A double standard about contamination is keeping us from verifying signs of Martian life

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://spacenews.com/a-double-standard-about-contamination-is-keeping-us-from-verifying-signs-of-martian-life/

Space: the new frontier for transatlantic cooperation

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://spacenews.com/space-the-new-frontier-for-transatlantic-cooperation/

A new golden age of lunar exploration is dawning – but as the Moon becomes an increasingly busy place, the question of how to protect areas of scientific value is becoming more urgent.

COSPAR, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) and the Moon Village Association-Global Expert Group on Sustainable Lunar Activities (MVA-GEGSLA) are holding a joint brainstorming call on 29 April 2025 considering Sites of Specific Scientific Interest (SSSI) from scientific and industry perspectives. #SpaceResearch #SpaceScience #LunarExploration #PlanetaryProtection #NewSpace

Would you like to join Athena Coustenis at the #COSPAR2025 Scientific Symposium? It's not too late to submit an abstract, with the new extended deadline of 23 April: https://www.cospar-assembly.org/symposia.php

More info on the event: https://cospar2025.org/ #spaceresearch #planetaryprotection

"Protecting Earth, One Asteroid at a Time!

Scientists pioneer tech to:

Detect asteroids on collision course
Knock them off trajectory

Potential game-changers:

Laser deflection
Gravity tractors
Kinetic impactors

Saving humanity, one asteroid at a time!

#AsteroidDefense #SpaceSafety #PlanetaryProtection #NASA #SpaceExploration #solarsystem

: Asteroid
: Earth
: Shield
: Rocket

The future of planetary defense is bright!"

Heute um 16:52 Uhr wird die #Esa Raumsonde #Hera starten. Ihr Ziel ist der Asteroid #Didymos und sein Mond #Dimorphos. Die #Nasa hatte vor 3 Jahren durch einen Impakt auf Dimorphos seine Umlaufbahn um Didymos um ~32 Minuten vermindert. Hera wird die Auswirkungen dieses Experiments nach ihrer Ankunft bei dem Doppelasteroiden 2026 genauer untersuchen.

Zeitlicher Ablauf und Links zu Livestreams (auf englisch): https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Hera/Hera_launch_how_to_watch

#Wissenschaft #PlanetaryProtection #Raumfahrt

Long before #Rosetta & 67P/C-G, there was Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 & its devastating 1994 encounter with Jupiter.

I was privileged to be part of the team that made & released the very first images of Fragment A impacting at ~20:15 UTC on 16 July, 30 years ago last night, as seen from Calar Alto in Spain.

The brightness of the impact plume was a huge surprise & the following week saw intense astronomical, media, & public engagement.

#Astronomy #Astrodon #SpaceScience #PlanetaryProtection