Feed aggregator
Building in Space With Laser "Origami"
University of Florida researchers are exploring how lasers could help astronauts build structures on the moon using materials already available there, including lunar soil transformed into glass. The work, led by Victoria M. Miller, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering and researcher with the UF Astraeus Space Institute, recently completed a research phase focused on laser forming, a manufacturing process that bends materials without physical contact.
On The Hunt For Cosmic Dawn And The Universe’s Very First Stars
After decades of searches, cosmologists are within reach of finding cosmic dawn. A longtime observational cosmologist explains.
Curiosity Blog: Sols 4913-4919: Planetary explorers, freewheeling to the Yardang unit!
- Curiosity Home
- Science
- News and Features
- Multimedia
- Mars Missions
- Mars Home
3 min read
Curiosity Blog: Sols 4913-4919: Planetary explorers, freewheeling to the Yardang unit! Navcam image from sol 4916 showing the rough drive direction. The yardang unit can be seen as a series of pale coloured hills in the centre of the image, at the very back. NASA/JPL-Caltech
Written by Catherine O’Connell-Cooper, APXS Strategic Planner and Payload Uplink/Downlink Lead, University of New Brunswick, Canada
Earth planning day: Friday, June 5th, 2026
In a very broad sense, Curiosity has two modes of doing science – one centred around a defined science campaign (such as the recent boxwork campaign) and the other as we move between campaigns. During a science campaign, with a very defined start and end location, every image and every workspace is carefully choregraphed to make sure we hit all of our science goals for the campaign. This is a lot of pressure!
But in between campaigns, the emphasis moves to driving towards the next major campaign. Our next major stop is the yardang unit, a series of intriguing wind sculpted, pale coloured hills which you can just see in the distance in the cover image for this blog. The rover planners (RPs) sometimes make our drives as long as they can and we drive as far as we can go, other times we stop a little short to look at interesting looking workspaces as we go. As part of the APXS team, I loved being part of the boxwork campaign and getting all the information we needed there … but as a geologist, there is something very special about this kind of exploring, the sense of being a planetary explorer, ambling along to see what the rocks will show us.
So we continue southwards, trundling over laminated bedrock which varies from predominantly pale coloured laminated bedrock to bands with abundant thin flaky, darker coloured, layers and patches. Some of the rocks stick out at strange angles, which make planning drives more challenging. This past week there has been abundant dark layers interbedded with the more dominant pale coloured rock, both in place and in fragments around the workspace. APXS and MAHLI characterized some of this darker material, for example at “Rio Bio Bio” and “Placilla de Caracoles” and some of the paler material at the brushed targets “La Primavera” and “Los Quemados.” ChemCam also analyzed both types of rocks along the way.
We are busily acquiring Mastcam and ChemCam LD-RMI (“Long Distance Remote Micro Imager”) images of everything even remotely interesting – and there are lots and lots of cool features around here. The wide open landscape here allows us to image features from several different angles and distances, such as “Mira Flores,” a small erosional outlier seen from a distance in this image and closer up here. Another great example is the “Kimsa Chata” trough which shows some amazing sedimentary structures, which may help us to determine if this was a desert or a lake or maybe something in between, such as a desert with some water moving through.
The Environmental Theme Group continues to populate each plan with environmental monitoring activities. Activities varied from dust devil monitoring in Gale crater to looking at levels of dust in the skies overhead. The weekend drive is planned to take us further into that drive distance shown in the cover image, to an area where the contrast between dark and light bedrock is more pronounced, and just beyond that, to an area which looks very smooth, with no jutting out blocks. From where we sit today, its impossible to say what it is but that is the fun of exploring – who knows what we will find? Stay tuned to find out over the coming weeks.
-
Want to read more posts from the Curiosity team?
-
Want to learn more about Curiosity’s science instruments?
Article
7 days ago
3 min read Curiosity Blog, Sols 4900-4907: Pasadena, We Have a Drill Sample!
Article
2 weeks ago
3 min read Curiosity Blog, Sols 4893-4899: Drilling at Campo Marte and a Visit From the Psyche Spacecraft
Article
3 weeks ago
Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, and the seventh largest. It’s the only planet we know of inhabited…
All Mars Resources
Explore this collection of Mars images, videos, resources, PDFs, and toolkits. Discover valuable content designed to inform, educate, and inspire,…
Rover Basics
Each robotic explorer sent to the Red Planet has its own unique capabilities driven by science. Many attributes of a…
Mars Exploration: Science Goals
The key to understanding the past, present or future potential for life on Mars can be found in NASA’s four…
Curiosity Blog: Sols 4913-4919: Planetary explorers, freewheeling to the Yardang unit!
