Sometimes we see things from orbit that we can’t explain right away. Until recently, scientists weren’t sure what caused the spider-like formations seen on Mars’ southern hemisphere by spacecraft like the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Now, NASA scientists have been able to create similar patterns by recreating processes involving carbon dioxide ice, which occurs naturally on Mars. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona.
There were a record number of people in space last week. A total of 19 people were in Earth orbit between Sept. 11 and 15. This included 12 people on the International Space Station, three Chinese taikonauts on China’s Tiangong-3 space station, and four private astronauts on the Polaris Dawn mission.
NASA is evaluating proposals to keep the VIPER lunar mission alive. The Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover was abruptly canceled in July despite being fully built. NASA cited budget issues as the reason for the cancellation but is now reviewing proposals from companies and international partners to take over the program.
Earth is going to get a new mini-moon, but only temporarily. Observations of the recently discovered near-Earth asteroid 2024 PT5 suggest that its horseshoe-shaped orbit around the Sun will take it close enough to Earth to be captured by our gravity on Sept. 29, making it a mini-moon. It won’t enter into orbit around Earth, though, and will leave our gravitational pull on Nov. 25.
Earth may once have had a ring. Researchers examining the locations of impact craters from a period of intense bombardment 466 million years ago have found an unexpected clustering of craters in areas that would have been near the equator at the time, prior to the continents shifting to their current locations. The researchers suggest that the impactors may have come from a debris ring that could have formed around Earth following the break-up of an asteroid during a near-miss encounter.