Category: 7. Science

  • Trump’s Proposed Budget Threatens Key Part of Mission to Send Astronauts to Mars

    Trump’s Proposed Budget Threatens Key Part of Mission to Send Astronauts to Mars

    For more than 20 years, NASA has relied on a network of spacecraft circling Mars to send data to and from the Red Planet. Without the constellation of five orbiters, the agency would not have been able to land its rovers on Mars or guide them through its terrain. Although the White House is keen on advancing human missions to the Martian surface, it also wants to get rid of that vital lifeline

    The Mars Relay Network is a fleet of orbiters equipped with radio systems powered by the Sun to maintain regular contact with Earth. It’s an interconnected system that relays data between rovers and landers on the surface of Mars, transmitting it tens of millions of miles through space to radio antennas located on Earth. “Every image seen from the surface of Mars since 2004 has been transmitted through the Mars Relay Network,” according to NASA. The international orbital squad, which includes NASA’s Mars Odyssey, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and MAVEN, and the European Space Agency’s Mars Express and ExoMars, would play a vital role in human missions to Mars. Three of them, however, are at risk of termination due to funding.

    NASA is preparing for severe cuts under the White House’s proposed budget for 2026. The budget, released in May, highlights the administration’s “objectives of returning to the Moon before China and putting a man on Mars.” It also reduces NASA’s upcoming budget by $6 billion compared to 2025.

    The impending cuts would significantly affect the budget for Mars-focused science missions, terminating funding for two of the NASA orbiters and one ESA spacecraft to recoup the cost of the network’s ongoing operations, Forbes reported. “We have not yet received direction from NASA HQ to stop work on these [Mars Relay] projects, and we wait for further instruction,” Roy Gladden, manager of the Mars Relay Network at NASA’s leading-edge Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, told Forbes.

    Under the proposed budget, NASA’s planetary science budget would drop from $2.7 billion to $1.9 billion. On the other hand, the agency’s human space exploration budget received an additional $647 million compared to the 2025 budget. Judging by the allocation of funding, the administration is clearly failing to understand that ongoing science missions to Mars are crucial to achieving a human presence on the Red Planet.

    The Mars Relay Network is part of NASA’s main infrastructure to communicate with Mars; decommissioning three of the orbiters would significantly reduce the network’s capacity. Given the complexity of the proposed first human missions to another planet, the communications network should be expanded to ensure precision and not the other way round.

    It may be that the current administration would favor a commercial substitute to NASA’s Mars Relay Network. In late 2024, NASA revealed that it was studying proposals for communication networks to set up in Mars’ orbit, including a pitch by SpaceX for a Marslink constellation (similar to the company’s Starlink in Earth orbit). Either way, NASA would no doubt need to update its current Mars communications system to support human missions. It would make more sense, however, to give the agency more funding as it contemplates landing humans on another planet for the first time.

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  • UVC-Intense Exoplanets May Not Be Uninhabitable: Evidence from a Desert Lichen – astrobiology.com

    1. UVC-Intense Exoplanets May Not Be Uninhabitable: Evidence from a Desert Lichen  astrobiology.com
    2. Desert lichen offers new evidence for the possibility of life on other planets  Phys.org
    3. A barrage of radiation couldn’t kill this hardy life-form  Science News
    4. Could desert lichen survive on other worlds?  EarthSky
    5. Desert Lichen Resists Intense Solar Radiation, Providing Evidence for Extraterrestrial Life  Discover Magazine

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  • ‘Never been seen before’: First images from new ISS solar telescope reveal subtle ‘fluctuations’ in sun’s outer atmosphere

    ‘Never been seen before’: First images from new ISS solar telescope reveal subtle ‘fluctuations’ in sun’s outer atmosphere

    A mini solar telescope strapped to the side of the International Space Station (ISS) has captured its first images, revealing subtle changes in our home star’s outer atmosphere that have never been seen before.

    NASA’s Coronal Diagnostic Experiment (CODEX) is a small solar telescope attached to the outside of the ISS. It is a coronagraph, meaning that it blocks out the solar disk to allow the telescope to focus on the sun’s atmosphere, or corona, in unprecedented detail — mimicking the way the moon blocks the sun’s visible surface during a total solar eclipse on Earth. The occulting disk blocking out the sun’s light is around the size of a tennis ball and it is held in place by three metal arms at the end of a long metal tube, which also cast distinctive shadows in the resulting images.