- Curiosity Home
- Science
- News and Features
- Multimedia
- Mars Missions
- Mars Home
3 min read
Curiosity Blog: Sols 4913-4919: Planetary explorers, freewheeling to the Yardang unit! Navcam image from sol 4916 showing the rough drive direction. The yardang unit can be seen as a series of pale coloured hills in the centre of the image, at the very back. NASA/JPL-CaltechWritten by Catherine O’Connell-Cooper, APXS Strategic Planner and Payload Uplink/Downlink Lead, University of New Brunswick, Canada
Earth planning day: Friday, June 5th, 2026
In a very broad sense, Curiosity has two modes of doing science – one centred around a defined science campaign (such as the recent boxwork campaign) and the other as we move between campaigns. During a science campaign, with a very defined start and end location, every image and every workspace is carefully choregraphed to make sure we hit all of our science goals for the campaign. This is a lot of pressure!
But in between campaigns, the emphasis moves to driving towards the next major campaign. Our next major stop is the yardang unit, a series of intriguing wind sculpted, pale coloured hills which you can just see in the distance in the cover image for this blog. The rover planners (RPs) sometimes make our drives as long as they can and we drive as far as we can go, other times we stop a little short to look at interesting looking workspaces as we go. As part of the APXS team, I loved being part of the boxwork campaign and getting all the information we needed there … but as a geologist, there is something very special about this kind of exploring, the sense of being a planetary explorer, ambling along to see what the rocks will show us.
So we continue southwards, trundling over laminated bedrock which varies from predominantly pale coloured laminated bedrock to bands with abundant thin flaky, darker coloured, layers and patches. Some of the rocks stick out at strange angles, which make planning drives more challenging. This past week there has been abundant dark layers interbedded with the more dominant pale coloured rock, both in place and in fragments around the workspace. APXS and MAHLI characterized some of this darker material, for example at “Rio Bio Bio” and “Placilla de Caracoles” and some of the paler material at the brushed targets “La Primavera” and “Los Quemados.” ChemCam also analyzed both types of rocks along the way.
We are busily acquiring Mastcam and ChemCam LD-RMI (“Long Distance Remote Micro Imager”) images of everything even remotely interesting – and there are lots and lots of cool features around here. The wide open landscape here allows us to image features from several different angles and distances, such as “Mira Flores,” a small erosional outlier seen from a distance in this image and closer up here. Another great example is the “Kimsa Chata” trough which shows some amazing sedimentary structures, which may help us to determine if this was a desert or a lake or maybe something in between, such as a desert with some water moving through.
The Environmental Theme Group continues to populate each plan with environmental monitoring activities. Activities varied from dust devil monitoring in Gale crater to looking at levels of dust in the skies overhead. The weekend drive is planned to take us further into that drive distance shown in the cover image, to an area where the contrast between dark and light bedrock is more pronounced, and just beyond that, to an area which looks very smooth, with no jutting out blocks. From where we sit today, its impossible to say what it is but that is the fun of exploring – who knows what we will find? Stay tuned to find out over the coming weeks.
-
Want to read more posts from the Curiosity team?
-
Want to learn more about Curiosity’s science instruments?
Article
7 days ago
3 min read Curiosity Blog, Sols 4900-4907: Pasadena, We Have a Drill Sample!
Article
2 weeks ago
3 min read Curiosity Blog, Sols 4893-4899: Drilling at Campo Marte and a Visit From the Psyche Spacecraft
Article
3 weeks ago
Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, and the seventh largest. It’s the only planet we know of inhabited…
All Mars Resources
Explore this collection of Mars images, videos, resources, PDFs, and toolkits. Discover valuable content designed to inform, educate, and inspire,…
Rover Basics
Each robotic explorer sent to the Red Planet has its own unique capabilities driven by science. Many attributes of a…
Mars Exploration: Science Goals
The key to understanding the past, present or future potential for life on Mars can be found in NASA’s four…
NASA Awards Contract for Construction Services in California
NASA has selected multiple small businesses for the Western Regional Multiple Award Construction Contract, which supports a broad range of facility enhancement, modernization, and sustainment work at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, and other federal agencies in the region.
