At a press conference, NASA presented the new catalog of exoplanet candidates produced thanks to the observations of its Kepler space telescope. Exoplanet candidates are a total of 4,034 of which 2,335 have been confirmed as actually existing. There are 219 new candidates, of which 10 might be similar to Earth and at the same time be in their solar system’s habitable zone.
An article published in the journal “Earth and Planetary Science Letters” describes a study of the first samples taken in the lower layers of Mount Sharp on Mars by NASA’s Mars Rover Curiosity. A team of scientists in the ARES Division at NASA’s Johnson Space Center compared the minerals found in the first samples analyzed, which show the different environmental conditions that existed over time.
A little while ago the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft was captured by the robotic arm Canadarm2 on the International Space Station. Jack Fischer, assisted by his colleague Peggy Whitson, managed the operation then started moving the Dragon to the berthing point at the Harmony module. The cargo spacecraft blasted off last Saturday.
A few hours ago SpaceX Dragon spacecraft blasted off atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral in its CRS-11 (Cargo Resupply Service 11) mission, also referred to as SPX-11. After just over ten minutes it separated successfully from the rocket’s last stage and went en route. This is the 11th mission for the Dragon spacecraft to resupply the International Space Station with various cargoes and then return to Earth, again with various cargoes.
An article published in the journal “Geophysical Research Letters” describes a research on silica halos discovered in the lower areas of the northern slopes of Aeolis Mons in the Gale Crater on Mars. A team of researchers led by Jens Frydenvang used the information gathered by NASA’s Mars Rover Curiosity to try to figure out for how long there was liquid water, concluding that the needed conditions lasted longer than expected.
