[SwRI] A new Southwest Research Institute-led study proposes a solution to a long-standing puzzle in planetary science — what caused the concentration, assembly and preservation of millimeter-sized, spherical mineral grains […]
SWRI
Posted inInterstellar
New Horizons Extends Key Observations Of Interstellar Material Slowing The Solar Wind
[SwRI] A new Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) study based on data from NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft has uncovered fascinating insights into why the solar wind gradually slows as it moves […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Comets and Asteroids, Europa, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Missions & Hardware, Press Release
Two Spacecraft Observed Both Hemispheres Of Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Simultaneously
The Southwest Research Institute-led Ultraviolet Spectrograph (UVS) instruments aboard ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) spacecraft and NASA’s Europa Clipper made unique observations of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS in late 2025. […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Callisto, Europa, Ganymede, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Io, Jupiter, Press Release
New Insights Into The Potential For Life In The Jovian System
Southwest Research Institute was part of an international team that demonstrated how complex organic molecules (COMs), key chemical precursors to life, could have been incorporated into Jupiter’s Galilean moons during […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Callisto, Europa, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Io, Jupiter, Press Release
The Water Makeup Of Jupiter’s Galilean Moons Was Set At Birth
While Io, the most volcanically active moon in the solar system, appears completely dry and devoid of water ice, its neighbor Europa is thought to harbor a vast global ocean […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Intelligence & Language, Press Release
New SwRI Laboratory To Study The Origins Of Planetary Systems
Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has created a new space science laboratory to enhance our understanding of the origins of planetary systems. SwRI’s Nebular Origins of the Universe Research (NOUR) Laboratory […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Press Release
Europa Clipper Instrument Uniquely Observed Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS
SwRI-led Ultraviolet Spectrograph viewed 3I/ATLAS both when and where most other assets could not.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Press Release
SwRI Researchers Use PUNCH To Track Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS
A Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) project is using data from NASA’s Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) spacecraft to track the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release
Methane Gas Discovered On Makemake
A Southwest Research Institute-led team has reported the first detection of gas on the distant dwarf planet Makemake, using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). This discovery makes Makemake only […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Interstellar, Missions & Hardware, Press Release
SwRI-proposed Mission Could Encounter And Explore A Future Interstellar Comet Like3I/ATLAS Up Close
Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has completed a mission study detailing how a proposed spacecraft could fly by an interstellar comet, providing remarkable insights into the properties of bodies originating beyond […]