Mars’ sky gets a mysterious green aurora resembling a giant worm

Scientists struggle to explain a new Martian light show. Rather than little green men, the astronauts who put their boots on Martian ground are more likely to be greeted by green-streaked skies. Scientists have known for more than 15 years that auroras, vibrant light shows in the atmosphere, exist on Mars. The planet’s auroras were […]

Strong Winds Power Electric Fields in the Upper Atmosphere, NASA’s ICON Finds

Earth’s sky-high generator The ionosphere is like a sloshing sea of electrically charged particles, created by the Sun and intermixed with the neutral upper atmosphere. Sandwiched between Earth and space, the ionosphere responds to changes from both the Sun above and Earth below. How much influence comes from each side is what researchers are interested […]

Telescopes Trained on Parker Solar Probe’s Latest Pass Around the Sun

As NASA’s Parker Solar Probe completes its latest swing around the Sun, it’s doing so in full view of dozens of other spacecraft and ground-based telescopes. These powerful instruments can’t actually see Parker itself – the van-sized spacecraft is far too small for visible detection – but they offer from a distance what the probe […]

NASA’s TRACERS Mission Passes Key Milestone, Advances Toward Launch

simulated diagram of earth's magnetosphere

NASA’s Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites mission, or TRACERS mission, has passed a critical mission review on March 31, 2022. The mission now moves into its next phase, advancing towards its target launch readiness date of July 27, 2024. “We’re excited to pass this major milestone and get one step closer to launch,” […]

In Cold Polar Skies, NASA Rocket Will Watch Aurora Turn Up the Heat

INCAA space craft launching with a bright tail at night

UPDATE 4/7/2022: The two INCAA rockets launched at 4:47 a.m. and 4:50 a.m. AKDT (8:47 a.m. and 8:50 a.m. EDT), reaching a peak altitude of 211 miles (340 km) and 129 miles (208 km), respectively. The data is currently under review by the science team. If you see the northern lights overhead, chances are you are […]

NASA’s NuSTAR Makes Illuminating Discoveries With ‘Nuisance’ Light

A design quirk in the X-ray observatory has made it possible for astronomers to use previously unwanted light to study even more cosmic objects than before. For almost 10 years, NASA’s NuSTAR (Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array) X-ray space observatory has been studying some of the highest-energy objects in the universe, such as colliding dead stars and enormous […]

NASA AA Thomas Zurbuchen visits SSL

Round-SSL-Logo-Yellow

On February 15, 2022, the SSL community enjoyed a visit from the NASA Science Mission Directorate Associate Administrator, Dr. Thomas Zurbuchen, who spent the afternoon at SSL as part of a trip to UC Berkeley and NASA Ames.  Following a luncheon on campus, SSL Director Steve Beckwith brought Thomas up to the lab, where he […]

HERMES Mission Passes Key Milestone, Moves Toward Launch

Hermes logo

NASA’s HERMES mission – a four-instrument suite to be mounted outside NASA’s Moon-orbiting Gateway – has passed a critical mission review on Jan. 27, 2022. The review, Key Decision Point C, evaluated the mission’s preliminary design and program plan to achieve launch by its target launch readiness date no earlier than November 2024. With the […]