Category: 7. Science

The first full moon of astronomical summer in the Northern Hemisphere is about to rise. Known as the Buck Moon, it will turn full Thursday, July 10 and will be one of the lowest-hanging full moons of the year.

Although the moon officially reaches its full phase at 4:38 p.m. EDT on June 10, that moment occurs while the moon is still below the horizon for viewers in North America. The best time to see the full Buck Moon will be at moonrise, at dusk, on Thursday evening, when the moon will appear on the eastern horizon as an orange orb. Use a moon calculator to determine the exact time you should look for the moon from your location.

Care and Feeding is Slate’s parenting advice column. Have a question for Care and Feeding? Submit it here.

Dear Care and Feeding,

My husband, “Wade,” and I are Chinese-American. My family has been in the U.S. for generations, while he is the first of his family to be born here. Wade and I have two daughters, ages 2 and 4, whom we adore. The problem is my very traditional in-laws, who are applying pressure to us to try again to have a son. Wade thinks we should just grey rock their attempts to convince us to have another child for the sake of carrying on the family legacy—i.e., let them waste their breath. But I worry about our girls as they get older and are better able to understand the meaning behind their grandparents’ constant harping on this. I fear they’ll think their grandparents love them less than they would if they were boys; I don’t want them to feel inferior because of their gender. What’s a good way of dealing with this without offending my in-laws?

—The Old Beliefs Should Have Stayed in the Old World

Dear Beliefs.

I’ll admit, if I were you, I would be honest with them—I think you can do that without offending them. You and your husband might tell them that you’re very happy with your two children and have no plans for a third. You can do this without getting in the weeds about sons versus daughters (and if they say—and they will say!—“But you don’t have a son! You must have a son!”, my advice would be to repeat what you’ve just said, and to do so as many times as necessary, without engaging with what they see as the “real” issue). You are not going to change them, and only they can decide to leave “the old beliefs” behind: You can’t make them. I would further urge you to speak frankly with them about your concern that if they continue to talk about this in the presence of your daughters, it will hurt them and harm their relationship with them. Tell your in-laws they are not to bring this up when their grandchildren are present—period. Tell them you do not wish for your children, who love and value their grandparents, to come to believe that their grandparents don’t love and value them.

If you and your husband cannot bring yourselves to tell his parents that you have no desire to have another child—even without breaking the news that you couldn’t care less about providing the son they so desperately want you to have—I’m not against your husband’s plan of letting them waste their breath and paying them no nevermind. But even if you go that route, somehow managing to spend the next 10 to 20 years making noncommittal noises or changing the subject every time they bring up the importance of your bringing a boy into the world, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t speak up about the well-being of your (actual) children. You must still tell them how important it is to you that they not speak of this in your daughters’ presence, and explain why. If they continue to do it anyway, gather your daughters and leave the room. (When you’re next alone with their grandparents, repeat yourself again: This is not acceptable. This may inspire them to tell you, yet again, how crucial it is that you provide them a grandson. If you are determined to keep this charade going, you might say, “Yes, I know, but I must tell you that the repetition of your deep desire for one is not going to make him come along any faster.”)

And more important than any of this: Make sure your daughters know that they are loved and valued, that you and their father treasure them exactly as they are.

Dear Care and Feeding,

My son “Oliver” is 2 ½ years old and going through potty training. We got him some books on the subject and have shown him some videos to help encourage him. The problem is that he has become fixated on the topic. Now everything is about where pee and poop come from, where it’s supposed to go, how it’s something every living creature does, etc. He will initiate these conversations with perfect strangers when we are out; last week, we were at a restaurant when my husband needed to take him to the men’s room. Oliver came running back excitedly to the table and shouted, “I went pee-pee in the potty!” in front of everyone. I realize this is a phase, but I find it terribly embarrassing. Is there any way I can teach him discretion without inhibiting his progress?

—Pooped by All the Poop Talk

Dear Poop Talk,

I’m sorry to have to be the one to tell you this, but you’re going to have to get over this. You have a toddler! He’s excited about pee and poop and fascinated by everything he’s learned about it (and the whole process of food-to-waste-product really is kind of amazing, if you think about it, no? Oh, right, I forgot: You do not want to think about it). When kids are excited and fascinated by a subject, they want to talk about it. To everyone. Just you wait until he gets to the all-dinosaurs-all-the-time phase.

