Author: Lisa Grossman / Source: Science News
Several new space probes got their starts in 2018, while some sang swan songs.
Hello
1. TESS is on the lookout for planets
There’s a new planet hunter in town. The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, or TESS, launched April 18 to search the nearest, brightest stars in the sky for signs of orbiting planets.
TESS has already spotted at least two new worlds, one of which may be saturated with water (SN Online: 9/18/18).
2. Parker Solar Probe aims for the sun
The Parker Solar Probe launched August 12 on an Icarus-esque journey to the sun (SN: 7/21/18, p. 12). The craft made its first close flyby of our nearest star November 5 and began sending data back to Earth in December (SN Online: 12/12/18). Over the next seven years, Parker, built to withstand searing heat (SN: 9/15/18, p. 16), will swoop ever closer to the sun, eventually coming to within about 6 million kilometers of the solar surface and directly sampling the sun’s wispy corona.
3. InSight touched down on Mars
NASA’s latest Mars lander, which reached its target November 26, will explore the whole planet while sitting perfectly still. With little more than a seismometer, a heat probe and time, InSight will listen for “Marsquakes” to figure out what Mars is like on the inside (SN: 5/26/18, p. 13).
4. MASCOT and MINERVA-II hop to Ryugu
A trio of robots became the first to land on an asteroid (SN Online: 9/24/18). Japan’s twin MINERVA-II rovers and Germany’s MASCOT lander traveled to the asteroid Ryugu aboard Japan’s…
The post 2018 was a busy year in space appeared first on FeedBox.