Collect them all.NASA JPL announced a cosmic milestoneon Monday with the confirmed discovery of more than 5,000 exoplanets. “It’s not just a number,” Exoplanet Archive science leadJessie Christiansen said in a statement. “Each one of them is a new world, a brand new planet. I get excited about every one because we don’t know anything about them.” Scientists aren’t just looking for exoplanets for the fun of it (though it is fun)....

One key requirement of a successful plandid is to not stare into the camera. It has to look casual, like you were unaware of the snapshot. Curiosity has it down. Theoriginal shot shows the rover’s “head” upside-down, with it slightly angled to the side. “I hear ‘plandids’ are all the rage back on Earth. Did I get it right? “the Curiosity team tweetedon Monday. The rover’s selfie was lit only by the sun, giving it a dusky, atmospheric appearance....

At first, the Artemis team was looking at a Sept. 2 do-over date. “Ultimately, the launch director has called a scrub for the day. There was a complication with the rocket’s engines. The culprit: Engine 3 From an audience viewpoint, here’s what went down on Monday. It wasn’t working, as Sarafin explained Tuesday. “So this was the first opportunity for the team to see this live in action. It’s a particularly tricky issue to get that temperature dialed in....

It inflated into a flattened cone shape while in space. It uses high-tech materials to withstand conditions in space and the brutal heat of moving through the atmosphere. It’s not easy coming back down to Earth. It’s a spectacular view. This means Loftid could help deliver larger and heavier payloads to the Martian surface. The recovery crew fished Loftid out of the water. The aeroshell is about 20 feet (6 meters) in diameter....

NASA is temporarily limiting the operation of InSight’s science instruments. There’s a healthy layer of reddish dust coating the array. Mars is a cold and dusty place! The solar arrays are now down to producing 27% of their full capacity when clean. Some of that power needs to go to InSight’s heaters to protect the lander during the Martian winter. The available power will be rationed between the heaters and various science instruments....

I feel very connected toNASA’sCuriosity rover right now. I, too, have detoured from my hiking path to get a closer look at a fascinating rock. ohai weird Mars rock. no that’s ok. You just keep being you. The rover’s team nicknamed the rock “Ilha Novo Destino,” after an island in Brazil. It was intriguing enough to warrant a closer look by Curiosity. The rover has been in the Gale Crater since 2012....

Landing a mission on Mars leaves a mark. The rover arrived on Mars wearing a belly pan, a protective panel for its sampling system. A quick-look mosaic my team pulled together of the belly pan, now on the surface of Mars. Im getting ready to drop the cover that protects my sampling system. The machine will collect samples, seal them in tubes and leave them on the surface. The equipment – including drilling gear and 43 sample containers – is located under the belly of the rover....

NASA’sPerseverance rover captured aMars image on Feb. 16that might look alarming if you don’t know the context. Something definitely made by humans. It’s supposed to be there. The cylindrical object is an abrading bit the rover ditched in July of last year. UFO hoax-busterUFO of Interest highlighted the recent rover pictureearlier this week and tracked down the story behind the object. A proof of ancient aliens as exposed on these days by some UFO grifters?...

The moon is wobbling. There’s really no other way to say it. Scientists identified the tipping points by studying tide gauge locations in the coastal US (excepting Alaska). Information like this could be crucial for coastal inhabitants and planners. But what does the wobbly moon have to do with this? How does the wobble change what’s already occurring? Experts split the moon’s 18.6-year orbit into two halves, or tide cycles....

Space can be a heartbreaker. Commercial space company Astra is still working out some kinks with its rocket system. The launch took place from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. “We had a nominal first stage flight. Tropicsstands for “time-resolved observations of precipitation structure and storm intensity with a constellation of smallsats.” It was designed to use six small satellites to study storm systems in the tropics. Sunday’s mission was scheduled to be the first of three Tropics launches for NASA....

On Saturday morning, NASA scrubbed its second attempt to launch theArtemis I missioninto lunar orbit. This is the second time the Artemis I mission has been delayed. This wasn’t working. Then, NASA redirected efforts to a new solution: pumping the tank with helium. “We did see a small leak, but we did not see one of this magnitude.” In other words, Monday’s leak was manageable, Sarafin said. “This was not a manageable leak....

Maybe even pained, if you listen carefully enough. A galaxy cluster has so much gas that we’ve picked up actual sound. Decades ago, astronomers discovered Perseus' void-like interior sends out pressure waves. Because space is a vacuum, there isn’t any medium for sound waves to travel through. This is why space is often considered totally quiet. But the silence isn’t because cosmic objects aren’tmakingsounds. Their waves just don’t have anything to vibrate....

NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer mission is in jeopardy. It launched on Feb. 27 to send a probe to the moon in search of water. However, performing these actions requires power, and things can get dicey when the power goes out. That’s pretty much what happened with the Lunar Trailblazer. NASA reports thattelemetry from the Lunar Trailblazer showed that it had begun a slow spin. However, the longer the satellite remains unreachable, the more difficult it will be to complete the objective....