Science - SlashGear

NASA wants to take humans to the Moon and Mars – but not their germs

Brittany A. Roston | Jul 10, 2020

NASA has detailed its plan to prevent contamination of space caused by human activities. According to the space agency's Administrator Jim Bridenstine, NASA's newly published Interim Directives (NIDs) will cover both manned and robotic missions to Mars, as well as anticipated future manned missions to Mars. A day after announcing these new NIDs, NASA has awarded a related contract to SETI Institute of California.

Comet NEOWISE caught on camera as it feels the Sun’s fury

Chris Davies | Jul 10, 2020

Serendipity has helped produce a striking image of the newly-discovered NEOWISE comet, after the fast-moving rock was caught on camera by the Parker Solar Probe. Only discovered in late March, the comet - officially named C/2020 F3 NEOWISE, though referred to by the Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer which first spotted it - proved a fascinating subject as it passed close to the Sun.

Scientists develop a new cathode coating to extend lithium-ion battery life

Shane McGlaun | Jul 10, 2020

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energies Argonne National Laboratory have been working with Hong Kong University of Science and Technology to develop a new particle-level cathode coating for lithium-ion batteries meant to increase their life and safety. The new coating the team created is called PEDOT.

Scientists find one of the biggest cosmic structures ever dubbed the South Pole Wall

Shane McGlaun | Jul 10, 2020

Researchers studying 3D maps of the universe and have discovered one of the biggest cosmic structures ever. The structure is a vast wall that stretches 1.4 billion light-years across and contains hundreds of thousands of galaxies. It has been dubbed the South Pole Wall and has been hiding in plain sight.

Cats were seducing humans for care more than 1,000 years ago

Brittany A. Roston | Jul 9, 2020

A popular saying claims that cats choose their people, not the other way around. This feline seduction has been traced back more than 1,000 years thanks to a newly detailed ancient cat skeleton, a new study reports. The skeleton reveals that humans traveling the Silk Road trade routes likely cared for cats along the way, treating them as pets similar to the way humans treat them today.

Mars rover meets rocket as Perseverance gets ready for rescheduled launch

Chris Davies | Jul 9, 2020

The Perseverance rover has met its ride to Mars, with NASA mounting the roving science experiment to the Atlas V rocket that will eventually take it to the red planet. While the launch isn't for some weeks yet, Perseverance is already safely encased in the protective nose cone that will shield it during its fiery blast-off.

Researchers create a mobile robot scientist that can work almost constantly

Shane McGlaun | Jul 9, 2020

Researchers from the University of Liverpool have built what they call an intelligent mobile robot scientist that's able to work continuously nearly 24 hours a day and carry out experiments on its own. The robotic scientists is said to be the first of its kind and can make its own decisions about what chemistry experiments to perform next. The robot has already discovered a new catalyst.

Shiny gel-like substance discovered on the moon by China has been identified

Shane McGlaun | Jul 9, 2020

Few countries have ever successfully landed on the surface of the moon, and one of the countries to do so was China with the Yutu-2 rover. That rover found something interesting on the surface of the moon that has puzzled scientists, and the mystery has finally been solved. Inside a small impact crater on the far side of the moon, Yutu-2 discovered a strange and shiny gel-like substance.

NASA picks four small US companies to make Artemis Moon tech

Brittany A. Roston | Jul 8, 2020

NASA has selected four small companies in the US to 'mature' tech for its upcoming Artemis Moon missions. The combined value of these follow-on contracts will amount to around $17 million, according to the space agency, which previously awarded the companies contracts to develop and demonstrate these technologies. NASA anticipates the contracts helping speed up the development of Moon tech that it needs to meet its deadlines.

NASA’s Psyche mission passes a crucial milestone

Shane McGlaun | Jul 8, 2020

NASA has announced that its Psyche mission has passed a critical milestone that brings it closer to the official launch date of August 2022. NASA says that the mission is moving from planning and design to manufacturing of the spacecraft hardware. The goal of the Psyche mission is to explore a metal-rock asteroid of the same name.

SHERLOC instrument built at Johnson Space Center will travel to Mars

Shane McGlaun | Jul 8, 2020

The summer NASA plans to launch the Mars Perseverance Rover to Mars as part of the Mars 2020 Mission. Perseverance is packed with equipment intended to search for signs of life on Mars at some point in the distant past. One of the tools on the rover is called the Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminance for Organics & Chemicals or SHERLOC. That instrument will search for chemicals on the Martian surface linked to life.

NASA’s Mars InSight scoop workaround video raises hope for mole success

Brittany A. Roston | Jul 7, 2020

Weeks after performing a risky workaround maneuver to get its InSight rover 'mole' tool working, NASA has offered an update on the plan -- it will soon remove its scoop to get a closer look at the instrument. The space agency published a new short animation made from individual still images that shows off Martian dirt as its vibrates out of the mole's burrowing hole.