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The Downlink • Aug 02, 2024
A big find on Mars
Space Snapshot
Last week, NASA announced that the Perseverance rover has found a fascinating rock that has some indications it may have hosted microbial life billions of years ago — though further research is needed — and celebrated that discovery with a selfie. Perseverance found a rock, nicknamed “Cheyava Falls,” that may have once hosted all the main requirements for life as we know it: organic compounds, liquid water, and abundant energy. The rock is covered with tiny black-and-white splotches — never before seen on Mars like this — that form through chemical reactions known to fuel life. Although these spots could have formed from non-living processes, spots like these on Earth are often associated with the fossilized record of microbes living in the subsurface. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS.
Fact Worth Sharing
NASA’s Perseverance rover has analyzed the Cheyava Falls rock sample as much as it can with the instruments it has on board, but to find out if the potential biosignatures in this rock really come from life, the sample Perseverance cached will need to be returned to Earth.
Mission Briefings
A new micro rover is ready to explore the Moon. A European subsidiary of the Japanese company ispace recently completed the construction of its TENACIOUS lunar micro rover, which will head to the Moon as part of ispace’s HAKUTO-R Mission 2. TENACIOUS is only about the size of a common microwave. This is the first lunar rover built in Europe and is expected to launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, in late 2024.Image credit: ispace-EUROPE.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket flew again this week. The July 27 launch brought another set of Starlink satellites into orbit, only two weeks after the Falcon fleet was grounded because of an anomaly that caused a launch failure. SpaceX analyzed the failure and implemented a fix much faster than is usual for aerospace companies.
The IAU General Assembly is taking place in Cape Town, South Africa, this week. This will be the first time the International Astronomical Union event has taken place on the African continent. All 200 scientific sessions will be accessible to in-person and online participants.
From The Planetary Society
Saturn is undeniably photogenic. This Hubble image of the gas giant shows its banded storms and stunning rings as well as two of its moons: Mimas on the right and Enceladus toward the bottom. It’s among our favorite space pics from the past month. Image credit: NASA et al.
Does Jupiter protect Earth from asteroids and comets? It has long been thought that the mighty planet’s gravitational effect protects Earth and the other inner planets from small bodies by either sucking them up or diverting them out of the Solar System. But more recent research challenges this assumption, with simulations showing that Jupiter’s presence in the Solar System might actually increase the risk of impacts here on Earth. Learn more about the complicated question of whether Jupiter is our planetary friend or foe.
The U.S. Senate has approved its NASA budget proposal. The budget bill includes a 2.2% increase relative to the agency’s budget for Fiscal Year 2024, offering a balanced counterproposal to the budget advanced in the House. Read The Planetary Society’s Director of Government Relations Jack Kiraly’s full analysis of the budget and what it means for NASA and the future of space science and exploration.
Flash match opportunity! Act now and your gift will be DOUBLED! A generous member has issued a special $5,000 Flash Match opportunity — this week only — to support our planetary defense efforts. Become a Planetary Defender with your gift today and double your impact.
What's Up
Super bright Venus is very close to the horizon in the west shortly after sunset, setting soon thereafter. Then look for yellowish Saturn rising in the east in the evening, with reddish Mars rising later in the night with the much brighter Jupiter a little below it. Find out what else August’s night skies have in store.
Wow of the Week
Mars rovers have come a long way. Here you can see three generations of Mars rovers at a test yard at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory where the rovers are built. Clockwise from bottom left are full-scale models of the Sojourner rover of the Mars Pathfinder project, the twin Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity, and the Curiosity and Perseverance rovers. Sojourner is similar in size to the wheels on the most recent rovers. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.
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