Latest news with #MarsOdyssey
NDTV
19 hours ago
- Science
- NDTV
NASA Captures Mars Volcano Twice The Height Of Earth's Tallest Peaks
NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter has captured a stunning picture of a 20-kilometer-high volcano, peeping through the clouds on the Red Planet. The image captured from the upper atmosphere at dawn, shows a green haze with Arsia Mons standing roughly twice as tall as Earth's largest volcano, Mauna Loa, located in Hawaii, which rises nine kilometers above the seafloor. At 120 kilometres wide, the Arsia Mons summit caldera is also larger than many volcanoes on Earth. The panorama image taken on May 2, using the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS), shows the planet's massive volcano for the first time. Arsia Mons is the southernmost of the Tharsis volcanoes and cloudiest of the three. 'We picked Arsia Mons hoping we would see the summit poke above the early morning clouds. And it didn't disappoint,' said Jonathon Hill of Arizona State University in Tempe, operations lead for THEMIS. Researchers said the clouds are especially thick over Arsia Mons when the Red Planet is farthest from the sun, a period called aphelion. "Understanding Mars' clouds is particularly important for understanding Martian weather and how phenomena like dust storms occur," NASA stated. Something big is peeking through Martian clouds. 🌋 The Odyssey orbiter captured a stunning view of Arsia Mons, a volcano that dwarfs the tallest ones here on Earth. This perspective helps scientists study how dust and ice clouds change over the seasons. — NASA JPL (@NASAJPL) June 6, 2025 Also Read | US Researcher Proposes Detonating Massive Nuclear Bomb Under Ocean To Save Earth The Odyssey orbiter was launched in 2001 and is regarded as the longest-running mission orbiting another planet. To click the picture, the orbiter rotates 90 degrees while in orbit so that its camera, built to study the Martian surface, can capture it cleanly. The angle of the camera allows scientists to see dust and water ice cloud layers, enabling them to observe changes over the course of seasons. 'We're seeing some really significant seasonal differences in these horizon images,' said planetary scientist Michael D. Smith of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. 'It's giving us new clues to how Mars' atmosphere evolves over time.'
CBS News
a day ago
- Science
- CBS News
Mars volcano twice as big as Earth's tallest one seen poking through clouds in first-of-its-kind image
A dazzling image taken by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter shows an unprecedented view of a 12-mile-high volcano poking through clouds at dawn on the Red Planet. Arsia Mons, which dwarfs Earth's tallest volcanoes, and its two neighboring volcanoes are often surrounded by water ice clouds, especially in the early morning. The image released Friday marks the first time one of the volcanoes has been imaged on the planet's horizon, NASA said. Odyssey has previously captured high-altitude images of the Martian horizon, and to do so, it rotates 90 degrees while in orbit so that its camera can take the picture, NASA said. The spacecraft typically focuses on the upper atmosphere but also studies surface features. The latest image, captured on May 2, focuses on Arsia Mons, which is roughly twice as tall as Earth's largest volcano, Hawaii's Mauna Loa, which rises 6 miles above the seafloor. The 2001 Odyssey spacecraft captured a first-of-its-kind look at Arsia Mons, which dwarfs Earth's tallest volcanoes. NASA Arsia Mons is the cloudiest of the three volcanoes in the area -- collectively called the Tharsis Mountains -- and the clouds are especially thick when the Red Planet is farthest from the sun, a period called aphelion. The new snapshot clearly shows the cloud canopy across the Red Planet's equator. "We picked Arsia Mons hoping we would see the summit poke above the early morning clouds. And it didn't disappoint," said Jonathon Hill, the operations lead for Odyssey's camera, called the Thermal Emission Imaging System, or THEMIS. The angle of the camera allows scientists to see dust and water ice cloud layers, enabling them to observe changes over the course of seasons. "We're seeing some really significant seasonal differences in these horizon images," said planetary scientist Michael D. Smith of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. "It's giving us new clues to how Mars' atmosphere evolves over time." Launched in 2001, Odyssey has the distinction of being the longest-running spacecraft orbiting another planet. NASA's Perseverance rover, which landed on Mars in 2021, is collecting samples for an eventual return to Earth from Jezero Crater, an ancient lakebed and river delta that could hold clues to any past microbial life. Last month, Perseverance took a selfie that captured an image of a dust devil popping up about 3 miles behind the rover.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Dozens of NASA space missions could be axed under Trump's budget: Here's a look at 6
Dozens of NASA's missions to explore the cosmos could be in jeopardy under a budget proposal from the White House. President Donald Trump's administration, which released an initial budget proposal May 2 for the U.S. space agency, dropped more details Friday, May 30 about just which NASA programs it looks to cancel. All told, the budget request for the next fiscal year proposes slashing NASA funding by nearly 25% – from $24.8 billion to $18.8 billion – mostly by eliminating a significant portion of the agency's science portfolio. Trump's proposal, which would need congressional approval, has been lauded by acting NASA Administrator Janet Petro for "still prioritizing critical science and technology research," she said in a statement. But in its own statement, the Planetary Society called the proposed budget "an extinction-level event for the space agency's most productive, successful, and broadly supported activity: