Space Technology

A little Martian dust appears to go a long way. A small amount of simulated crushed Martian rock mixed with a titanium alloy made a stronger, high-performance material in a 3D-printing process that one day could be used on Mars to make tools or rocket parts.

On the red and dusty surface of Mars, nearly 100 million miles from Earth, an instrument the size of a lunchbox is proving it can reliably do the work of a small tree.

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has captured the first clear evidence for carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of a planet outside the solar system. This observation of a gas giant planet orbiting a Sun-like star 700 light-years away provides important insights into the composition and formation of the planet.

More than 60 engineers and scientists are gathered at Southwest Research Institute to kick off the launch vehicle collaboration for NASA's Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) mission. PUNCH, which will study the inception of the solar wind, has secured its ride into Earth orbit aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9, sharing a ride into space with NASA's Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Re-ionization, and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx) mission.

By harnessing the capabilities of the 8.1-meter Gemini South telescope in Chile, which is part of the International Gemini Observatory operated by NSF's NOIRLab, astronomers have obtained the sharpest image ever of the star R136a1, the most massive known star in the Universe. Their research challenges our understanding of the most massive stars and suggests that they may not be as massive as previously thought.

With giant storms, powerful winds, auroras, and extreme temperature and pressure conditions, Jupiter has a lot going on. Now, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has captured new images of the planet. Webb's Jupiter observations will give scientists even more clues to Jupiter's inner life.

Researchers have developed a new method to improve solid-state hydrogen fuel cell charging times. Hydrogen is gaining significant attention as an efficient way to store 'green energy' from renewables such as wind and solar. Compressed gas is the most common form of hydrogen storage, however it can also be stored in a liquid or solid state.

Space may look empty, but it contains extreme temperatures, high levels of background radiation, micrometeoroids, and the unfiltered glare of the Sun. In addition, materials and equipment on the outside of the International Space Station are exposed to atomic oxygen and other charged particles as it orbits the Earth at the very edge of our atmosphere. Only the hardiest materials, equipment, and organisms can withstand this harsh environment, and scientists conducting research on the orbiting laboratory have identified some of them for a variety of potential uses.

"Supersonics" denotes aircraft that break the sound barrier at Mach 1 and extends to around Mach 5, which is five times the speed of sound and more than 3,500 mph at sea level. But very weird stuff starts happening as that upper speed is reached—you enter the hypersonics environment. Exploring that unusual environment turns out to be a perfect proving ground for metal 3D printing, as researchers are learning.