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On this day in space! Oct. 19, 2016: Europe's ExoMars orbiter and Schiaparelli lander arrive at Mars

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On Oct. 19, 2016, the European Space Agency's ExoMars mission arrived at Mars ! ExoMars 2016 consists of the Trace Gas Orbiter and the Schiaparelli lander. The orbiter and lander traveled there together and separated on Oct. 16, three days before the orbiter entered orbit around Mars , and the lander touched down on the planet's surface. But something went wrong during the lander's descent, and it crashed into the ground. Schiaparelli did not survive the accident , but the Trace Gas Orbiter is still functional. It is currently circling the planet, looking for methane and other gases in the Martian atmosphere that could be evidence for possible biological activity. Artist’s illustration showing the separation of the ExoMars 2016 entry, descent and landing demonstrator module, named Schiaparelli, from the Trace Gas Orbiter, and heading for Mars. (Image credit: ESA) Why it mattered Exo...
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The moon is shrinking. 10,000 cracks on the lunar surface reveal by how much

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The moon is shrinking, and scientists are narrowing in on exactly how much our natural satellite has dwindled over the years. The moon is thought to have formed from a violent collision between a massive object and our young Earth roughly 4.5 billion years ago, and its interior is still gradually cooling off from this ancient collision. As it cools, the moon contracts, leading to a long, slow shrinking process . Now, in a new study, scientists think that they have figured out how much smaller the moon is actually getting. In this new study, scientists analyzing images snapped by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) have spotted over 10,000 young faults, or cracks across the moon's surface. This helped them to figure out how much the moon has contracted over time, and they now estimate that the moon's radius has decreased by about 148 feet (45 meters) over the past 400 to 800 mi...
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Fatty liver disease is actually five different conditions, scientists discover

A common liver disease affecting nearly 30% of adults worldwide may be far more complicated than scientists previously realized. Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered that fatty liver disease actually consists of five distinct biological subtypes, each carrying different risks for liver failure, cancer, heart disease, and other serious complications. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/BicnEw8
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Did a giant object collide with Earth to form the moon?

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For as long as humans have watched the night sky, we have wondered about the moon , pondering everything from its alien appearance to its influence over phenomena on Earth such as ocean tides, climate stability, and even the natural rhythms of many organisms. Among the many questions we have about Earth's lone natural satellite, one remains preeminent: what are the moon's origins , and how long has it orbited Earth? Today, the leading theory among astronomers is that deep in our planet's past — perhaps within roughly the first 100 million years of solar system history — Earth collided with a planet-sized object, creating the moon within a period that may have been as short as just a few hours . Known as the giant-impact hypothesis, this proposed event involves a hypothetical Mars-sized protoplanet astronomers call Theia. The material ejected into orbit by the powerful impact in q...
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Japan launching bold sample-return mission to Mars moon Phobos today: Watch it live

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Japan will launch an epic mission to Mars today (Oct. 19), and you can watch the action live. The Martian Moons eXploration ( MMX ) mission is scheduled to lift off atop an H3 rocket from Japan's Tanegashima Space Center today at 3:41 p.m. EDT (1941 GMT; 4:41 a.m. on Oct. 20 local Japan time). You can watch it live via the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Coverage will begin at 2:45 p.m. EDT (1845 GMT). An artist’s concept of JAXA’s MMX spacecraft during its Mars orbit insertion. The Martian moon Phobos, which MMX will explore and sample, is in the background. (Image credit: JAXA) As its full name suggests, MMX will focus on Mars ' two moons, Phobos and Deimos . They're both tiny compared to Earth's own moon; Phobos is just 14 miles (22 kilometers) wide, and Deimos is even smaller, with a diameter of about 8 miles (13 km). They're also quite mysterious. While astr...
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Returning samples from a Mars moon: Inside the science of Japan's bold MMX mission

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Japan's mission to Mars is one of the most ambitious in spaceflight history. It aims to become the first spacecraft to return to Earth from Mars orbit, carrying with it the first-ever samples from the Red Planet system. The mission, known as Martian Moons eXploration (MMX), is a first-of-its-kind endeavor to study the origin of Mars' moons Phobos and Deimos. The robust undertaking includes a landing on Phobos to collect the samples — which will likely be the first from the Mars system to return to Earth — and a search for evidence that could shed light on events during the formation of the solar system billions of years ago. MMX is scheduled to launch on an H3 rocket from Japan's Tanegashima Space Center on Monday (Oct. 19) at 3:41 p.m. EDT (1941 GMT; 4:41 a.m. local time in Japan, Oct. 20). After a 10-month journey to reach Mars, the spacecraft will spend about three years stud...
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NASA discovers hidden fires burning beneath the Amazon rainforest

El Niño is fueling a dangerous cascade of wildfires across the tropics, with the Amazon rainforest now experiencing widespread burning and scientists warning that the worst may still be ahead. NASA researchers are uncovering dozens of previously undetected fires, suggesting the destruction could be even more extensive than satellite records show. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/ExAHdPk
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