Maevetheeuropan - Maeve The Europan

Chasma Boreale and North Polar Ice Cap of Mars by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center on Flickr.

Mars has bright polar caps of ice that are easily visible from telescopes on Earth. A seasonal cover of carbon-dioxide ice and snow is observed to advance and retreat over the poles during the Martian year. Scientists using radar data from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) have found a record of the most recent Martian ice age recorded in the planet’s north polar ice cap. This image is a simulated 3-D perspective view of Chasma Boreale, a canyon that reaches 570 kilometers (350 miles) into the north polar cap. It was created from image data taken by the THEMIS instrument on NASA’s Mars Odyssey spacecraft. Canyon walls rise about 1,400 meters (4,600 feet) above the floor of Chasma Boreale. Where the edge of the ice cap has retreated, sheets of sand are emerging that accumulated during earlier ice-free climatic cycles. Winds blowing off the ice have pushed loose sand into dunes, then driven them down-canyon in a westward direction.

Mars Orbiter Mission: April 11, 2016 Clouds over Olympus Mons, April 11th 2016

Olympus Mons is a large shield volcano on the planet Mars. It has a height of nearly 22 km. Olympus Mons stands almost three times as tall as Mount Everest’s height above sea level. It is the youngest of the large volcanoes on Mars, having formed during Mars’s Amazonian Period. Several meteorological factors contribute to cloud formation. This MCC image was taken on April 11, 2016 at an altitude of 22,794 km and resolution of 1,185 meters. The image shows cloud around Olympus Mons Region.

Scientists find another sign suggesting life existed on Mars

According to new research published in the Journal of Geophysical Research, scientists are getting even more indicators that life once existed on Mars. The latest proof? Carbonates found in 3.8 billion-year-old rock in the Huygens basin.

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You Can Now Access All Of NASA’s Research Online For Free

Geeks and wannabe astronauts rejoice – NASA has announced they’re making all their research publicly available on a new online portal.

The new site PubSpace will put up any research or data that NASA has funded within one year of publication. That also includes any peer-reviewed scholarly journals and papers, which are often barred by paywalls.

“At NASA, we are celebrating this opportunity to extend access to our extensive portfolio of scientific and technical publications,” NASA Deputy Administrator Dava Newman said in a press release. “Through open access and innovation we invite the global community to join us in exploring Earth, air and space.”

The pledge is in light of the government’s request to make science agencies more transparent and accessible. NASA hopes this increased public access accelerates the spread of information, fosters interest, and ultimately advances scientific knowledge.

The European Union recently said they also hope to make all of their scientific research free and accessible by 2020.

“Making our research data easier to access will greatly magnify the impact of our research,” said NASA Chief Scientist Ellen Stofan. “As scientists and engineers, we work by building upon a foundation laid by others.”

You can check it all out here: https://www.nihms.nih.gov/db/sub.cgi

~ IFL Science

HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT!

Elon Musk is set to announce his plans for Mars colonization in an hour, at 2:30 Eastern Time. 

Please watch it because this could be history in the making.

lol omfg yes

First flower ever grown in space bloomed today!

“Breakfast on Mars” by Simon Kono.

NASA astronaut Karen Nyberg is a self proclaimed crafter. A week ago she made a stuffed dinosaur from scraps on the space station. The little T-rex is made form the lining of Russian food containers and the toy is stuffed with scraps from an old T-shirt. While many toys have flown into space, this is the first produced in space.

Photos: Karen Nyberg, via CollectSpace

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM ME AND THE BOYS!

Neptune and its moons (Proteus, Larissa, Despina and Galatea) 

Credit: NASA / Hubble (infrared)