After touching down on the Red Planet Feb. 18, 2021, NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover will scour Jezero Crater to help us understand its geologic history and search for signs of past microbial life. But the six-wheeled robot won’t be looking just at the surface of Mars: The rover will peer deep below it with a ground-penetrating radar called RIMFAX. Source:…
Tag: Radar
Large asteroid will pass safely November 29, closer in subsequent flybys
A large asteroid will pass Earth at more than 11 times the moon’s distance on November 29, 2020, and will approach more closely in later flybys. Charts here for telescope users. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/asteroid-2000-wo107-nov-2020-flyby-then-closer…
Top 4 most promising worlds for alien life in the solar system
Where are the other most promising locations for extraterrestrial life in our solar system? Source: https://earthsky.org/space/et-alien-life-most-likely-worlds-solar-system…
Video: Copernicus Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich preparing for launch
A European satellite built to carry out precise measurements of sea level changes has arrived in California in preparation for launch. The Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite forms part of the European Union’s Copernicus Earth Observation programme and will employ radar to map sea surface topography. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-09-video-copernicus-sentinel-michael-freilich.html…
Liquid Water on Mars? New Research Indicates Buried ‘Lakes’
The existence of liquid water on Mars — one of the more hotly debated matters about our cold, red neighbor — is looking increasingly likely. From a report: New research published Monday in the journal Nature Astronomy indicates there really is a buried reservoir of super-salty water near the south pole of the planet. Scientists say such a lake would significantly…
The detection of phosphine in Venus’ clouds is a big deal
Here’s how we can find out if it’s a sign of life. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/detection-phosphine-venus-clouds-sign-of-life…
The Short Weird Life — and Potential Afterlife — of Quantum Radar
sciencehabit writes: A mini-arms race is unfolding in the supposed field of quantum radar, spurred by press reports in 2016 that China had built one — potentially threatening the ability of stealthy military aircraft to hide from conventional radars. Governments around the world have tasked physicists to look into the idea. Whereas a conventional radar searches for objects by detecting pulse…
JPL meets unique challenge, delivers radar hardware for Jupiter mission
Engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory met a significant milestone recently by delivering key elements of an ice-penetrating radar instrument for an ESA (European Space Agency) mission to explore Jupiter and its three large icy moons. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-09-jpl-unique-radar-hardware-jupiter.html…
Are Tesla’s Data-Gathering Cars Secretly Improving Autopilot’s Algorithms?
“When the history of autonomous cars is written, the winner will be Tesla,” speculates long-time technology pundit Robert Cringely. “Heck, I think they’ve already won.” But his article includes a disclaimer that it’s “based pretty much on logic, not knowledge, which is to say I might again be too frigging stupid to read, much less write.” Tesla has more than a…
ESA Awards $153 Million Contract For Its First Planetary Defense Mission
The European Space Agency (ESA) is awarding a $153 million contract to an industry consortium led by German space company OHB. “The contract covers the ‘detailed design, manufacturing and testing’ of a mission codenamed ‘Hera,’ after the Greek goddess of marriage and the hearth, which will support NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirect Test mission and help provide a path towards future planetary…