I say let him. It’s your embarrassment you need to get to work on—or, rather, your dread of being embarrassed. What’s so awful about a little embarrassment? (Or, an even better question: What is it exactly that there is to be so embarrassed about?) The appropriate response to his proud announcement was, “Well done! Good job!”, not, “Shhh!” And if he poop-chats up a stranger in the grocery store, and that stranger seems taken aback/distressed instead of amused or even just politely tolerant (recognizing that the person trying earnestly to engage them in a discussion of excrement’s amazing journey isn’t even 3 years old), you can always say, “Ah, well, potty training!” as you sail past. If a toddler uses hate speech (picked up somewhere, just repeating it as children do), that’s one thing: It’s never too soon to teach a child not to be hateful, racist, bigoted, or cruel. But teaching a toddler to be discreet is not only a losing battle, it’s also an effective way of teaching him that his exuberance is something for him to be ashamed of.

Catch Up on Care and Feeding

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Dear Care and Feeding,

I am a married man of many years. In my youth, I had a number of hot rods and have always been a car guy. I had a successful career and now have a net worth of $2 million, and the only debt we have is a small mortgage. There is a particular sports car I would like to purchase that is not expensive. My wife objects—she thinks I would look like an idiot driving this car at my age. All I want to do with it is take it to local car shows and cars-and-coffee meetups—that sort of thing. Is it all right for me to buy it anyway?

—Or Is She Right?

Dear Or Is She,

Does it matter if she’s right or wrong? The question is whether you care if you look like an “idiot,” in your wife’s words. (I’m not weighing in—I have no opinion on this matter. I don’t care enough about cars—or even know enough about cars—to make a judgment about the person driving one.)

If you want this sports car and you can afford it, and it will give you pleasure and do no harm to anyone, it’s time to search your soul: If you fear you might look foolish in your new hot rod, and the thought of that is painful enough to diminish the pleasure you imagine owning it will bring you, then don’t take that chance. If you consider the possibility of being judged harshly—old man in a hot car, ha ha, poor fool—and it horrifies you, as I suppose it horrifies your wife, then you should probably stick to the sedan or SUV you usually drive. But if you don’t care what people think (and why should you?), go ahead and tell your wife that. And tell her she doesn’t have to (ever) sit in the passenger seat, to spare her what I assume is her fear of being looked at as the pathetic old fool’s poor, clueless wife.

—Michelle

More Advice From Slate

I am mom to a 7-month-old. We live in a pretty conservative area, and I work in a male-dominated industry. In fact, all of my co-workers are men who have or had stay-at-home wives. When I was pregnant, several of my co-workers did not expect me to come back to work. Though I told them we planned on using day care, I guess they assumed some maternal instinct would come over me and I’d quit. They said terrible things to me.

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How did life on Earth begin? People have been asking that for ages. The answers remain scattered across rocks, oceans, and ancient landscapes. One clue hides in an essential ingredient for life – phosphorus.

Phosphorus is everywhere in living things. It holds together DNA and RNA. It forms the framework of cell membranes. No life can grow or function without it.

Yet, phosphorus mostly stays trapped in rocks. It hides inside phosphate minerals, which barely dissolve in water. That raises an old and puzzling question: how did early Earth get enough phosphorus to spark life?

Yuya Tsukamoto and Takeshi Kakegawa from Tohoku University took that question seriously. They decided to look where most people wouldn’t – deep under the sea, in rocks that are billions of years old.

Key element for life on Earth

The researchers focused on the Pilbara Craton in Western Australia, which holds some of the oldest known seafloor rocks.

The rocks are an astonishing 3.455 billion years old. The team’s discovery wasn’t subtle. It jumped out from the data.

“We analyzed 3.455-billion-year-old basaltic seafloor rocks in drill core samples recovered from the Pilbara Craton, Western Australia, discovering that P was significantly leached from the hydrothermally altered rocks compared to the least altered rocks,” explained Tsukamoto.

He noted that further mineralogical analyses indicated that phosphate minerals had undergone dissolution in rocks where P was depleted.

Simply put, hot fluids moved through these rocks and pulled phosphorus out. That phosphorus didn’t just disappear. It entered the surrounding seawater, turning parts of the ocean into phosphorus-rich zones.

