NASA says its plan to bring Mars samples back to Earth is safe, but some people are worried

NASA says its plan to bring Mars samples back to Earth is safe, but some people are worried

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Since September, the Perseverance rover has been picking along an ancient river delta on Mars, its robotic arms reaching out with whirling steel drill bits to core rocks, scooping soil and sucking small amounts of the red planet’s atmosphere into titanium tubes. The plan, under NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, calls for a sci-fi symphony of technology that…

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Scientists decipher the unique origins of Earth's minerals in landmark study

Scientists decipher the unique origins of Earth’s minerals in landmark study

Scientists have unlocked the mysterious origins of Earth’s minerals and detailed their diverse formation over billions of years, finding evidence for the role of water and rare elements in their formation, as well as 297 that pre-date our planet’s birth. Nature created 40 percent of Earth’s 5,659 recognized mineral species and in some instances used more than 15 unique recipes to produce their…

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Particle physics isn't going to die — even if the LHC finds no new particles

Particle physics isn’t going to die — even if the LHC finds no new particles

An illustration of events recorded with the CMS detector in 2012 shows characteristics expected from the decay of a Higgs boson (dashed yellow lines) to a pair of photons (green towers).Credit: Thomas McCauley/CMS Collaboration Ten years ago, on 4 July 2012, scientists around the world celebrated the momentous news that researchers had found evidence supporting the existence of the Higgs boson.…

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Search for exoplanets included in China's upcoming space missions

Search for exoplanets included in China’s upcoming space missions

The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has selected candidates for its next round of space missions, which are projected to launch between 2026 and 2030. Out of the 13 missions proposed, it is expected that between five and seven will be chosen for launch, Space News reported. The new missions will be part of CAS’s third Strategic Priority Program (SPP III) project, also known as the New Horizons…

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CERN is about to kick off the Large Hadron Collider on a third run : NPR

CERN is about to kick off the Large Hadron Collider on a third run : NPR

dr Peter Higgs was part of the team that correctly predicted the existence of the Higgs Boson particle over 60 years ago. European Center for Nuclear Research hide caption toggle caption European Center for Nuclear Research Ten years ago, scientists were able to discover the Higgs Boson particle and help make sense of the our universe using the Large Hadron Collider. They did it again in…

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Earth is farthest from the Sun today :: WRAL.com

Earth is farthest from the Sun today :: WRAL.com

By Tony Rice, NASA Ambassador As temperatures rise into the 90s, you might guess that Earth is closer to the Sun now than during the winter months, but the opposite is true. Earth is at aphelion, the farthest point from the Sun in its not-quite-circular orbit, on July 4, 2022. On January 4, we’ll be 3.1 million miles closer at perihelion. Aphelion does have an effect on our weather, but it is not…

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Rare clouds that glow in the dark are seen in upper US, Canada and Europe

Rare clouds that glow in the dark are seen in upper US, Canada and Europe

The rarest clouds on Earth were spotted by sky watchers in parts of western US, Europe and Canada over the weekend a vibrant display that has not been seen in about 15 years. Known as noctilucent, these clouds were glowing a stunning blue in the sky just after the sun moved below the horizon. Reports of the eerie-looking clouds came from Oregon, Washington, Alberta, the UK and…

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Explained: What is the Large Hadron Collider, now readying to seek answers to fundamental questions of particle physics?

Explained: What is the Large Hadron Collider, now readying to seek answers to fundamental questions of particle physics?

The world’s most powerful particle collider, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), will begin smashing protons into each other at unprecedented levels of energy beginning July 5. Scientists will record and analyze the data, which are expected to throw up evidence of “new physics” — or physics beyond the Standard Model of Particle Physics, which explains how the basic building blocks of matter…

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Large Hadron Collider revs up to unprecedented levels of energy - World

Large Hadron Collider revs up to unprecedented levels of energy – World

IN this file photo, members of the media receive a briefing next to the Compact Muon Solenoid detector assembly in a tunnel of the Large Hadron Collider at the European Organization for Nuclear Research in Cessy, France.—AFP PARIS: Ten years after it discovered the Higgs boson, the Large Hadron Collider is about to start smashing protons together at unprecedented energy levels in its quest to…

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My family visited a town where cellphones aren't allowed. Not having service made me a more present parent.