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  • Japan’s Himawari Weather Satellites Catch Previously Unseen Cloud Changes On Venus

    Japan’s Himawari Weather Satellites Catch Previously Unseen Cloud Changes On Venus

    The planet Venus is like Earth’s worst twin – roughly the same size but with a thick layer of acid clouds over a crushing, hellish atmosphere. Its clouds in particular have been a source of interest, but it is difficult to understand how they change long-term: most missions around the planet don’t last long. New observations might have finally filled that gap in knowledge, thanks to weather satellites orbiting our planet that caught a glimpse of Venus accidentally.

    The Himawari-8 and -9 satellites, launched in 2014 and 2016, are Japanese meteorological satellites. They were designed to study global atmospheric phenomena, something that they do well thanks to a particular type of instrument: multispectral Advanced Himawari Imagers (AHIs). This device can – when the alignment is right – capture Venus just at the edge of Earth.

    A team from the University of Tokyo, led by visiting researcher Gaku Nishiyama, realized that the instrument would be able to measure variation in the temperature on top of the Venusian clouds. They collected data from 2015 to 2025, providing crucial monitoring of the nearby rocky planet.  

    “The atmosphere of Venus has been known to exhibit year-scale variations in reflectance and wind speed; however, no planetary mission has succeeded in continuous observation for longer than 10 years due to their mission lifetimes,” Nishiyama said in a statement. “Ground-based observations can also contribute to long-term monitoring, but their observations generally have limitations due to the Earth’s atmosphere and sunlight during the daytime.” 

    The team was able to find 437 occurrences of the alignment in total, and they were able to show that temperatures did indeed change across the 10 years. Such methods will be very useful for continuous monitoring of Venus before future missions get there, though, while the European EnVision mission to Venus is still scheduled for the next decade, NASA’s two missions to Venus are in jeopardy following the Trump administration’s cuts.

    “We believe this method will provide precious data for Venus science because there might not be any other spacecraft orbiting around Venus until the next planetary missions around 2030,” said Nishiyama.

    It might not just be a tool for Venus either. The team believes that they can use accidental photobombs in weather satellites to study other worlds of the Solar System. The advantage of orbital observations is the lack of atmosphere, which affects what we can do from the ground.

    “I think that our novel approach in this study successfully opened a new avenue for long-term and multiband monitoring of solar system bodies. This includes the moon and Mercury, which I also study at present. Their infrared spectra contain various information on physical and compositional properties of their surface, which are hints at how these rocky bodies have evolved until the present,” added Nishiyama.

    The study is published in the journal Earth, Planets and Space.

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  • Rethinking Planetary Protection: An Island Biogeographical Analysis

    Rethinking Planetary Protection: An Island Biogeographical Analysis

    On November 14, 1963, an Icelandic fisherman noticed a plume of smoke rising from the open water. Within a day, Surtsey, a new volcanic island, had formed off the southern coast of Iceland This image was acquired on June 12, 2001, by Space Imaging’s IKONOS satellite. The data are archived by the NASA Scientific Data Purchase. Source

    We reconsider the problem of planetary protection using, by the analogy of planets as islands, the theory of island biogeography.

    We show that although the notion of equilibrium populations that emerge from the effects of immigration and extinction generally breaks down when applied to interplanetary scales, the mean-time to extinction resulting from the combined effects of growth and death rates can be quantified.

    We reconsider the probabilistic model of planetary protection, discuss how mean-time to extinction can instead be used to assess contamination risk, and we propose a research direction for planetary protection based on these ideas.

    We discuss more broadly the applicability of island biogeography to considering biotic transfer at interplanetary scales.

    Rethinking planetary protection: an island biogeographical analysis, Journal of the Royal Society (open access)

    Astrobiology, Planetary Protection,

    Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA Space Station Payload manager/space biologist, Away Teams, Journalist, Lapsed climber, Synaesthete, Na’Vi-Jedi-Freman-Buddhist-mix, ASL, Devon Island and Everest Base Camp veteran, (he/him) 🖖🏻

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  • A 3D Model Simulation Of Hydrogen Chloride Photochemistry On Mars: Comparison With Satellite Data

    A 3D Model Simulation Of Hydrogen Chloride Photochemistry On Mars: Comparison With Satellite Data

    HCl was detected in the Martian atmosphere by the NOMAD and ACS spectrometers aboard the ExoMars TGO. Photochemical models show that using gas-phase chemistry alone is insufficient to reproduce these data.