Tracking the source of phosphorus

The rocks alone didn’t tell the whole story. The team wanted to understand what made this phosphorus release possible. They uncovered two kinds of hydrothermal fluids that shaped this process.

One type was hot, rich in sulfur, and capable of breaking down minerals quickly. The other was more surprising – mildly acidic to alkaline fluids at lower temperatures.

These fluids were common in the Archean era because Earth’s atmosphere back then was filled with carbon dioxide. That unique atmosphere made these fluids react in unexpected ways with the rocks.

The result? Massive amounts of dissolved phosphate in the water. The numbers were shocking. These fluids could carry up to 2 millimolar phosphate – nearly 1,000 times higher than what’s found in modern seawater.

Suddenly, early Earth wasn’t a barren place. Its oceans were filled with phosphorus.

Earth’s oceans held elements for life

This wasn’t just a chemistry experiment. The results changed how scientists think about early Earth. The researchers calculated how much phosphorus these underwater systems could release.

The findings were stunning. The amount of phosphorus released into the oceans by these hydrothermal systems could match, or even exceed, the amount entering modern oceans through rivers and weathering of land rocks.

“Importantly, this study provides direct evidence that submarine hydrothermal activity leached P from seafloor basaltic rocks and quantifies the potential P flux from these hydrothermal systems to the early ocean,” adds Tsukamoto.

Imagine ancient oceans filled with nutrients. These phosphorus-rich waters may have supported some of Earth’s earliest microbial life.

The ancient communities didn’t need a vast, lush planet. It only needed these hidden underwater environments to get started.

Hot springs and hidden worlds on land

The study also pointed to something beyond the oceans – hot springs on land. Hydrothermal systems aren’t just found under the sea. They exist on land too, in places like hot springs.

These environments might have also released phosphorus on early Earth. That means life’s building blocks weren’t limited to deep-sea vents. They could have existed in steaming pools on land.

This opens the door for more discoveries. Scientists now plan to study how phosphate behaves in rocks across different periods of Earth’s history. By tracing phosphorus through time, they hope to unlock new chapters of Earth’s story.

The message is clear: Life’s ingredients may have come from places on Earth we’ve only just begun to explore. Deep beneath the waves, within rocks touched by ancient fluids, the story of life may have quietly begun.

The study is published in the journal Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta.

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Proxima Centauri b is the closest known exoplanet that could be in the habitable zone of its star. Therefore, it has garnered a lot of attention, including several missions designed to visit it and send back information. Unfortunately, due to technological constraints and the gigantic distances involved, most of those missions only weigh a few grams and require massive solar scales or pushing lasers to get anywhere near their target. But why let modern technological levels limit your imagination when there are so many other options, if still theoretical, options to send a larger mission to our nearest potentially habitable neighbor? That was the thought behind the Master’s Thesis of Amelie Lutz at Virginia Tech – she looked at the possibility of using fusion propulsion systems to send a few hundred kilogram probe to the system, and potentially even orbit it.

Since Proxima Centauri b is potentially habitable, there are a lot of different sensors that scientists would like to take to it to monitor it closely. Ms. Lutz details 11 sensors that would go on the craft, including spectrometers, magnetometers, and imaging and sounding systems that would allow it to peer beneath the planet’s ice sheets (if there are any).

In addition, there would be a high power communications array. However, getting a signal back from another star is difficult to say the least. Ms. Lutz proposes using the solar gravitational lens of Proxima Centauri itself to pump up the communication power and bandwidth to a respectable 10 Mb per second per watt of power devoted to the communications array.

Fraser discusses how fusion rockets could take us to other stars.

Where that power comes from is the real crux of the thesis though – the spacecraft would rely on a fusion generator both for its propulsion and for its electrical power. Ms. Lutz looked at three different types of fusion drives, each of which could use four different types of fuel.

First is a fusion driven rocket, which directly converts the energy created by the fusion reaction into thrust using a technique called magneto-inertial fusion. Next up is a inertial-electrostatic confinement engine, which is small and lightweight but suffers from technical challenges that limit its potential power output. Another potential drive system is an Antimatter Initiated Microfusion (AIM) system, which is the smallest system, but requires antimatter to get started, which is extraordinarily rare and expensive.

