Artist concept of Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Image credit: NASA/JPL Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mission Status Report NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is switching from one motion-sensing device to a duplicate unit onboard. The veteran orbiter relies on th... More »
The California Assembly’s Governmental Organization Committee approved a bill Wednesday that would rely upon Caltech and UC Berkeley for a statewide early warning earthquake system. State Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Van Nuys, authored the bill that would task several... More »
From printing out a replacement foot for a duck to a human bone or car parts or even a mini statue of yourself, the world of 3D printing continues to move rapidly into the future with endless possibilities. Diego Porqueras stepped boldly into the 3D printing w... More »
One of the many counterintuitive and bizarre insights of quantum mechanics is that even in a vacuum—what many of us think of as an empty void—all is not completely still. Low levels of noise, known as quantum fluctuations, are always present. Always, that ... More »
This artist’s concept shows a simulated view from the surface of Jupiter’s moon Europa. Europa’s potentially rough, icy surface, tinged with reddish areas that scientists hope to learn more about, can be seen in the foreground. The giant planet Jupiter looms o... More »
This self-portrait of NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity combines 66 exposures taken by the rover’s Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) during the 177th Martian day, or sol, of Curiosity’s work on Mars (Feb. 3, 2013). Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS Where were you when... More »
JPL’s Curiosity rover will mark one year on Mars next week and has already achieved its main science goal of revealing ancient Mars could have supported life. The mobile laboratory also is guiding designs for future planetary missions. “Successes of our Curios... More »
This scene combines seven images from the telephoto-lens camera on the right side of the Mast Camera (Mastcam) instrument on NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity. The component images were taken between 11:39 and 11:43 a.m., local solar time, on 343rd Martian day, or s... More »
In this artist’s impression, a disk of dusty material leftover from star formation girds two young stars like a hula hoop. As the two stars whirl around each other, they periodically peek out from the disk, making the system appear to “blink” every 93 days. Im... More »
This image from the floor of the Atlantic Ocean shows a collection of limestone towers known as the “Lost City.” Alkaline hydrothermal vents of this type are suggested to be the birthplace of the first living organisms on the ancient Earth. Scientists are inte... More »
A former Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientist who spent nine years in Pasadena has been named NASA Chief Scientist effective Aug. 25. Planetary geologist Ellen Stofan, who held a number of senior scientist positions in NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasade... More »
Scientific authorities on the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) project announced on Friday that they have now signed a master agreement formalizing project goals and providing a governing framework for the international collaboration. TMT is a partnership among Ca... More »
