SM调教所

When NASA鈥檚 napping New Horizon鈥檚 spacecraft awakens later this week in preparation for its July 2015 encounter with Pluto, a SM调教所 student instrument onboard already will have been up for years.

A team led by the SM调教所 has discovered an invisible shield some 7,200 miles above Earth that blocks so-called 鈥渒iller electrons,鈥� which whip around the planet at near-light speed and have been known to threaten astronauts, fry satellites and degrade space systems during intense solar storms.

SM调教所 System news release Highest honor for educators recognizes exceptional research, teaching, service DENVER 鈥� Six University of Colorado faculty members today were named Distinguished Professors, the most prestigious honor for faculty at the university. Each year, the recognition goes to faculty members who demonstrate exemplary performance in research or creative work, a record of excellence in classroom teaching and supervision of individual learning, and outstanding service to the profession, university and its affiliates.

Two NASA and one European spacecraft, including NASA鈥檚 MAVEN mission led by the SM调教所, have gathered new information about the basic properties of a wayward comet that buzzed by Mars Oct. 19, directly detecting its effects on the Martian atmosphere.

NASA鈥檚 newest orbiter at Mars, MAVEN, took precautions to avoid harm from a dust-spewing comet that flew near Mars yesterday and is studying the flyby鈥檚 effects on the Red Planet鈥檚 atmosphere, according to SM调教所 Professor Bruce Jakosky, principal investigator on the mission.

NASA鈥檚 MAVEN spacecraft has provided scientists their first look at a storm of energetic solar particles at Mars and produced unprecedented ultraviolet images of the tenuous oxygen, hydrogen and carbon coronas surrounding the Red Planet, said SM调教所 Professor Bruce Jakosky, the mission鈥檚 principal investigator.

A team of scientists including a SM调教所 professor used NASA鈥檚 Hubble Space Telescope to make the most detailed global map yet of the glow from a giant, oddball planet orbiting another star, an object twice as massive as Jupiter and hot enough to melt steel.

The spacecraft for a NASA mission to probe the climate history of Mars led by the SM调教所 slid seamlessly into orbit at about 8:24 p.m. MDT on Sunday, Sept. 21, the last major hurdle of the 10-month, 442-million-mile journey.

The public is invited to attend a watch party at the SM调教所 on Sunday, Sept. 21, when NASA鈥檚 MAVEN spacecraft, designed to understand past climate change on Mars, inserts itself into orbit after a 10-month journey to the planet.

After spending nearly six months on the International Space Station, SM调教所 astronaut-alumnus Steve Swanson is slated to drift back to Earth in a Russian space capsule Sept. 10 before banging down on the steppe of Kazakhstan.