The four different types of fuels are those typically considered when discussing fusion reactions, either for commercial power generation or spacecraft propulsion. Deuterium-Deuterium (D-D) reactions are the simplest, but suffer from low energy output. Deuterium-Tritium (D-T) has a higher energy, but creates lots of neutrons that could potentially rip through a spacecraft’s shielding and destroy its internal systems. Proton-Boron-11 (p-B11) is more exotic, and made up of common materials, but requires really high temperatures for really low energy output. That leaves Deuterium-Helium-3 (D-He3).

Isaac Arthur discusses the potential of using fusion to drive our spaceships.

D-He3 has been the dream of many fusion experts for a long time. It has a high energy output, a low neutron output, and doesn’t require absurd temperatures to function. However, it has the drawback of the relative scarcity of He3 on Earth, though, as Ms. Lutz points out, there has been plenty of thought into how we could potentially mine it from the Moon.

To determine which combination of fuel and propulsion system is the best, Ms. Lutz considers several different mission profiles. First would be a non-decelerated fly-by – which would have the spacecraft zipping by its target planet at 24,000 km/s. That would not give very much time to do much, if any, actual science. An alternative would be to do a “slow” flyby, where the spacecraft decelerates on the latter half of its journey and passes by the planet going a more reasonable 25 km/s. Still fast, but enough that the science instruments could actually do some work.

However, with only a little bit more trajectory manipulation, Ms Lutz believes the spacecraft could enter a bounded orbit with Proxima Centauri b, allowing for multiple fly-bys and a significant amount of data collection. But to do so, it would require a combination of high energy output, low mass, and minimal neutrons.

The winning solution, according to her thesis, is a fusion driven rocket (FDR) configuration using D-He3 as a fuel source. By her calculations, such a system could arrive in the Proxima Centauri system and begin orbiting its target planet in around 57 years, not too bad for an interstellar mission of a 500 kg spacecraft. But, that being said, this whole study is all very theoretical, at least for now. We haven’t yet successfully tested any fusion drive concepts discussed in the paper, and even getting such a system into orbit would require significant technical and political effort. It will be a long while before any such system would be fitting onto an interstellar spacecraft, but it just might happen during Ms. Lutz’s career.

Learn More:
A. Lutz – Interstellar Mission Design of a Fusion-Powered Spacecraft to Proxima b

UT – Fusion-Enabled Comprehensive Exploration of the Heliosphere

UT – Magnetic Fusion Plasma Engines Could Carry us Across the Solar System and Into Interstellar Space

UT – Earth To Mars In 100 Days? The Power Of Nuclear Rockets

IN A NUTSHELL

🔍 Graduate student discovers a unique shape-recovering liquid that challenges the laws of thermodynamics. 🧪 The liquid, a mixture of oil, water, and magnetized nickel particles, consistently forms into a Grecian urn shape. 🧲 Magnetic dipoles created by the particles influence the emulsion’s behavior, leading to higher interfacial energy. 🌟 Published in Nature Physics, this discovery opens new avenues for material science and understanding particle interactions.

In an astonishing turn of events, a graduate student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has stumbled upon a discovery that could challenge conventional scientific wisdom. Anthony Raykh, while experimenting with a mixture of oil, water, and nickel particles, observed a phenomenon that seemed to defy the basic principles of thermodynamics. The mixture consistently formed into the shape of a Grecian urn, an occurrence that intrigued scientists and sparked widespread interest in the scientific community. This unexpected behavior in emulsions may pave the way for new insights into the interactions of particles and the fundamental laws that govern them.

The Unlikely Discovery of a Shape-Recovering Liquid

The journey towards this groundbreaking discovery began in a university laboratory where Anthony Raykh, a dedicated graduate student in polymer science and engineering, was conducting routine experiments. He was examining a concoction of oil, water, and magnetized nickel particles, expecting the mixture to behave as typical emulsions do—forming separate layers. However, what transpired was nothing short of extraordinary. Upon shaking the vial, the mixture formed into a shape reminiscent of a Grecian urn and, remarkably, retained this shape even after multiple disturbances. This persistent pattern defied the standard expectations of how emulsions typically behave, which usually involves minimizing surface area by forming spherical droplets. The uniqueness of this behavior piqued the interest of Raykh and his colleagues, setting the stage for deeper investigation.