science." A total of 41 science projects would get the ax under the proposal, which would be NASA's biggest single-year cut in the agency's history, according to the Planetary Society, a nonprofit space exploration advocacy organization. Many of the science missions Trump looks to cancel are still in development, while others are extended operations with uncrewed vehicles already deployed to orbit. Here's a look at six different types of space missions, from Mars exploration to future moon landings, that could be under threat if Trump's budget were to go into effect. For years, NASA's Mars Sample Return mission has sought to bring back a collection of rocks that could reveal details about potential past life on the Red Planet. The agency's Perseverance rover has been scooping up and storing intriguing rock samples since it first landed in 2021 in the Jezero Crater. But ballooning costs and mission delays have hampered both NASA and the European Space Agency in executing a plan to actually retrieve and transport the samples to Earth for scientists to study further. Meanwhile, Mars Odyssey and MAVEN are two spacecrafts that have been orbiting Mars for years. While those missions could be eliminated, Trump looks to inject another $1 billion to tap the private sector to help lay the groundwork for future Mars exploration. That includes establishing a new NASA initiative called the Commercial Mars Payload Services Program (CMPS). The program would operate similar to NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program by awarding contracts to private companies that would develop spacesuits, vehicles and other technology aimed at reaching the Red Planet. The New Horizons spacecraft became the first spacecraft to explore Pluto up close when it flew by the dwarf planet and its moons on July 14, 2015. In 2019, the space probe reached the Kuiper belt – a doughnut-shaped region of icy bodies extending far beyond the orbit of Neptune – where it continues to make discoveries about the outer solar system. The Juno probe, meanwhile, continues to reveal new insights into the gas giant Jupiter and its Jovian moons nine years after arriving in 2016. The spacecraft recently relayed data unmasking the harsh environments of both Jupiter and its volcanic moon Io. NASA's Space Launch System rocket and Orion space capsule – both seen as centerpieces in the effort to return Americans to the moon – may have their days numbered. The SLS and Orion, which have both launched just once on an uncrewed mission in 2022 from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, are due to play a role in NASA's lunar ambitions under the Artemis campaign. But Trump seeks to phase out both the SLS and the Orion after just two more missions. That means Artemis II astronauts would still ride an Orion capsule around the moon following liftoff using the SLS rocket as early as 2026. NASA's plans also call for Artemis III astronauts aboard the Orion capsule to board a SpaceX Starship while in orbit for a ride to the moon's surface as early as 2027. Four years ago, NASA selected two missions to Venus under its Discovery program, focused on developing spaceflights to study our solar system. DAVINCI is a planned mission managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland for an orbiter and atmospheric descent probe to reach Venus. Its counterpart, VERITAS, is another upcoming mission to map the surface of the planet in high resolution that would be managed from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. Both spacecraft would have been the first NASA vehicles to explore Venus since the 1990s. NASA's OSIRIS-REx, which gathered and returned a sample of asteroid Bennu in September 2023, had been renamed OSIRIS-APophis EXplorer (OSIRIS-APEX) and sent on a path that would allow it to meet up with an infamous asteroid in 2029. That asteroid is name Apophis, and it initially posed a sizable threat to Earth when it was first discovered in 2004 before scientists eventually calculated that its trajectory was harmless. OSIRIS-APEX was meant to spend 18 months mapping the asteroid's surface and analyzing its chemical makeup during a rendezvous with Apophis in June 2029 after the asteroid has a close encounter with Earth. Scientists had considered the mission an invaluable endeavor to allow NASA and other space agency's to build up planetary defense capabilities if a space rock ever posed a threat. The Chandra X-ray Observatory has spent more than 25 years detecting exotic environments in the cosmos to help astronomers understand the structure and evolution of the universe. The space telescope, which launched in 1999 aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia, continues to provide data allowing scientists to make new cosmic discoveries. While the observatory is targeted under Trump's budget proposal, other famous space telescopes like Hubble and the James Webb Space Telescope would remain in operation. Contributing: Brooke Edwards, Rick Neale, USA TODAY Network Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@ This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump's budget targets dozens of NASA space missions: Here's a look
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump looks to axe many NASA space missions that launched from Florida: Here's a look at 6
