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The mission always had uncertainties. “If an asteroid were constructed as a monolithic rock, similar to the rocks we find on the ground, the deflection and calculations would be straightforward,” Peter Veres, an astronomer at the Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian, who was not involved in the study, tells Smithsonian magazine in an email. “Instead, we already knew from ground-based observations and several space missions that asteroids are often rubble piles—loosely aggregated spheres of large and small boulders, dust and sometimes ice, with numerous empty spaces.” Hitting one of these asteroids, Veres says, is almost more like striking a sponge than a rock, and it’s harder to predict the impact’s results.

Swift’s team shared their surprising new research at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society in June and posted a preprint of their paper on the online server Arxiv in August. According to Veres, the team relied on a widely used method and gathered enough data points to conclude that Dimorphos’ orbit is degrading.

As for why this may be happening, scientists only have guesses so far. One idea is that Dimorphos was once tidally locked to Didymos—meaning that, like Earth’s moon, the same side of the satellite always faced its host. But now, after the DART mission, this alignment might have been broken, causing Dimorphos to tumble around as the system’s tidal forces change its orbit. If this is the case, Veres says, Dimorphos will likely settle back into a tidally locked state over time.

Rubio surpassed the U.S. space endurance record of 355 days on Monday at the International Space Station. He arrived at the outpost last September with two Russians for a routine six months. But their stay was doubled after their Soyuz capsule developed a coolant leak while parked at the space station.

The trio will return to Earth on Sept. 27 in a replacement capsule that was sent up empty for the ride home. By then, Rubio will have spent 371 days in space, more than two weeks longer than Mark Vande Hei, the previous U.S. record holder for a single spaceflight. Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov holds the world record of 437 days, set in the mid-1990s.

India’s Chandrayaan-3 moon lander, which is currently hibernating, showed up in fresh images taken by the nation’s Chandrayaan-2 lunar orbiter.

There are quirks at the far edge of our solar system, in the form of disturbed objects in the Kuiper belt. One explanation: Planet Nine.

Carbon-based molecules, such as methane and carbon dioxide, have been detected in the atmosphere of a possibly ocean-bearing exoplanet.

Carbon-based molecules have been discovered in the atmosphere of a possibly ocean-bearing exoplanet by the cutting-edge James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

The exoplanet K2-18b is found in the habitable zone of the red dwarf star K2-18, around 120 light-years distant from Earth in the constellation Leo.

Astronomers have been observing and studying Mars for centuries, but the systematic mapping of Mars began in the 19th century.

Maps have played an essential role in helping us better comprehend our home planet. These tools visually represent the Earth’s surface features, allowing us to navigate, study geography, monitor changes, and conduct scientific studies.

As space organizations prepare to make humanity an interplanetary species, it is critical to sketch and construct a Mars map for better exploration and possible habitation.

Rubio has spent more than 355 days aboard the ISS and will spend more than a year aboard the space station before returning to Earth.

NASA astronaut Frank Rubio now holds the record for the American who has flown the longest space mission in US history.

Continue reading “New single spaceflight record holder: NASA’s Frank Rubio” »

On Earth, only living things make dimethyl sulfide molecules. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope just found hints of it in another world.

Space probes that have been launched from Earth currently cannot self-determine their locations in space. To know where they are, they first need to receive signals from Earth which they then bounce back. The signals are then received back on Earth and specially designed clocks then compute the time taken for the signals to travel back. Based on the calculated time, the location of the probe is determined and then communicated back to the probe.