The contract provides general construction, modification, maintenance and repair, and demolition services, as well as new construction of buildings and facilities that incorporate Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design practices and building information modeling to support efficient and sustainable project execution.
The indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, firm-fixed-price contract is a follow-on to the agency’s previous regional construction contract and has a potential value of $450 million over a five‑year period.
Contract awardees are:
- Abide International Inc.
- Able Heating and Air Conditioning
- Anderson Burton Construction Inc.
- Anna Lisa Luna Construction
- Barkley Andross Corporation
- Bibro Construction Company Inc.
- CM Construction Services
- CMS Construction Inc.
- FASONE
- G‑1 Lead Builders JV LLC
- Gideon USA
- Good‑men Roofing & Construction Inc.
- Groundlevel Construction Inc.
- IPI Construction Inc.
- Innovative Project Solutions Inc.
- Ironwood Commercial Builders Inc.
- J.I. Garcia Construction Inc.
- JG Contracting
- Lead Builders Inc.
- Martinez Construction Services
- MX Construction Inc.
- OCS Construction Services Inc.
- Patricia I. Romero Inc., doing business as Pacific West Builders
- Gustav Keoni, doing business as Precision Construction
- Prime MIK JV LLC
- Spectrum Builders and Renovations Inc.
- Sea Pac Engineering Inc.
- Sergent Construction
- Souza Construction Inc.
- TLI Construction Inc.
For more information about NASA and agency programs, visit:
-end-
Jennifer Dooren / Jessica Taveau
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
jennifer.m.dooren@nasa.gov / jessica.c.taveau@nasa.gov
Dede Dinius
Armstrong Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif.
661-276-5701
darin.l.dinius@nasa.gov
NASA Awards Contract for Construction Services in California
NASA has selected multiple small businesses for the Western Regional Multiple Award Construction Contract, which supports a broad range of facility enhancement, modernization, and sustainment work at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, and other federal agencies in the region.
The contract provides general construction, modification, maintenance and repair, and demolition services, as well as new construction of buildings and facilities that incorporate Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design practices and building information modeling to support efficient and sustainable project execution.
The indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, firm-fixed-price contract is a follow-on to the agency’s previous regional construction contract and has a potential value of $450 million over a five‑year period.
Contract awardees are:
- Abide International Inc.
- Able Heating and Air Conditioning
- Anderson Burton Construction Inc.
- Anna Lisa Luna Construction
- Barkley Andross Corporation
- Bibro Construction Company Inc.
- CM Construction Services
- CMS Construction Inc.
- FASONE
- G‑1 Lead Builders JV LLC
- Gideon USA
- Good‑men Roofing & Construction Inc.
- Groundlevel Construction Inc.
- IPI Construction Inc.
- Innovative Project Solutions Inc.
- Ironwood Commercial Builders Inc.
- J.I. Garcia Construction Inc.
- JG Contracting
- Lead Builders Inc.
- Martinez Construction Services
- MX Construction Inc.
- OCS Construction Services Inc.
- Patricia I. Romero Inc., doing business as Pacific West Builders
- Gustav Keoni, doing business as Precision Construction
- Prime MIK JV LLC
- Spectrum Builders and Renovations Inc.
- Sea Pac Engineering Inc.
- Sergent Construction
- Souza Construction Inc.
- TLI Construction Inc.
For more information about NASA and agency programs, visit:
-end-
Jennifer Dooren / Jessica Taveau
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
jennifer.m.dooren@nasa.gov / jessica.c.taveau@nasa.gov
Dede Dinius
Armstrong Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif.
661-276-5701
darin.l.dinius@nasa.gov
The U.S. is getting hit with severe stormy weather—here’s what’s stewing in the atmosphere
Cold fronts colliding with warm, humid air from the Gulf of Mexico could cause dangerous weather conditions, forecasters say
David Kipping Has a New Take on the Existence of Advanced Life in the Universe... and the Numbers are Not Encouraging!
DOI: 10.48550/arXiv.2606.04044
This is How Supermassive Black Holes Feed Themselves
Astronomers may have found the missing link in the SMBH feeding process. New observations with the JWST show that a galaxy's circumnuclear disk, which feeds gas into its black hole, is connected to a much larger network of filaments. Cool gas flows through these filaments into the SMBH's sphere of influence.