Groundbreaking Discovery by Student: Accidental Creation of a ‘Shape-Recovering Liquid’ Defies the Fundamental Laws of Thermodynamics

Challenging Thermodynamic Norms

According to Professor Thomas Russell, a co-author of the study, the behavior of the liquid mixture initially seemed to contradict the laws of thermodynamics. Typically, when emulsions return to equilibrium, they minimize interfacial area, adhering to thermodynamic principles. The Grecian urn shape, however, presented a larger surface area, which was perplexing. Upon further examination, Russell and his team discovered that the magnetized particles were creating a unique set of interactions. The magnetic dipoles formed by the particles created a network of chains on the surface, influencing the separation of the mixture in unexpected ways. What appeared to be a violation of thermodynamic laws was actually an intricate play of magnetic forces, reshaping our understanding of particle interactions.

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The Role of Magnetic Interference

As the researchers delved deeper into the phenomenon, it became clear that the magnetic properties of the nickel particles were central to the unusual behavior observed. The particles, when magnetized, formed dipoles—pairs of magnetic poles that exert attractive forces on each other. This magnetic attraction led to the formation of chain-like structures on the liquid’s surface, which in turn affected the emulsion’s separation process. These interactions resulted in a higher interfacial energy, contributing to the formation of the Grecian urn shape. By interfering with the natural tendency of the liquids to minimize surface area, the particles showcased a fascinating interplay of forces that could offer new insights into the manipulation of emulsions and material science.

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Component	Measurement
Oil	Varied
Water	Varied
Nickel Particles	Magnetized

Implications and Future Directions

The discovery of this shape-recovering liquid has far-reaching implications for both theoretical and practical applications. By demonstrating how magnetic particles can alter the behavior of emulsions, this research opens up new avenues for exploring novel materials and technologies. The study, published in the journal Nature Physics, highlights the potential for using magnetic fields to control the properties of materials in innovative ways. Furthermore, it underscores the complexity of thermodynamic laws when applied to particle interactions, suggesting that there may be exceptions that warrant further exploration. As scientists continue to unravel the mysteries of this phenomenon, they are likely to uncover more surprises that could revolutionize our understanding of material science.

In a world where scientific discoveries are constantly reshaping our understanding, the case of the shape-recovering liquid stands out as a reminder of nature’s unpredictability. What other secrets might the microscopic world hold, waiting to be discovered by curious minds? As researchers continue to push the boundaries of science, the possibilities are truly endless. What groundbreaking revelations might the future hold for the fields of physics and material science?

Our author used artificial intelligence to enhance this article.

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Pregnancy that lasts long enough to support full fetal development is a hallmark evolutionary breakthrough of placental mammals – a group that includes humans. At the center of this is the fetal-maternal interface: the site in the womb where a baby’s placenta meets the mother’s uterus, and where two genetically distinct organisms – mother and fetus – are in intimate contact and constant interaction. This interface has to strike a delicate balance: intimate enough to exchange nutrients and signals, but protected enough to prevent the maternal immune system from rejecting the genetically “foreign” fetus.

To uncover the origins and mechanisms behind this intricate structure, the team analyzed single-cell transcriptomes – snapshots of active genes in individual cells – from six mammalian species representing key branches of the mammalian evolutionary tree. These included mice and guinea pigs (rodents), macaques and humans (primates), and two more unusual mammals: the tenrec (an early placental mammal) and the opossum (a marsupial that split off from placental mammals before they evolved complex placentas).

A Cellular “Atlas of Mammal Pregnancy”

By analyzing cells at the fetal-maternal interface, the researchers were able to trace the evolutionary origin and diversification of the key cell types involved. Their focus was on two main players: placenta cells, which originate from the fetus and invade maternal tissue, and uterine stromal cells, which are of maternal origin and respond to this invasion.

Using molecular biology tools, the team identified distinct genetic signatures – patterns of gene activity unique to specific cell types and their specialized functions. Notably, they discovered a genetic signature associated with the invasive behavior of fetal placenta cells that has been conserved in mammals for over 100 million years. This finding challenges the traditional view that invasive placenta cells are unique to humans, and reveals instead that they are a deeply conserved feature of mammalian evolution. During this time, the maternal cells weren’t static, either. Placental mammals, but not marsupials, were found to have acquired new forms of hormone production, a pivotal step toward prolonged pregnancies and complex gestation, and a sign that the fetus and the mother could be driving each other’s evolution.

