Space Probes

Blogs about space probes: launch and operations.

Magnetite particles cut from an asteroid Ryugu's sample

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An article published in the journal “Nature Communications” reports the results of tests conducted on samples from the asteroid Ryugu brought back to Earth by the Japanese space agency JAXA’s Hayabusa 2 space probe. A team of researchers led by Professor Yuki Kimura of Hokkaido University found traces of the effects probably caused by the bombardment of micrometeorites.

In particular, the technique called electron holography made it possible to discover that the tiny grains called framboids, composed of magnetite, completely lost the magnetic properties they normally have. According to Professor Kimura, this type of study can also be useful for estimating the degradation caused by interplanetary dust on spacecraft.

Io as seen by the Juno space probe (Image NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS. Image processing: Gerald Eichstädt/Thomas Thomopoulos (CC BY))

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At the European Geophysical Union General Assembly held in Vienna last week, NASA’s Juno mission principal investigator Scott Bolton illustrated some new discoveries offered by the Juno space probe, including some regarding Io, Jupiter’s volcano-covered moon. Io was also studied by a team of researchers who used the ALMA radio telescope to map the movements of sulfur isotopes and reconstruct the tidal heating that generates the intense volcanic activity. The results were published in an article in the journal “Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets”.

Artist's concept of the impact of a dwarf planet on Pluto (Image courtesy University of Bern, Illustration: Thibaut Roger)

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An article published in the journal “Nature Astronomy” offers an explanation for the formation of the large and deep basin known as Sputnik Planitia on Pluto with its characteristic heart shape. A team of scientists coordinated by the Swiss University of Bern created computer simulations that indicate that the depression that is some kilometers deep could have been generated by an impact with an object with a diameter of around 700 kilometers that occurred at an oblique angle and was relatively slow. The results of these simulations also suggest that Pluto likely doesn’t have a subsurface ocean of liquid water, unlike other studies.

Dantu crater on the dwarf planet Ceres (Image courtesy Maria Cristina De Sanctis et al., Communications Earth & Environment, 2024)

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An article published in the journal “Communications Earth & Environment” reports the discovery of ammonium-rich areas in the famous bright spots on the dwarf planet Ceres. A team of researchers composed of Maria Cristina De Sanctis, Filippo Giacomo Carrozzo, Mauro Ciarniello, Simone De Angelis, Marco Ferrari, Alessandro Frigeri, and Andrea Raponi from the Italian National Institute of Astrophysics’ Institute of Space Astrophysics and Planetology in Rome and Eleonora Ammanito of the Italian Space Agency examined data collected by NASA’s Dawn space probe focusing on Dantu crater to identify these compounds, which include a new ammonium salt.

Artist's impression of a dust-generating Kuiper Belt collision (Image courtesy Dan Durda, FIAAA)

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An article published in “The Astrophysical Journal Letters” reports a study of the presence of dust in the Kuiper Belt which suggests that it may be much more extended than previously thought or that there’s a second Belt outside the known one. A team of researchers used detections conducted with NASA’s New Horizons space probe’s Venetia Burney Student Dust Counter (VBSDC, or simply SDC) instrument to support these possibilities. That’s because current models indicate that dust density should decrease in the area where New Horizons is traveling, where detections are higher than expected.