Cloudy skies, smooth sailing

Help NASA predict the future of the Solar System. Anyone with a laptop or cell phone can join the agency’s new Exoasteroids project and search white dwarf stars for signs that they are swallowing up asteroids. Since the Sun will eventually become a white dwarf, these systems act like windows into the future of our own Solar System, its planets, and its asteroids. Image credit: NASA, ESA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI)

India is going to the Moon. And Venus. And LEO. The Indian government approved several major space projects, including a Venus orbiter slated for 2028 and the Chandrayaan-4 mission to bring back a sample from the Moon. India also gave the go-ahead for the first module of its planned space station, Bharatiya Antariksh Station, which also aims to launch in 2028.

X-rays from nuclear explosions could help deflect asteroids. In lab experiments on Earth, scientists simulated the X-ray burst produced by a nuclear explosion and found that it might successfully deflect asteroids up to a few kilometers wide. The demonstration could influence how we defend our planet from catastrophic impacts in the future.

NASA’s “Hidden Figures” aren’t so hidden anymore. U.S. officials honored the women of color who made key contributions to NASA during the space race — but whose impact remained out of sight for years — with Congressional Gold Medals. Katherine Johnson, Dr. Christine Darden, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary W. Jackson were awarded in recognition for their service as mathematicians, engineers, and computers.

LightSail wins the 2024 Gizmodo Science Fair. Gizmodo named The Planetary Society’s LightSail 2 a winner of this year’s Science Fair, placing the mission alongside other medalists including NASA, The SETI Institute, and the OSIRIS-REx sample curation team. Gizmodo cited LightSail’s impressive achievements, scientific legacy, and technological challenge. Image credit: The Planetary Society

The Hera mission is set to launch in two weeks. Our new guide explains what’s in store for the ESA spacecraft — from outbound trip to possible landing finale — and outlines how Hera will help advance planetary defense. The mission is expected to yield new insights into asteroids and the history of the Solar System, too.

Searching for life with probes and…Martian mines? With NASA’s Europa Clipper set to launch next month, we broke down what signs of life, if any, the spacecraft could possibly discover. At the same time, this week’s Planetary Radio delved into more futuristic life-finding technology: an add-on to Martian mining operations that would search for life in extracted water. This idea is one of many featured in this episode’s coverage of NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts symposium. You can also watch a recording of a live event The Planetary Society hosted at the Symposium.

NASA’s budget is hanging in the balance. Our status update explores what might be in store for NASA as the U.S. government weighs several bills that could shape the space agency’s future. While one proposal would generally fund more NASA science, neither fully reverse the concerning shortfall now underway.

Editor’s note: Due to upgrades on our end, the Downlink did not make it into inboxes last week, but was still published online. You can also find the Downlink from two weeks ago here.