Cellular Dialogue: Between Cooperation and Conflict

To better understand how the fetal-maternal interface functions, the study tested two influential theories about the evolution of cellular communication between mother and fetus.

The first, the “Disambiguation Hypothesis,” predicts that over evolutionary time, hormonal signals became clearly assigned to either the fetus or the mother – a possible safeguard to ensure clarity and prevent manipulation. The results confirmed this idea: certain signals, including WNT proteins, immune modulators, and steroid hormones, could be clearly traced back to one source tissue.

The second, the “Escalation Hypothesis” (or “genomic Conflict”), suggests an evolutionary arms race between maternal and fetal genes – with, for example, the fetus boosting growth signals while the maternal side tries to dampen them. This pattern was observed in a small number of genes, notably IGF2, which regulates growth. On the whole, evidence pointed to fine-tuned cooperative signaling.

“These findings suggest that evolution may have favored more coordination between mother and fetus than previously assumed,” says Daniel J. Stadtmauer, lead author of the study and now a researcher at the Department of Evolutionary Biology, University of Vienna. “The so-called mother-fetus power struggle appears to be limited to specific genetic regions. Rather than asking whether pregnancy as a whole is conflict or cooperation, a more useful question may be: where is the conflict?”

Single-Cell Analysis: A Key to Evolutionary Discovery

The team’s discoveries were made possible by combining two powerful tools: single-cell transcriptomics – which captures the activity of genes in individual cells – and evolutionary modeling techniques that help scientists reconstruct how traits might have looked in long-extinct ancestors. By applying these methods to cell types and their gene activity, the researchers could simulate how cells communicate in different species, and even glimpse how this dialogue has evolved over millions of years.

“Our approach opens a new window into the evolution of complex biological systems – from individual cells to entire tissues,” says Silvia Basanta, co-first author and researcher at the University of Vienna. The study not only sheds light on how pregnancy evolved, but also offers a new framework for tracking evolutionary innovations at the cellular level – insights that could one day improve how we understand, diagnose, or treat pregnancy-related complications.

The research was conducted in the labs of Mihaela Pavličev at the Department of Evolutionary Biology, University of Vienna, and Günter Wagner at Yale University. Wagner is Professor Emeritus at Yale and a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Vienna. The study was supported by the John Templeton Foundation and the Austrian Science Fund (FWF).

Most meteorites that have reached Earth come from the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. But we have 1,000 or so meteorites that come from the Moon and Mars. This is probably a result of asteroids hitting their surfaces and ejecting material towards our planet.

It should also be physically possible for such debris to reach the Earth from Mercury, another nearby rocky body. But so far, none have been confirmed to come from there — presenting a longstanding mystery.

U.S. astronaut Nichole “Vapor” Ayers captured a spectacular view of a phenomenon known as a “sprite” blazing to life above an intense thunderstorm — and she did this while orbiting 250 miles (400 kilometers) above Earth aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

“Sprites are TLEs or Transient Luminous Events, that happen above the clouds and are triggered by intense electrical activity in the thunderstorms below,” wrote Ayers in an X post showcasing the image. “We have a great view above the clouds, so scientists can use these types of pictures to better understand the formation, characteristics, and relationship of TLEs to thunderstorms.”

• NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has been observing Mars since 2005. It has helped revolutionize our knowledge about the red planet.
• The spacecraft sometimes “rolls over” in its orbit by varying degrees so it can point its different instruments at the Martian surface.
• The orbiter has now rolled over by a whopping 120 degrees in its latest maneuver. This will help its onboard radar to peer deeper into the subsurface to look for water ice or even liquid water.

Mars orbiter rolls around to look for water

NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has been studying the red planet since late 2005. And now, it is trying something new. Researchers from the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona, and other institutions said on June 26, 2025, that the orbiter is performing a new roll maneuver – up to 120 degrees – so the spacecraft is essentially upside down. Why is it doing this? The rolling maneuver will help the orbiter look deeper beneath the surface with its SHARAD radar instrument for water ice or perhaps even liquid water.

