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This is how a Black Hole devours a Star.

A star was detected being torn apart by a supermassive black hole in a distant galaxy, billions of light years away. This is a simulation of what that might look like using similar parameters as what was detected.

Source: NASA

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Curiosity Rover: Five Years on Mars

The evening of August 5, 2012…five years ago…our Mars Curiosity rover landed on the Red Planet. 

Arriving at Mars at 10:32 p.m. PDT (morning of Aug 6 EDT), this rover would prove to be the most technologically advanced rover ever built.

Curiosity used a series of complicated landing maneuvers never before attempted. 

The specialized landing sequence, which employed a giant parachute, a jet-controlled descent vehicle and a daring “sky crane” maneuver similar to rappelling was devised because testing and landing techniques used during previous rover missions could not safely accommodate the much larger and heavier rover.

Curiosity’s mission: To determine whether the Red Planet ever was, or is, habitable to microbial life.

The car-size rover is equipped with 17 cameras, a robotic arm, specialized instruments and an on-board laboratory.

Let’s explore Curiosity’s top 5 discoveries since she landed on Mars five years ago…

1. Gale Crater had conditions suitable for life about 3.5 billion years ago

In 2013, Curiosity’s analysis of a rock sample showed that ancient Mars could have supported living microbes. Scientists identified sulfur, nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and carbon – some of the key chemical ingredients for life – in the powder Curiosity drilled out of a sedimentary rock near an ancient stream bed in Gale Crater.

Later, in 2014, Curiosity discovered that these conditions lasted for millions of years, perhaps much longer. This interpretation of Curiosity’s findings in Gale Crater suggests ancient Mars maintained a climate that could have produced long-lasting lakes at many locations on the Red Planet.

2. Organic molecules detected at several locations

In 2014, our Curiosity rover drilled into the Martian surface and detected different organic chemicals in the rock powder. This was the first definitive detection of organics in surface materials of Mars. These Martian organics could either have formed on Mars or been delivered to Mars by meteorites. 

Curiosity’s findings from analyzing samples of atmosphere and rock powder do not reveal whether Mars has ever harbored living microbes, but the findings do shed light on a chemically active modern Mars and on favorable conditions for life on ancient Mars.

3. Present and active methane in Mars’ atmosphere

Also in 2014, our Curiosity rover measured a tenfold spike in methane, an organic chemical, in the atmosphere around the planet. This temporary increase in methane tells us there must be some relatively localized source.

Researchers used Curiosity’s onboard Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) laboratory a dozen times in a 20-month period to sniff methane in the atmosphere. During two of those months, in late 2013 and early 2014, four measurements averaged seven parts per billion.

4. Radiation could pose health risks for humans

Measurements taken by our Curiosity rover since launch have provided us with the information needed to design systems to protect human explorers from radiation exposure on deep-space expeditions in the future. Curiosity’s Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) was the first instrument to measure the radiation environment during a Mars cruise mission from inside a spacecraft that is similar to potential human exploration spacecraft.

The findings indicate radiation exposure for human explorers could exceed our career limit for astronauts if current propulsion systems are used. These measurements are being used to better understand how radiation travels through deep space and how it is affected and changed by the spacecraft structure itself. This, along with research on the International Space Station are helping us develop countermeasures to the impacts of radiation on the human body.

5. A thicker atmosphere and more water in Mars past

In 2015, Curiosity discovered evidence that has led scientists to conclude that ancient Mars was once a warmer, wetter place than it is today. 

To produce this more temperate climate, several researchers have suggested that the planet was once shrouded in a much thicker carbon dioxide atmosphere. You may be asking…Where did all the carbon go?

The solar wind stripped away much of Mars’ ancient atmosphere and is still removing tons of it every day. That said, 3.8 billion years ago, Mars might have had a moderately dense atmosphere, with a surface pressure equal to or less than that found on Earth.

Our Curiosity rover continues to explore the Red Planet today. On average, the rover travels about 30 meters per hour and is currently on the lower slope of Mount Sharp.

Get regular updates on the Curiosity mission by following @MarsCuriosity on Twitter.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

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Little Caprice

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Celebrating 10 Years of Revolutionary Solar Views

Twin spacecraft give humanity unprecedented views of the entire sun at one time, traveling to the far side of our home star over the course of a 10-year mission.

These two spacecraft are called STEREO, short for Solar and Terrestrial Relations Observatory. Launched on Oct. 25, 2006, and originally slated for a two-year mission, both spacecraft sent back data for nearly eight years, and STEREO-A still sends information and images from its point of view on the far side of the sun.

STEREO watches the sun from two completely new perspectives. It also provides information invaluable for understanding the sun and its impact on Earth, other worlds, and space itself – collectively known as space weather. On Earth, space weather can trigger things like the aurora and, in extreme cases, put a strain on power systems or damage high-flying satellites.

Because the rest of our sun-watching satellites orbit near our home planet, STEREO’s twin perspectives far from Earth give us a unique opportunity to look at solar events from all sides and understand them in three dimensions.

We use data from STEREO and other missions to understand the space environment throughout the solar system. This helps operators for missions in deep space prepare for the sudden bursts of particles and magnetic field that could pose a danger to their spacecraft. 

STEREO has also helped us understand other objects in our solar system – like comets. Watching how a comet’s tail moves gives us clues about the constant stream of particles that flows out from the sun, called the solar wind.

STEREO is an essential piece of our heliophysics fleet, which includes 17 other missions. Together, these spacecraft shed new light on the sun and its interaction with space, Earth, and other worlds throughout the solar system. 

To celebrate, we’re hosting a Facebook Live event on Wednesday, Oct. 26. Join us at noon ET on the NASA Sun Science Facebook page to learn more about STEREO and ask questions. 

Learn more about how NASA studies the sun at: www.nasa.gov/stereo

Follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

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NASA’s Hubble Spots Possible Water Plumes Erupting on Jupiter's Moon Europa

Astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have imaged what may be water vapor plumes erupting off the surface of Jupiter’s moon Europa. This finding bolsters other Hubble observations suggesting the icy moon erupts with high altitude water vapor plumes.

The observation increases the possibility that missions to Europa may be able to sample Europa’s ocean without having to drill through miles of ice.

“Europa’s ocean is considered to be one of the most promising places that could potentially harbor life in the solar system,” said Geoff Yoder, acting associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. “These plumes, if they do indeed exist, may provide another way to sample Europa’s subsurface.”

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