January 11, 2020

A 17-Year-Old NASA Intern Just Discovered a Brand New Planet (Source: BGR)
I don’t know about you, but when I was 17 years old, I wasn’t doing very much planet-hunting. Wolf Cukier of Scarsdale High School is different. Not only was he accepted as an intern at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center after his junior year, but he also managed to make a name for himself just three days into his NASA work by spotting a planet that nobody ever even knew existed. What’s even more incredible is that this new world is unlike any that astronomers have ever seen. It’s orbiting not one, but two stars at the same time. (1/10)

All-Female Crew Sets Off for Historic 'Mars' Mission (Source: Space.com)
This past Saturday (Jan. 4) in Hawaii, on the remote slopes of Mauna Loa, the largest volcano in the world, six scientists embarked on a historic "mission to Mars."  Analog astronaut missions place scientists and explorers in remote locations on Earth that physically resemble cosmic destinations like the moon and Mars. There, the researchers explore and perform research as if they were in space. This both generates important scientific data and informs space agencies about what it might be like to step foot on those far-off surfaces.

One such crew of analog astronauts set off this weekend on Sensoria I, the inaugural outing in the Sensoria project. This series of missions will take place at HI-SEAS (the Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation), an analog Mars habitat for human researchers. Sensoria I will last from Jan. 4 to Jan. 18, when the crew will emerge from the "Martian" habitat. The Sensoria program is unique for a number of reasons, but one that stands is that this is the first HI-SEAS crew to consist of all women. (1/10)

NASA Graduates Its Newest Class of Astronauts (Source: SpaceFlight Insider)
A very engaged audience of friends, family, program colleagues and political representatives came together at NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC) this morning, gathering to witness and celebrate the graduation of the 2017 NASA Astronaut Class. The thirteen hard-working men and women, who have each been under training for just over two years, entered the auditorium as Astronaut Candidates (ASCANs), but were soon celebrated and individually recognized as becoming, “our latest astronaut.” (1/10)

Hispasat Orders GEO Satellite From Thales Alenia Space (Source: Space News)
Hispasat purchased a satellite from Thales Alenia Space Jan. 10, marking the operator’s first satellite order since being acquired by Spanish power company Red Eléctrica last year. Thales Alenia Space will build a new satellite called Amazonas Nexus, designed with Ku-band coverage over both American continents, plus Greenland and North Atlantic transportation routes. Hispasat and Thales Alenia Space signed the manufacturing contract in Madrid. (1/10)

DoD Wants Army, Navy To Join Space Force; May Ask Congress For Help (Source: Breaking Defense)
Top Pentagon officials are hammering out a legislative proposal to Congress to bring personnel from the Army, Navy and Marines into the newly inaugurated Space Force. DoD and military sources say Air Force Maj. Gen. Clint Crosier, charged by Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett with planning how to flesh out the nascent Space Force, is crafting the plan, that will ultimately be sent to Defense Secretary Mark Esper. The Army and the Navy Department maintain significant space capabilities and forces that so far are barred from Space Force integration under the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), signed by President Trump.

If approved, these sources say, the proposal then would be sent to Congress — with a particular eye to convincing the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), which has been skeptical about the whole idea of a Space Force. Breaking D readers know that it was SASC language in the 2020 NDAA that limits DoD to transferring only Air Force billets to Space Force, and bans the creation of any new ones. Republican SASC Chair Jim Inhofe’s goal is to have the 2021 NDAA approved by Memorial Day, his spokesperson confirmed today. (1/10)

A Giant Wave of Gas Lurks Near Our Solar System (Source: Science News)
The Earth and sun are right next to a wavy rope of star-forming gas, but astronomers only just noticed it. Many of the most well-known nearby stellar nurseries — places like the Orion Nebula — are actually strung along a continuous thread of gas that stretches roughly 9,000 light-years, researchers report. The thread resembles a sine wave, soaring above and below the disk of the galaxy by about 500 light-years, and at one point, coming within 1,000 light-years of our solar system. (1/10)

Dark Matter Can Form Tiny, Cold 'Clumps.' Scientists Have Found the Smallest Ones Yet (Source: Space.com)
It turns out that dark matter forms smaller "clumps" than scientists thought, confirming a fundamental prediction about the mysterious substance. Dark matter is the invisible stuff that is said to make up about 27% of all of the mass in the universe. Though researchers cannot directly observe dark matter because it doesn't emit light or energy, scientists think it dominates all of outer space — and even Earth. It may sound weird, but dark matter gets "clumpy."

A recent study, which used a new observation technique with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, provides incredible evidence for the "cold dark matter" theory and shows how the mysterious stuff forms smaller clumps than scientists previously thought. "We made a very compelling observational test for the cold dark matter model, and it passes with flying colors," Tommaso Treu, a professor in the Division of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of California, Los Angeles and a member of the team that made the Hubble observations, said in the NASA statement.

To indirectly observe and study dark matter, researchers use the effects of gravity in nearby stars and galaxies to detect dark matter and glean information about it. Previously, researchers have found evidence of clumps of dark matter near large and medium-size galaxies, but the clumps found in these new observations are the smallest ever detected. (1/10)

Rare Salt Formations in Utah Could Offer Clues About Life on Mars (Source: Guardian)
Rare salt formations have been documented for the first time on the shores of the Great Salt Lake, and they could yield insights about salt structures found on Mars before they disappear for good. They’re showing up now in part because water levels at the largest natural lake west of the Mississippi have been lowered by drought and water diversion, exposing more shoreline. It’s a story that’s playing out throughout the American west as a growing population puts more demand on scarce water resources.

Along with the high-salinity waters of Great Salt Lake, the expanded shoreline means there are more places where water can bubble up to the surface from warm, sulfate-rich springs. When it hits the cold air, a mineral called Glauber’s salt, or mirabilite, separates out. (1/10)

NASA Turns to UCF to Solve Space Exploration Problem (Source: WFTV)
NASA is facing a problem when it comes to space exploration and has turned to the University of Central Florida to help solve its problem. UCF just scored a big grant from NASA to develop what the agency calls a high-risk, high payoff space technology to explore distant worlds. NASA is turning to UCF researchers to figure out how to power spacecraft farther. Currently, NASA relies on Russia for space flight based on plutonium.

Most spacecraft, like the Voyager missions, that explore the solar system use plutonium. NASA wanted another solution so UCF researchers are turning to chemical energy to be able to power spacecraft farther. Researchers are developing a silicon solution that will maintain a constant heat source and produce electrical energy, whether in the scorching temperatures of Venus or the icy realm of Jupiter’s moons. UCF was chosen in part, because NASA needed it to “accelerate innovation for critical space technologies.” (1/9)