MRO can peer into the shallow subsurface of Mars, up to about a mile deep. With the new rolling maneuver, it will be able to look a bit deeper and obtain clearer radar images.

The researchers published their peer-reviewed findings in The Planetary Science Journal on June 11, 2025.

Teaching an old spacecraft new tricks

In the new maneuver, MRO rolls over so it’s basically upside down. The process involved three rolls, which the spacecraft performed between 2023 and 2024. Gareth Morgan at the Planetary Science Institute is an author on the new paper and said:

Not only can you teach an old spacecraft new tricks, you can open up entirely new regions of the subsurface to explore by doing so.

Reid Thomas, MRO’s project manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, added:

We’re unique in that the entire spacecraft and its software are designed to let us roll all the time.

MRO was designed with being able to do such maneuvers in mind. It can roll up to 30 degrees in any direction. This helps it point its cameras and other instruments at features of interest, such as craters, potential landing sites for other spacecraft and more. And it uses its radar to search for subsurface ice and liquid water.

This animation depicts how Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter performs its 120-degree roll maneuvers. Video via NASA/ JPL-Caltech.

A complicated process

Rolling the spacecraft might sound simple, but it isn’t. There are multiple operating science instruments on MRO. They all have different requirements in terms of how they are pointed at Mars’ surface. When one instrument is pointed for observations, that means the other instruments are not as ideally suited for their own observations. MRO can roll to use any of the instruments but not all the instruments at the same time.

With this in mind, NASA plans each roll weeks in advance. An algorithm commands the spacecraft to roll for a particular instrument, as needed. It also commands the spacecraft’s solar arrays to rotate and track the sun and its high-gain antenna to track Earth. This enables MRO to maintain power and communications.

Sometimes, MRO has to perform even larger rolls, up to 120 degrees. This requires even more planning ahead of time.

Peering deep underground with Mars orbiter

MRO uses its Shallow Radar (SHARAD) instrument to peer deep underground on Mars, from about 1/2 mile to just over a mile (.8 to 1.6 km). It is designed to be able to search for ice, or even liquid water, and distinguish it from rock and sand. But SHARAD isn’t perfect. SHARAD uses two antennas that are mounted on the back of the orbiter. This allows the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera as clear a view as possible on the front of MRO.

The only problem is that other parts of the orbiter can interfere with the radio signals that SHARAD sends to the Martian surface. This can result in less clear radar images. Also, sometimes the mission team wants to look at targets with SHARAD that are a bit too deep below the surface. Morgan said:

The SHARAD instrument was designed for the near-subsurface, and there are select regions of Mars that are just out of reach for us. There is a lot to be gained by taking a closer look at those regions.

Clearer radar images

This is where the rolling comes in. By rolling MRO up to 120 degrees, the radio waves can more easily reach the surface. This makes the signal about 10 times stronger, meaning clearer radar images and being able to see a little deeper.

The rolls have their own drawbacks, too, though. During the rolls, the communications antenna is not pointed toward Earth. And the solar arrays can’t track the sun. With this in mind, and the planning needed, the spacecraft only performs these large rolls a couple of times per year. They also require a lot of battery power. Thomas said:

The very large rolls require a special analysis to make sure we’ll have enough power in our batteries to safely do the roll.

Mars Climate Sounder

SHARAD isn’t the only instrument to benefit from MRO’s rolling capability. In addition, the Mars Climate Sounder instrument does as well. It is a radiometer that studies Mars’ atmosphere, weather and climate.

The instrument pivots on a gimbal. This way, it can obtain views of the Martian horizon, surface and space. But in 2024, it became unreliable with old age (20 years now in Mars orbit!). So now it uses MRO’s standard rolling maneuvers to compensate for that in its observations. As Mars Climate Sounder’s interim principal investigator, Armin Kleinboehl at JPL, noted:

Rolling used to restrict our science, but we’ve incorporated it into our routine planning, both for surface views and calibration.

Bottom line: A NASA Mars orbiter – Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter – is trying out a new maneuver to help it find ice and liquid water beneath Mars’ surface.

Source: SHARAD Illuminates Deeper Martian Subsurface Structures with a Boost from Very Large Rolls of the MRO Spacecraft

Via Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Via Planetary Science Institute

Read more: Amazing photos in Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter celebration

Read more: NASA orbiter spots Curiosity rover making tracks on Mars