    Recent work has developed a heterogeneous chemical network within a 1D photochemistry model, guided by the seasonal variability in HCl. The aim of this work is to show that incorporating heterogeneous chlorine chemistry into a global 3D model of Martian photochemistry with conventional gas-phase chemistry can reproduce spatial and temporal changes in hydrogen chloride on Mars. We incorporated this heterogeneous chlorine scheme into the MPCM to model chlorine photochemistry during MYs 34 and 35.

    These two years provide contrasting dust scenarios, with MY 34 featuring a global dust storm. We also examined correlations in the model results between HCl and other key atmospheric quantities, as well as production and loss processes, to understand the impact of different factors driving changes in HCl.

    We find that this 3D model of Martian is consistent with the changes in HCl observed by ACS in MY 34 and MY 35, including detections and 70% of non-detections. For the remaining 30%, model HCl is higher than the ACS detection limit due to biases associated with water vapour, dust, or water ice content at these locations.

    As with previous 1D model calculations, we find that heterogeneous chemistry is required to describe the loss of HCl, resulting in a lifetime of a few sols that is consistent with the observed seasonal variation in HCl.

    As a result of this proposed chemistry, modelled HCl is correlated with water vapour, airborne dust, and temperature, and anticorrelated with water ice. Our work shows that this chemical scheme enables the reproduction of aphelion detections in MY 35.

    Benjamin Benne (1,2), Paul I. Palmer (1,2), Benjamin M. Taysum (3), Kevin S. Olsen (4,5), Franck Lefèvre (6) ((1) The University of Edinburgh, School of GeoSciences, UK, (2) Centre for Exoplanet Science, University of Edinburgh, UK, (3) DLR, Germany, (4) Department of Physics, University of Oxford, UK, (5) School of Physical Sciences, The Open University, UK, (6) LATMOS, France)

    Subjects: Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP); Chemical Physics (physics.chem-ph)
    Cite as: arXiv:2506.18757 [astro-ph.EP] (or arXiv:2506.18757v1 [astro-ph.EP] for this version)
    https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2506.18757
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    Related DOI:
    https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202553872
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    Submission history
    From: Benjamin Benne
    [v1] Mon, 23 Jun 2025 15:28:45 UTC (2,899 KB)
    https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.18757
    Astrobiology

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  • Radio Galaxy Zoo: EMU – Paving The Way For EMU Cataloging Using AI And Citizen Science

    Radio Galaxy Zoo: EMU – Paving The Way For EMU Cataloging Using AI And Citizen Science

    RGZ EMU user interface and its 3-step workflow setup. The first 2 steps (in blue color) of
    the workflow is compulsary, while the third (in green color) is optional. — astro-ph.IM

    The Evolutionary Map of the Universe (EMU) survey with ASKAP is transforming our understanding of radio galaxies, AGN duty cycles, and cosmic structure.

    EMUCAT efficiently identifies compact radio sources, yet struggles with extended objects, requiring alternative approaches.

    The Radio Galaxy Zoo: EMU (RGZ EMU) project proposes a general framework that combines citizen science and machine learning to identify around 4 million extended sources in EMU.

    This framework is expected to enhance the EMUCAT cataloging on extended sources and can be further empowered with the introduction of cross-matched external data from surveys such as POSSUM and WALLABY.

    A schematic diagram showing the proposed RGZ EMU cataloging framework using citizen science and machine learning. The blue box (top left panel) shows sample images that are excluded from the final selection, as having either a low complexity or a source major axis smaller than 20 arcsec. Sample images in the red box, on the contrary, refers to sample images fulfilled our selection criteria. Gradient blue arrows refers to operation done within the framework, and gradient green arrows indicates the framework components that will contribute to the EMUCAT supplementary catalogs. — astro-ph.IM

    Hongming Tang, Eleni Vardoulaki, RGZ EMU collaboration

    Comments: 6 pages, 2 figures, The 2nd edition of the International Conference on Machine Learning for Astrophysics (ML4ASTRO2), conference paper accepted
    Subjects: Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM)
    Cite as: arXiv:2506.16138 [astro-ph.IM] (or arXiv:2506.16138v1 [astro-ph.IM] for this version)
    https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2506.16138
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    Submission history
    From: Hongming Tang
    [v1] Thu, 19 Jun 2025 08:44:47 UTC (7,722 KB)
    https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.16138
    Astrobiology,

    Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA Space Station Payload manager/space biologist, Away Teams, Journalist, Lapsed climber, Synaesthete, Na’Vi-Jedi-Freman-Buddhist-mix, ASL, Devon Island and Everest Base Camp veteran, (he/him) 🖖🏻

