Life detection instrument passes key test on road to Mars

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Life detection instrument passes key test on road to Mars
The dry, dusty, treeless expanse of Chile's Atacama Desert is the most lifeless spot on the face of the Earth, and that's why Alison Skelley and Richard Mathies joined a team of NASA scientists there earlier this month.
The University of California, Berkeley, scientists knew that if the Mars Organic Analyzer (MOA) they'd built could detect life in that crusty, arid land, then it would have a good chance some day of detecting life on the planet Mars.


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Cassini flyby of Saturn moon offers insight into solar system history

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NASA's Cassini spacecraft is scheduled to fly within 16 miles of Saturn's moon Enceladus on Oct. 9 and measure molecules in its space environment that could give insight into the history of the solar system.

NASA study finds rising Arctic storm activity sways sea ice, climate

10 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
A new NASA study shows that the rising frequency and intensity of arctic storms over the last half century, attributed to progressively warmer waters, directly provoked acceleration of the rate of arctic sea ice drift, long ...

Lichens function as indicators of nitrogen pollution in forests

12 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
Scientists have found lichens can give insight into nitrogen air pollution effects on Sierra Nevada and San Bernardino mountain ecosystems, and protecting them provides safeguards for less sensitive species.

NASA spacecraft ready to explore outer solar system

Oct 06, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
The first NASA spacecraft to image and map the dynamic interactions taking place where the hot solar wind slams into the cold expanse of space is ready for launch Oct. 19. The two-year mission will begin from ...

University professor stresses links between US Navy sonar and whale strandings

Oct 06, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
Earlier this summer, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review a series of lower court rulings that restrict the Navy's use of sonar in submarine detection training exercises off the coast of Southern California. The court ...
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