Dozens of NASA's missions to explore the cosmos could be in jeopardy under a budget proposal from the White House. President Donald Trump's administration, which released an initial budget proposal May 2 for the U.S. space agency, dropped more details Friday, May 30, about just which NASA programs it looks to cancel. All told, the budget request for the next fiscal year proposes slashing NASA funding by nearly 25% – from $24.8 billion to $18.8 billion – mostly by eliminating a significant portion of the agency's science portfolio. Trump's proposal, which would need congressional approval, has been lauded by acting NASA Administrator Janet Petro for "still prioritizing critical science and technology research," she said in a statement. But in its own statement, the Planetary Society called the proposed budget "an extinction-level event for the space agency's most productive, successful, and broadly supported activity: science." A total of 41 science projects would get the ax under the proposal, which would be NASA's biggest single-year cut in the agency's history, according to the Planetary Society, a nonprofit space exploration advocacy organization. Many of the science missions Trump looks to cancel are still in development, while others are extended operations with uncrewed vehicles already deployed to orbit. Many of the missions have launched or would get off the ground from Florida's Space Coast. Here's a look at six different types of space missions, from Mars exploration to future moon landings, that could be under threat if Trump's budget were to go into effect. For years, NASA's Mars Sample Return mission has sought to bring back a collection of rocks that could reveal details about potential past life on the Red Planet. The agency's Perseverance rover has been scooping up and storing intriguing rock samples since it first landed in 2021 in the Jezero Crater. But ballooning costs and mission delays have hampered both NASA and the European Space Agency in executing a plan to actually retrieve and transport the samples to Earth for scientists to study further. Meanwhile, Mars Odyssey and MAVEN are two spacecrafts that have been orbiting Mars for years. All three spacecraft – Perseverance and the two orbiters – launched on rockets from what is now called Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida. While those missions could be eliminated, Trump looks to inject another $1 billion to tap the private sector to help lay the groundwork for future Mars exploration. That includes establishing a new NASA initiative called the Commercial Mars Payload Services Program (CMPS). The program would operate similar to NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program by awarding contracts to private companies that would develop spacesuits, vehicles and other technology aimed at reaching the Red Planet. Launching in 2006 from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Base (now Cape Canaveral Space Force Station,) the New Horizons spacecraft became the first spacecraft to explore Pluto up close when it flew by the dwarf planet and its moons on July 14, 2015. In 2019, the space probe reached the Kuiper belt – a doughnut-shaped region of icy bodies extending far beyond the orbit of Neptune – where it continues to make discoveries about the outer solar system. The Juno probe, meanwhile, continues to reveal new insights into the gas giant Jupiter and its Jovian moons nine years after arriving in 2016. The spacecraft, which launched in August 2011 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, recently relayed data unmasking the harsh environments of both Jupiter and its volcanic moon Io. NASA's Space Launch System rocket and Orion space capsule – both seen as centerpieces in the effort to return Americans to the moon – may have their days numbered. The SLS and Orion, which have both launched just once on an uncrewed mission in 2022 from Kennedy Space Center near Cape Canaveral, Florida, are due to play a role in NASA's lunar ambitions under the Artemis campaign. But Trump seeks to phase out both the SLS and the Orion after just two more missions. That means Artemis II astronauts would still ride an Orion capsule around the moon following liftoff using the SLS rocket as early as 2026. NASA's plans also call for Artemis III astronauts aboard the Orion capsule to board a SpaceX Starship while in orbit for a ride to the moon's surface as early as 2027. Four years ago, NASA selected two missions to Venus under its Discovery program, focused on developing spaceflights to study our solar system. DAVINCI is a planned mission managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland for an orbiter and atmospheric descent probe to reach Venus. Its counterpart, VERITAS, is another upcoming mission to map the surface of the planet in high resolution that would be managed from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. Both spacecraft would have been the first NASA vehicles to explore Venus since the 1990s. Launched in 2016 from Cape Canaveral, Florida, NASA's OSIRIS-REx, which gathered and returned a sample of asteroid Bennu in September 2023, had been renamed OSIRIS-APophis EXplorer (OSIRIS-APEX) and sent on a path that would allow it to meet up with an infamous asteroid in 2029. That asteroid is name Apophis, and it initially posed a sizable threat to Earth when it was first discovered in 2004 before scientists eventually calculated that its trajectory was harmless. OSIRIS-APEX was meant to spend 18 months mapping the asteroid's surface and analyzing its chemical makeup during a rendezvous with Apophis in June 2029 after the asteroid has a close encounter with Earth. Scientists had considered the mission an invaluable endeavor to allow NASA and other space agency's to build up planetary defense capabilities if a space rock ever posed a threat. The Chandra X-ray Observatory has spent more than 25 years detecting exotic environments in the cosmos to help astronomers understand the structure and evolution of the universe. The space telescope, which launched in 1999 aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia, continues to provide data allowing scientists to make new cosmic discoveries. While the observatory is targeted under Trump's budget proposal, other famous space telescopes like the Hubble Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope would remain in operation. Contributing: Brooke Edwards, Rick Neale, FLORIDA TODAY Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@ This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Trump's budget targets several NASA missions from Florida: What to know
