NASA PUNCH Mission Advances Toward 2023 Launch
On July 23, 2021, the Polarimeter to UNify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) mission achieved an important milestone, passing its latest NASA review and entering…
Southwest Research Institute News
Dark Primitive Asteroids: Zeroing In on Source of the Impactor That Wiped Out the Dinosaurs
The impactor believed to have wiped out the dinosaurs and other life forms on Earth some 66 million years ago likely came from the outer…
NASA Lucy Mission’s Message – Not for Unknown Aliens – But for the Future
In the 1970s four spacecraft began their one-way trips out of our Solar System. As the first human-built objects to ever venture into interstellar space,…
The Lucy Plaque – Spacecraft Will Carry It on Journey to the Trojan Asteroids
The first spacecraft to leave the Solar System carried with them messages from Earth for any intelligent life that may one day encounter them. The…
NASA’s Lucy Spacecraft Stretches Its Wings in Successful Solar Panel Deployment Test
NASA’s Lucy spacecraft has successfully completed thermal vacuum testing of both solar panels, the final step in checking out these critical spacecraft components in preparation…
Strange New Auroral Feature Discovered on Jupiter
UVS images faint auroral rings that likely originate at edge of gas giant’s magnetosphere. The SwRI-led Ultraviolet Spectrograph (UVS) orbiting Jupiter aboard NASA’s Juno spacecraft…
Incredibly Powerful 900+ Mph Winds in Jupiter’s Atmosphere Measured for the First Time
Jovian jet streams above the cloud tops measured using the aftermath of comet collision. Working with a team led by French astronomers, Southwest Research Institute…
Worlds With Underground Oceans – Like Europa, Titan, and Enceladus – May Be More Conducive to Supporting Life Than Earth
Layers of ice and rock obviate the need for “habitable zone” and shield life against threats. SwRI researcher theorizes worlds with underground oceans may be…
The Fascinating Story of How the Trojan Asteroids – Target of NASA’s Lucy Mission – Were Discovered and Named
On February 22, 1906, German astrophotographer Max Wolf helped reshape our understanding of the solar system. Again. Born in 1863, Wolf had a habit of…
Juno Spacecraft Spots a Bright Explosion in Jupiter’s Atmosphere
From aboard the Juno spacecraft, a Southwest Research Institute-led instrument observing auroras serendipitously spotted a bright flash above Jupiter’s clouds last spring. The Ultraviolet Spectrograph…
New Timeline for Mars Terrains: NASA’s Perseverance Rover Predicted to Encounter More Ancient Surfaces
Updated models predict that NASA’s Perseverance rover will encounter more ancient surfaces. A Southwest Research Institute scientist has updated Mars chronology models to find that…
Tiny Craters on Bennu Boulders Reveal Asteroid’s Age
Scientists inferred Bennu’s sojourn in the inner Solar System at 1.75 million years. Last year NASA snagged a sample from the surface of asteroid Bennu,…
Meteoric Evidence Found for a Previously Unknown Asteroid
Mineralogy points to large, water-rich parent asteroid for carbonaceous chondrite meteorite. A Southwest Research Institute-led team of scientists has identified a potentially new meteorite parent…
Discovery Provides More Evidence That Saturn’s Moon Enceladus Could Support Life in Its Subsurface Ocean
Models Point to a Potentially Diverse Metabolic Menu at Enceladus Using data from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, scientists at Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) modeled chemical processes…
First Ultraviolet Observations Offer More Complete View of Massive Asteroid Psyche
Researcher made first observations of asteroid at mid-ultraviolet wavelengths. A new study authored by Southwest Research Institute planetary scientist Dr. Tracy Becker discusses several new…
Unexpected Ultraviolet Aurora Detected at a Comet by the Rosetta Spacecraft
ESA’s Rosetta mission discovers unique aurora at Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Data from Southwest Research Institute-led instruments aboard ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft have helped reveal auroral emissions in…
Close Binary Trans-Neptunian Object Discovered With Help From Citizen Scientists
Scientists utilized citizen science network to observe the object. A new study authored by Southwest Research Institute scientists Rodrigo Leiva and Marc Buie reveals the…
Stellar Phosphorus Guides Search for Potentially Habitable Exoplanets
Stellar chemical compositions used as proxy for potentially habitable systems. A Southwest Research Institute scientist has identified stellar phosphorus as a probable marker in narrowing…