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  • Gravity-sensitive Spectral Indices In Ultracool Dwarfs: Investigating Correlations With Metallicity And Planet Occurrence Using SpeX and FIRE Observations

    Gravity-sensitive Spectral Indices In Ultracool Dwarfs: Investigating Correlations With Metallicity And Planet Occurrence Using SpeX and FIRE Observations

    EWs for the K i lines in the J band vs. NIR spectral type for M dwarfs in our sample. The figure elements are the same as in Figure 3. The panels display: (a) NIR spectral type vs. K i 1.169 µm EW, (b) NIR spectral type vs. K i 1.177 µm EW, and (c) NIR spectral type vs. K i 1.253 µm EW. — astro-ph.EP

    We present a near-infrared spectroscopic analysis (0.9-2.4 micron) of gravity indices for 57 ultracool dwarfs (spectral types M5.5 to L0), including exoplanet hosts TRAPPIST-1, SPECULOOS-2, SPECULOOS-3, and LHS 3154. Our dataset includes 61 spectra from the SpeX and FIRE spectrographs.

    Using gravity-sensitive indices such as FeH absorption (at 0.99, 1.20, and 1.55 microns), the VO band at 1.06 microns, the H-band continuum, and alkali lines like K I (at 1.17 and 1.25 microns), we investigate correlations between surface gravity, stellar metallicity, and the presence of close-in transiting planets.

    All four planet-hosting stars show intermediate-gravity spectral signatures despite indicators of field age. However, a volume-corrected logistic regression reveals no significant association between gravity class and planet occurrence. Among individual indices, FeH_z is the most promising tracer of planet-hosting status.

    We tentatively identify a correlation between FeH_z (0.99 micron) and planet presence at the 2-sigma level, though this may reflect observational biases including transit probability, small-number statistics, and detection sensitivity. More robustly, we find a significant anti-correlation between FeH_z and metallicity ([Fe/H]) at 3.3 sigma. A Kruskal-Wallis test shows no significant metallicity difference across gravity classes, suggesting the observed FeH_z-metallicity trend is not driven by bulk metallicity differences.

    We propose this anti-correlation reflects interplay between age, gravity, and composition: higher-metallicity objects may be systematically younger with lower gravities, suppressing FeH absorption. While our results only hint at a link between gravity-related characteristics and planet occurrence among late-M dwarfs, they underscore the need for caution when using spectral diagnostics to infer properties of planet-hosting ultracool dwarfs.

    Fatemeh Davoudi, Benjamin V. Rackham, Julien de Wit, Jan Toomlaid, Michaël Gillon, Amaury H. M. J. Triaud, Adam J. Burgasser, Christopher A. Theissen

    Subjects: Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP); Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR)
    Cite as: arXiv:2506.19928 [astro-ph.EP] (or arXiv:2506.19928v1 [astro-ph.EP] for this version)
    https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2506.19928
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    Submission history
    From: Fatemeh Davoudi
    [v1] Tue, 24 Jun 2025 18:05:48 UTC (2,086 KB)
    https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.19928
    Astrobiology

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  • Page not found – National Radio Astronomy Observatory

    Page not found – National Radio Astronomy Observatory

    The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the U.S. National Science Foundation
    operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc. Founded in 1956, the NRAO provides state-of-the-art radio telescope facilities for use by the international scientific community. NRAO telescopes are open to all astronomers regardless of institutional or national affiliation. Observing time on NRAO telescopes is available on a competitive basis to qualified scientists after evaluation of research proposals on the basis of scientific merit, the capability of the instruments to do the work, and the availability of the telescope during the requested time. NRAO also provides both formal and informal programs in education and public outreach for teachers, students, the general public, and the media.

    The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 “to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense…”

    AUI collaborates with the scientific community and research sponsors to plan, build, and operate cutting-edge facilities. We cultivate excellence, deliver value, enhance education, and engage the public.

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  • Astronomers discover ‘raw materials for life’ can form in planetary systems even before stars

    Astronomers discover ‘raw materials for life’ can form in planetary systems even before stars

    Scientists are claiming a “cosmic chemistry breakthrough” following the discovery of a large “aromatic” molecule in deep space. The discovery suggests that these molecules could help seed planetary systems with carbon, supporting the development of molecules needed for life.

    The molecule, called cyanocoronene, belongs to a class of carbon-based organic compounds called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are made up of multiple fused aromatic rings — structures in which electrons are shared across double-bonded carbon atoms, giving them unique chemical stability.

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