Astronomers found signs of the youngest exoplanet ever. Called Elias 2-24 b, the world, if confirmed, orbits within a gap in a disk of gas and dust around its host star. The planet would be approximately one million years old and roughly as massive as Jupiter. If the Sun were the equivalent of a middle-aged adult, this infant world would be just three days old. Image credit: W. M. Keck Observatory / Adam Makarenko.
NASA may break its promise to contribute to a European mission to Venus. The Envision spacecraft, which could launch as soon as 2031 to orbit Venus, was originally planned five years ago in partnership with NASA. Now, Anne Grete Straume, Envision’s project scientist, says that NASA is unlikely to come through with a key instrument for the mission.
The Nancy Grace Roman Telescope may have just doubled its lifetime. NASA’s latest flagship observatory, which launched on Aug. 30, may arrive at its final orbit with enough fuel to operate for a full 22 years — far more than earlier hopes of a five-year primary mission and a possible five-year extension after that. The bonus comes from the spacecraft being lighter than originally planned, as well as an extremely precise launch and engine burn.
Most of the Artemis II crew have hung up their spacesuits. The mission’s commander and pilot, Reid Wiseman and Victor Glover, each recently announced their retirement as astronauts. Both will continue to help mentor NASA workers as emeritus astronauts. Mission specialist Jeremy Hansen also retired from the Canadian Space Agency in July. Of the Artemis II crew, Christina Koch is now the only active astronaut.