
The geologic diversity of the samples already carried in the rover is so good that the rover team is looking into depositing select tubes near the base of the delta in about two months. After depositing the cache, the rover will continue its delta explorations.
“I’ve studied Martian habitability and geology for much of my career and know first-hand the incredible scientific value of returning a carefully collected set of Mars rocks to Earth,” said Laurie Leshin, director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “That we are weeks from deploying Perseverance’s fascinating samples and mere years from bringing them to Earth so scientists can study them in exquisite detail is truly phenomenal. We will learn so much.”
More About the Mission
A key objective for Perseverance’s mission on Mars is astrobiology, including caching samples that may contain signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet’s geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith.
Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA, would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.
The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA’s Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.
JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover.
For more about Perseverance:

https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/

source: https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasas-perseverance-rover-investigates-geologically-rich-mars-terrain/

Scientists Believe Aliens Are Sending Interstellar Messages to Each Other—And We Can Eavesdrop on Them

Januar 17, 2025Januar 17, 2025adminLeave a Comment

Since the first modern SETI (Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence) studies tried to detect alien transmissions in the early 1960s, scientists on Earth have been on the alert for strange cosmic signals with no reasonable explanation. So far, they haven’t positively identified any signals as evidence of intelligent alien life among the stars, but the search continues.
Most SETI telescope searches aim to observe a vast expanse of sky or zero in on a specific star system or group of stars. They usually try to intercept signals that potential aliens could have aimed at Earth or those that pass close by. But what if aliens are transmitting messages from one exoplanet to another instead? If they exist, we may now have a way to eavesdrop on alien conversations, leveling up humanity’s search for intelligent life far from Earth.
Working with his team at Penn State University, astronomer Nick Tusay, a graduate student working on his Ph.D., came up with a new technique that tests indicate would detect alien radio chatter. From our Earthly point of view, we can observe when one exoplanet—a planet that is not part of our solar system—passes in front of and blocks another. This is called occultation. However, the occulting planet does not always completely cover the planet behind it. So, any message a hypothetical alien transmits from the occulted planet can spill over into space, and our radio telescopes could detect it.
“I want to be able to find or at least look for the kind of signals that we put out all the time, from an alien civilization going about its business doing its thing, not intending to signal anyone,” says Tusay, who led a study published in July 2024 in The Astronomical Journal.
Tusay’s method of listening in on alien conversations during planet-planet occultations (PPOs) is designed to seek out narrowband radio signals. While there are many different types of radio waves that are emitted by objects such as quasars or pulsars, narrowband signals are glaringly artificial and are the type used by transmitters. We only know of one species that has been able to produce these signals, and that’s us. Humans send these signals into space when communicating with spacecraft via NASA’s Deep Space Network. The fact that these signals cannot occur naturally is an advantage for SETI, because if radio telescopes on Earth were to detect one coming from space, it would mean that it is definitely artificial.
Seth Shostak, Ph.D., Senior Astronomer at the SETI Institute and renowned SETI expert, agrees that narrowband signals would be a sure sign that someone out there is communicating, though not necessarily with us. There is always the possibility that extraterrestrials might be using a type of signal we cannot even fathom yet. However, Shostak, who is also an astrophysicist, believes it is likely aliens would use the same methods of communications that humans do.
“Maybe ether aliens have a different signaling system to what we can imagine, but the physics on their world are the same as the physics here,” he says. “Sending radio signals is something that they would probably do too, because it’s congruent with the physics the universe has.”
The more practical reason for relying on narrowband signals transmitted between planets is that we understand them, according to SETI historian Rebecca Charbonneau, Ph.D., author of Mixed Signals: Alien Communication Across the Iron Curtain. During the advent of SETI in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when the Space Race was taking off, humans were sending artificial signals into space. And they were already starting to wonder if there were intelligent beings out there who were doing the same.
“We’re highly influenced by our environment when it comes to thinking of what we might expect to see in other words, because radio is the primary mechanism with which humans have historically communicated,” says Charbonneau.
As our technology has evolved, we have shifted from radio to other modes of communication, such as fiber optics, internet, and cables buried deep beneath the ocean. This shift also means that radio signals from our telescopes may take a backseat to these newer types of signals. If intelligent aliens are looking for other life in the universe, then they may or may not be able to detect our variety of signals.
However, it’s possible that none of these signals may resonate with an advanced civilization, which could be millions—or possibly billions of years—older than ours; its members could be communicating in ways only science fiction could fathom. As a recent study published in The Open Journal of Astrophysics explores, it is possible that alien communications technologies are so advanced, they may be talking to each other using gravitational waves. These are ripples in spacetime, and physicists don’t yet fully understand them.
The problem is that—unlike narrowband radio waves—our science cannot distinguish between gravitational waves that are natural and those that may be artificial. That lack of knowledge still does not discourage Tusay. While he will not be developing the eavesdropping technique further, he plans to leave it in the literature as a proof of concept, so that future scientific progress may make the adjustments needed to pick up unnatural signals. Whether we could actually decode any type of signal from another civilization is an entirely different question, though.

