Flyby

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  ESA JUICE Mission Scans Jupiter's Lunar Crater in Test Run for Alien Life

  ESA’s JUICE spacecraft scanned the famous Earthrise crater on the Moon to test radar for future exploration of Jupiter’s icy moons. The data confirmed JUICE’s radar accuracy, setting the stage for a search for life beneath Europa and Ganymede. The crater, immortalised in a 1968 Apollo 8 photo, now plays a role in extraterrestrial science.

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  NASA Engineers Rescue JunoCam with Deep-Space Heating Hack

  NASA’s JunoCam, once believed nearly lost to Jupiter’s intense radiation, has made a stunning comeback thanks to a bold experiment. Engineers used a process called annealing—heating the camera from afar—to reverse internal damage and restore image clarity. Just in time for a close flyby of the volcanic moon Io, the camera delivered detailed...

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  NASA’s Parker Probe Sends Closest-Ever Images from Inside the Sun’s Corona

  NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has achieved a solar milestone by capturing the closest-ever images of the Sun, taken just 3.8 million miles from its surface in December 2024. These WISPR images reveal unprecedented details of the corona, solar wind, and CME collisions. Scientists say this breakthrough will improve our ability to forecast space weather...

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  Massive Asteroid As Big As An Airplane To Zoom Past Earth On July 4, Says NASA

  Measuring approximately 120 feet in width, the asteroid will fly by at a velocity of 31,204 km/h, maintaining a safe distance of 1,960,000 kilometres from our planet.

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  NASA’s Europa Clipper Captures Stunning Infrared Image of Mars

  During a Mars flyby on March 1, 2025, NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft captured thermal images with its E-THEMIS infrared imager. The mission team used this opportunity to test key instruments ahead of Clipper’s arrival at Jupiter’s moon Europa in 2030.

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  Massive Asteroid 2002 JX8 to Fly Past Earth on May 9, Live Stream Available for Public Viewing

  A 950-foot-wide asteroid named 2002 JX8 will safely pass Earth on May 9. The Virtual Telescope Project will livestream the event starting at 4:30 p.m. EDT. Scientists confirm there is no risk, as the asteroid will remain over 2.6 million miles away. It’s classified as potentially hazardous based on size and distance, not on collision likelihood.

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  NASA’s Psyche Mission Encounters Pressure Drop, Backup Systems on Standby

  NASA’s Psyche spacecraft, en route to a metal-rich asteroid, paused its thrusters after detecting a drop in xenon gas pressure. Engineers are investigating the issue while keeping the mission on track. Psyche will fly by Mars in 2026 before entering asteroid orbit in 2029.

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  NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Completes Second Close Flyby of the Sun at Record Speed

  NASA’s Parker Solar Probe completed a close flyby of the Sun on March 22, travelling at 692,000 kilometres per hour and approaching within 6.1 million kilometres of the solar surface. The mission, designed to study solar winds and space weather, received a healthy signal back on March 25. The team, including NASA and Johns Hopkins APL experts, ha...

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  James Webb Telescope Captures Neptune’s Auroras in Stunning Detail

  The James Webb Space Telescope has provided the first-ever direct images of Neptune’s auroras, revealing surprising details about the ice giant’s atmosphere. Unlike auroras on Earth, Jupiter, or Saturn, Neptune’s auroras appear across unexpected locations due to its tilted and offset magnetic field. Scientists also detected the presence of H...

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  NASA Confirms Asteroid 2024 YR4 Will Not Hit Earth, Risk Reduced to Zero

  NASA has reassured the public that asteroid 2024 YR4 no longer poses any threat to Earth. Initially, the asteroid had a 1-in-32 chance of impact, making it a Level 3 risk on the Torino Scale. However, new observations have reduced the probability to zero. The asteroid will make close flybys in 2028 and 2032, providing scientists with an opportunity...

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  Why Mumbai Is Being Linked To 'City Killer' Asteroid: All You Need To Know

  Dubbed "city killer", the space rock now has an estimated 1.5 per cent (or 1 in 67) chance of striking our planet during a close flyby on December 22, 2032.

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  NASA's Juno Detects Io's Most Powerful Volcanic Eruption Yet

  NASA’s Juno spacecraft has recorded the most powerful volcanic eruption on Io, Jupiter’s most volcanic moon. The eruption site, detected on 27 December 2024, is fueled by a massive magma chamber spanning 105,000 square kilometers. The heat energy released is estimated at 80 trillion watts, exceeding Earth’s total power output. The volcanic ac...

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  Mysterious Interstellar Object Might Have Shifted Four Planets’ Paths, Study Finds

  A mysterious interstellar object, estimated to be eight times the mass of Jupiter, may have significantly altered the orbits of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune billions of years ago. A study suggests that this body passed remarkably close to the Sun, potentially influencing planetary trajectories. Simulations conducted by researchers indicate ...

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  Interstellar Object Could Have Shifted Trajectories of Four Planets, New Research Shows

  A recent study suggests that an interstellar object, possibly as massive as eight times Jupiter, may have passed through the solar system billions of years ago, significantly altering the orbits of its outer planets—Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Using computer simulations, researchers found that in about 1% of the scenarios, such a close ...

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  NASA Confirms Successful Flyby of Parker Solar Probe, Completes Closest Sun Approach

  NASA's Parker Solar Probe has set an unprecedented milestone, coming 3.8 million miles from the Sun at a speed of 430,000 mph. Launched in 2018, the spacecraft has utilised Venus flybys to perfect its orbit, enabling this historic feat. With advanced technology, it endures extreme temperatures, gathering critical data about solar wind and particle ...