My family visited a town where cellphones aren’t allowed. Not having service made me a more present parent.

Anna Rollins My family visited Watoga State Park in West Virginia, where cellphones aren’t allowed. When trying to send a text message to a friend, I found out that there was no signal. The park is near a large telescope, so the area is considered a quiet zone for devices. We started the summer by taking a trip to the “Quiet Zone.” After a month of shift work, elusive toddler fevers, and…

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James Webb Space Telescope images are so beautiful they bring scientists to tears

James Webb Space Telescope images are so beautiful they bring scientists to tears

NASA’s acclaimed $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope was launched on December 25, 2021, in replacement of the Hubble Space telescope. Nearly seven months after its launch has finally produced images that are, according to NASA, a portrayal that includes the deepest-field views of the universe ever captured! The images expected to be released publicly on 12 July 2022 are astounding, and…

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NASA's CAPSTONE Now Heading to the Moon

NASA’s CAPSTONE Now Heading to the Moon

Conceptual image of CAPSTONE in orbit around the Moon.image: NASA An important milestone has been reached in the newly launched CAPSTONE mission, as the tiny probe, moving in excess of 24,000 miles per hour, has escaped low Earth orbit and begun its four-month trek to the Moon. CAPSTONE, short for Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment, bid…

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Physicists Are Startled By This Magnetic Material That 'Freezes' When Heated

Physicists Are Startled By This Magnetic Material That ‘Freezes’ When Heated

When disordered magnetic materials are cooled to just the right temperature, something interesting happens. The spins of their atoms ‘freeze’ and lock into place in a static pattern, exhibiting cooperative behavior not usually displayed. Now for the first time, physicists have seen the opposite. When fractionally heated, the naturally occurring magnetic element neodymium freezes, turning all our…

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Significant Progress in NASA's Lucy Spacecraft Solar Array Deployment Fix

Significant Progress in NASA’s Lucy Spacecraft Solar Array Deployment Fix

NASA’s Lucy spacecraft deploying its solar arrays. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Beginning on May 6 and continuing through June 16,[{” attribute=””>NASA’s Lucy mission team carried out a multi-stage effort intended to further deploy the spacecraft’s unlatched solar array.Throughout the meticulous process, the team commanded the spacecraft to operate the array’s deployment motor for…

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NASA's CAPSTONE Now Heading to the Moon

NASA’s CAPSTONE Now Heading to the Moon

Conceptual image of CAPSTONE in orbit around the Moon.image: NASA An important milestone has been reached in the newly launched CAPSTONE mission, as the tiny probe, moving in excess of 24,000 miles per hour, has escaped low Earth orbit and begun its four-month trek to the Moon. CAPSTONE, short for Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment, bid…

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Physicists Create Continuous Time Crystal for the First Time

Physicists Create Continuous Time Crystal for the First Time

Researchers observe continuous time crystal for the first time. (Artist’s concept.) Scientists have succeeded for the first time in realizing a time crystal that spontaneously breaks continuous time translation symmetry. The researchers, from the Institute of Laser Physics at the University of Hamburg, reported their observation in a study published on June 9, 2022, in the journal Science. The…

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Harvard Scientists Develop a Method To Restore Damaged Tendons and Muscles

Harvard Scientists Develop a Method To Restore Damaged Tendons and Muscles

After the use of their tissue platform, the researchers observed regeneration of tissues and shoulder function recovery. The new complex tissue platform can restore damaged rotator cuffs The typical office worker often has soreness throughout their body as a result of their sedentary desk jobs. Even young individuals may develop shoulder pain, which was previously primarily an issue for elderly…

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