Lifeboat Foundation

Astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have conducted the first spectroscopic…survey of the Earth-sized planets (d, e, f, and g) within the habitable zone around the nearby star TRAPPIST-1. This study is a follow-up to Hubble observations made in May 2016 of the atmospheres of the inner TRAPPIST-1 planets b and c. Hubble reveals that at least three of the exoplanets (d, e, and f) do not seem to contain puffy, hydrogen-rich atmospheres similar to gaseous planets such as Neptune…at: https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/…/hubble-probes-atmospheres-of…/

NASA’s Exoplanet Exploration Program, the search for planets and life beyond our solar system.

Speculating about the geological record of a technologically advanced civilization may help in the search for alien societies and poses an important question about our own future on earth.

The planets are rocky and 1.75 times the size of Earth, and are being referred to as ‘super-Earths’ or ‘mini-Neptunes’.

NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, TESS for short, will add a powerful new tool to the hunt for Earth-like planets. Here’s how scientists are going about identifying habitable exoplanets.

NASA’s new satellite will hunt for alien worlds.

On Monday, April 16, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) will launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. NASA’s new exoplanet hunter will train its sights on nearer, brighter stars than its predecessors did. If TESS lives up to scientists’ predictions, it could energize our search for life in the cosmos.

When the Kepler space telescope launched in 2009, scientists didn’t know what fraction of stars hosted planets. The Kepler mission was a statistical exploration looking to see how frequently planets occur around stars, Harvard astronomer David Latham told Space.com. “One of the big surprises from Kepler was to find this whole population of planets with sizes between that of Neptune and Earth — and there aren’t any in our solar system, zero — and they’re everywhere out there,” said Latham, who’s worked on the Kepler project for nearly 20 years.

“Kepler is what made us become aware that planets are as common as telephone poles,” SETI Institute astronomer Seth Shostak told Space.com.” But the stars that Kepler was staring at for four years … they were all somewhere between 500 and 1,500 light-years away.” TESS will survey the local neighborhood for planets like Earth. [NASA’s TESS Exoplanet-Hunter in Pictures].

Continue reading “NASA’s TESS Satellite Will Supercharge Search for Nearby, Earth-Like Worlds” »

How close are we really to space travel? Our featured contributor Lola Akinmade Åkerström talks to Space Nation, a company that’s researching both space tourism and how space technology can help us on Earth.

Thanks to Google, it can often feel like there are no mysterious places left on earth to explore—and finding new places to call the ‘final’ frontier seems increasingly difficult. Even the Pacific Ocean’s Marianna Trench, at over 36,000 feet deep and arguably the most legit final frontier on earth, has been explored by Hollywood director James Cameron in a submersible. As a result, the past few decades have seen us looking upwards to the most mysterious of places: Our own galaxy.

Blockbuster movies set in space and fictional alien encounters continue to intrigue us. Space discovery programs on TV science channels continually pique our curiosity. Even kids’ cartoons such as the 1960s American series The Jetsons brought the concept of commercial space travel closer to us, thanks to its flying space cars, pod-like apartments, and a robot maid called Rosie.

This week and next, I’ll be visiting the Sonos stores in New York City (4÷12) and London (4÷17) for a free listening party celebrating the Voyager Golden Record, the iconic message for extraterrestrials launched into space 40 years ago. I’ll do a short multimedia presentation about this inspiring artifact and we’ll play the first ever vinyl release of the Voyager Golden Record that I co-produced with my friends Tim Daly and Lawrence Azerrad. Admission is free. No tickets remain for the New York City event but depending on the number of “no shows,” there may be availability at the door. And if you’re in London, please do RSVP right here! I hope to see you!