NASA, NOAA to Hold Joint Session at 23rd Symposium on Operational Environmental Satellite Systems
- CSDA
- Commercial Data
- CSDA Vendors
- Program Activities
- Learning Resources
- FAQs
- News
Submit your abstract for “Advancing Weather and Environmental Science Through NASA and NOAA Commercial Satellite Data Programs,” a joint session hosted by NASA’s Commercial Satellite Data Acquisition (CSDA) program, in partnership with the NOAA National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) Commercial Data Program (CDP).
The session is part of the 23rd Symposium on Operational Environmental Satellite Systems, which will take place at the 2027 American Meteorological Society (AMS) Annual Meeting January 10-14 in Denver, Colorado. It will examine the growing capabilities of commercial Earth observation providers that are creating new opportunities to advance weather research, operational forecasting, and environmental science applications.
NASA’s CSDA program and NESDIS’s CDP collaborate to expand federal access to commercial satellite data and accelerate its use in both research and operational applications.
The CSDA program supports the scientific community by evaluating and acquiring diverse commercial datasets, including optical, Synthetic Aperture Radar, Global Navigation Satellite System Radio Occultation and Reflectometry, methane, precipitation, and Digital Elevation/Terrain Models for modeling, hazard monitoring, climate studies, and applied research.
Similarly, the CDP operationalizes commercial space-based environmental data, with demonstrated impacts from assimilated observations in weather forecasting and space weather applications. It also conducts pilot projects and transitions the piloted data to operations.
Together, the CSDA and CDP strengthen the nation’s weather enterprise by enabling innovative research, closing observational gaps, and integrating commercial data into real-world forecasting and decision support applications.
To submit an abstract or for additional information about the abstract submission process, visit the symposium’s website.
NASA, NOAA to Hold Joint Session at 23rd Symposium on Operational Environmental Satellite Systems
- CSDA
- Commercial Data
- CSDA Vendors
- Program Activities
- Learning Resources
- FAQs
- News
Submit your abstract for “Advancing Weather and Environmental Science Through NASA and NOAA Commercial Satellite Data Programs,” a joint session hosted by NASA’s Commercial Satellite Data Acquisition (CSDA) program, in partnership with the NOAA National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) Commercial Data Program (CDP).
The session is part of the 23rd Symposium on Operational Environmental Satellite Systems, which will take place at the 2027 American Meteorological Society (AMS) Annual Meeting January 10-14 in Denver, Colorado. It will examine the growing capabilities of commercial Earth observation providers that are creating new opportunities to advance weather research, operational forecasting, and environmental science applications.
NASA’s CSDA program and NESDIS’s CDP collaborate to expand federal access to commercial satellite data and accelerate its use in both research and operational applications.
The CSDA program supports the scientific community by evaluating and acquiring diverse commercial datasets, including optical, Synthetic Aperture Radar, Global Navigation Satellite System Radio Occultation and Reflectometry, methane, precipitation, and Digital Elevation/Terrain Models for modeling, hazard monitoring, climate studies, and applied research.
Similarly, the CDP operationalizes commercial space-based environmental data, with demonstrated impacts from assimilated observations in weather forecasting and space weather applications. It also conducts pilot projects and transitions the piloted data to operations.
Together, the CSDA and CDP strengthen the nation’s weather enterprise by enabling innovative research, closing observational gaps, and integrating commercial data into real-world forecasting and decision support applications.
To submit an abstract or for additional information about the abstract submission process, visit the symposium’s website.
Art and nature come together in stunning new Henry Moore exhibition
Art and nature come together in stunning new Henry Moore exhibition
Striking photos show how sands are encroaching on oases in the Sahara
Striking photos show how sands are encroaching on oases in the Sahara
New Scientist recommends a brilliant take on the evolution of birds
Think you have a good sense of humour? So do most people…
New Scientist recommends a brilliant take on the evolution of birds
Think you have a good sense of humour? So do most people…
Report of gene-edited human embryos sparks worries about the technology’s future uses
Eight years after a Chinese scientist's report of gene-edited babies shocked the world, U.S. scientists reported editing embryos not meant for pregnancies using a more precise technique