New Atlas

Space Audio available

Voyager 2 shows first signs of entering interstellar space

Michael Irving October 7, 2018

After 40 years of zipping through the solar system, Voyager 2 appears to be close to leaving the neighborhood. The probe’s instruments have begun picking up radiation signals that suggest it is breaking out of the Sun’s protective bubble, and will soon join its sibling in interstellar space.

An artist's rendering of Voyager 1 as it passed into interstellar space – the latest readings ...

Environment

NASA study uncovers three factors responsible for Earth's irregular spin

Michael Irving September 20, 2018

The Earth’s spin naturally drifts on its axis over time, and that’s generally chalked up to the way mass is distributed and redistributed across the planet’s surface. Now, NASA scientists studying data gathered across the entire 20th century have identified three broad processes that play a part.

A NASA study has found three main factors contributed to a shift in the Earth's axis ...

Robotics

JPL releases plans for build-your-own Mars rover

Paul Ridden August 6, 2018

NASA's Curiosity lander touched down on the surface of Mars in August, 2012, and its rover payload rolled out shortly after to begin its meandering mission. Now tinkerers and students can build their very own mini Mars rover for exploring backyard craters and vast garden mountain ranges.

Inspired by the design of the Mars Curiosity Rover, build plans and instructions for this scaled-down ...

Space

Infrared images peek through the clouds of Saturn's mysterious moon Titan

Michael Irving July 19, 2018

Saturn’s moon Titan is one of the most interesting bodies in the solar system – but at a glance it looks like a dull yellow ball, thanks to a soupy atmosphere. Now, using 13 years’ worth of infrared data from Cassini, astronomers have stitched together the clearest images yet of Titan’s surface.

NASA has released six new infrared images of Saturn's moon Titan, which show off some of ...

Environment

Antarctic ice loss and sea level rise rates have tripled since 2012

Michael Irving June 13, 2018

An international team of scientists has completed the most comprehensive assessment of how Antarctica’s ice mass is changing. The study shows that the rate of ice loss – and the resulting sea level rise – has tripled since 2012, compared to a more steady rate over the last 25 years.

Crevasses near Pine Island Glacier, Antarctica, which is one of the hardest hit regions

Space

NASA spots clearest signs of water plumes erupting from Europa ... in 1997

Michael Irving May 14, 2018

One of the most promising places in the solar system to search for life is Jupiter’s moon, Europa, an icy world with a slushy, salty, subsurface ocean. Old data has turned up new evidence of water plumes spraying through the icy shell into space.

Old data has turned up new evidence of water plumes on Jupiter's moon, Europa

Robotics

Soft robotic fingers use gecko-inspired coating for some heavy lifting

Nick Lavars April 10, 2018

One particularly active area of robotics research involves the exploration of soft parts, which are opening up new possibilities and making machines safer for humans to work around. Now they are gaining a helping hand from the amazing adhesive properties of the gecko.

Scientists have created a robotic gripper that uses a gecko-inspired adhesive coating and can lift heavy ...

Space

New studies find TRAPPIST-1 planets are probably rocky, watery worlds

Michael Irving February 5, 2018

Just 40 light-years away, TRAPPIST-1 is one of the clearest case studies into how other planetary systems work. New research has calculated the densities and atmospheres of the planets, giving us a better understanding of how they might look and how much water might be there.

An artist's rendition, to scale, of how the TRAPPIST-1 planets would compare to Earth

Space

Curiosity looks back on its 5-year journey with sweeping panorama

Michael Irving February 1, 2018

Curiosity has had quite a journey since it touched down on Mars in August 2012. From its perch on a ridge partway up Mount Sharp, Curiosity has snapped a panorama of Gale Crater, capturing many of the geological features the rover has explored and investigated over the years.

A section of the huge new panorama taken by Curiosity, which reveals much of the rover's ...

Space

Juno reveals the roots of Jupiter's Great Red Spot

Michael Irving December 11, 2017

The Great Red Spot, a storm bigger than Earth, has been raging on Jupiter for centuries. We’ve known its 2D size for a long time, but after a close flyover in July, Juno has finally revealed how deep into the atmosphere the storm’s roots run.

Juno has peered into the depths of Jupiter's Great Red Spot and revealed how deep down ...