Ariel, ESA’s next-generation mission to observe the chemical makeup of distant exoplanets, has passed a major milestone after successfully completing its payload Preliminary Design Review (PDR).
ESA
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release
Webb Sees Carbon-rich Dust Grains In The First Billion Years Of Cosmic Time
For the first time, the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has observed the chemical signature of carbon-rich dust grains at redshift ~ 7 [1], which is roughly equivalent to one […]
Posted inAstronauts and Explorers, Away Teams & Field Reports, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Fossils & Paleontology, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Moon, Press Release, Tricorders & Sensors
ESA Astronauts Practice Lunar Away Team Missions In Norway
Two European astronauts are following the traces of a treasure trove of rare, Moon-like crystals in a Norwegian fjord as part of the PANGAEA geology training course.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release
Webb Makes First Detection Of Crucial Carbon Molecule Methyl Cation (CH3+) In A Planet-forming Disc
An international team of scientists have used data collected by the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope to detect a molecule [1] known as the methyl cation (CH3+) for the first […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Neptune, Press Release
Cheops Explores Mysterious Warm Mini-Neptunes
ESA’s exoplanet mission Cheops confirmed the existence of four warm exoplanets orbiting four stars in our Milky Way. These exoplanets have sizes between Earth and Neptune and orbit their stars […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release
Webb Reveals Details About Exoplanet GJ 1214 b, A Mini-Neptune
After almost 15 years of futile efforts, an international team of researchers involving the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy has determined some of the atmosphere’s properties of the exoplanet GJ […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release
Webb Finds Water Vapor, But From A Rocky Planet Or Its Star?
Astronomers used the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope to study a rocky exoplanet known as GJ 486 b. It is too close to its star to be within the habitable […]
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Callisto, Europa, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
JUICE Leaves Earth On An Astrobiology Expedition To Jupiter’s Ocean Moons
ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) lifted off on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana at 14:14 CEST on 14 April. The successful launch marks the […]
Posted inCallisto, Europa, Ganymede, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Jupiter, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Spotlight On Ganymede, JUICE’s Primary Target
A key focus of ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) will be Ganymede: Jupiter’s largest moon, and an ideal natural laboratory for studying the icy worlds of the Solar System.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release, TRAPPIST-1
Webb Measures The Temperature Of Rocky Exoplanet TRAPPIST-1 b
An international team of researchers has used the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope to measure the temperature of the rocky exoplanet TRAPPIST-1 b.