Source: https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/a63022036/alien-radio-signals/

SpaceX’s Starship Rocket Explodes Within Minutes Of Seventh Test Flight, Elon Musk Suspects Oxygen/Fuel Leak

Januar 17, 2025Januar 17, 2025adminLeave a Comment

The Starship rocket from SpaceX suffered an unexpected failure when it exploded merely minutes into its seventh trial flight, marking a surprising reversal of fortunes for the company led by Elon Musk, which had been consistently making headway in enhancing the rocket’s capabilities.
The accident necessitated a change in the flight paths of airlines over the Gulf of Mexico to prevent any encounters with plummeting debris, Hindustan Times reported. Furthermore, it represented a significant hindrance to Elon Musk’s premier rocket initiative.
8 minutes post-launch from its South Texas rocket facilities at 5:38 pm EST (2238 GMT), SpaceX’s mission control lost communication with the recently enhanced Starship. The Starship, which was uncrewed, was on its maiden test flight carrying mock satellites as its payload.
Preliminary findings hint at an oxygen leak as the cause of the Starship rocket’s disintegration, but SpaceX will conduct a thorough investigation to confirm the exact reason for the mishap. Elon Musk, the CEO of the company, disseminated the update via a post on his social media platform X.
“Preliminary indication is that we had an oxygen/fuel leak in the cavity above the ship engine firewall that was large enough to build pressure in excess of the vent capacity,” he wrote in the post.
Even though this represents a clear hindrance to the firm’s space project, Musk continues to be optimistic about an imminent launch. Additionally, he provided information on what SpaceX plans to implement to prevent such failures in the future.
“Apart from obviously double-checking for leaks, we will add fire suppression to that volume and probably increase vent area. Nothing so far suggests pushing next launch past next month,” he added
The previous instance of a Starship upper stage failure occurred in March of the previous year during its reentry into Earth’s atmosphere over the Indian Ocean.
This marked the seventh Starship test by SpaceX since 2023, as part of Musk’s multibillion-dollar project. The goal is to construct a rocket that can transport both humans and cargo to Mars and also deploy significant groups of satellites into Earth’s orbit.
SpaceX’s method of testing until failure has historically involved dramatic failures as the company stretches the engineering boundaries of Starship prototypes. However, the test failure on Thursday occurred during a mission stage that SpaceX has successfully navigated in the past.
The formidable Falcon Super Heavy booster, in the meantime, made its way back to the launchpad approximately seven minutes post-launch, as scheduled. It decelerated its return from space by reactivating its Raptor engines, securing itself onto enormous mechanical arms attached to a launch tower.

SpaceX loses spacecraft after catching rocket booster at the launch pad in latest Starship test

Januar 17, 2025Januar 17, 2025adminLeave a Comment

SpaceX launched its Starship rocket on its latest test flight Thursday, but the spacecraft was destroyed following a thrilling booster catch back at the pad.
Elon Musk’s company said Starship broke apart — what it called a “rapid unscheduled disassembly.” The spacecraft’s six engines appeared to shut down one by one during ascent, with contact lost just 8 1/2 minutes into the flight.
The spacecraft — a new and upgraded model making its debut — was supposed to soar across the Gulf of Mexico from Texas on a near loop around the world similar to previous test flights. SpaceX had packed it with 10 dummy satellites for practice at releasing them.
A minute before the loss, SpaceX used the launch tower’s giant mechanical arms to catch the returning booster, a feat achieved only once before. The descending booster hovered over the launch pad before being gripped by the pair of arms dubbed chopsticks.
The thrill of the catch quickly turned into disappointment for not only the company, but the crowds gathered along the southern tip of Texas.
“It was great to see a booster come down, but we are obviously bummed out about ship,” said SpaceX spokesman Dan Huot. “It’s a flight test. It’s an experimental vehicle,” he stressed.

Blue Origin successfully launches New Glenn rocket

Januar 16, 2025Januar 16, 2025adminLeave a Comment

Jan. 15 (UPI) — Blue Origin successfully launched its two-stage heavy-lift New Glenn rocket on its unmanned maiden voyage into space early Thursday, achieving the mission’s primary goal of reaching orbit. The rocket launched at 2:03 a.m. EST at Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. As the rocket ascended, cheers could be […]