A Venus-bound mission from NASA will carry a tiny sensor built by students to the planet's hellish surface
NASA's DAVINCI mission, which is slated to launch to Venus in 2029, will carry a dime-sized, student-built sensor to study the planet's atmosphere and mountainous terrain for the first time.
space.comCourt won't revive porn star’s defamation suit against Trump
FILE - In this Oct. 11, 2018, file photo, adult film actress Stormy Daniels attends the opening of the adult entertainment fair "Venus," in Berlin. When Donald Trump left the White House in January 2021, he remained "Individual-1" in the federal campaign finance crimes case against his former attorney, Michael Cohen. The prosecution stemmed from six-figure payments Cohen arranged to Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, to keep them quiet during the campaign about alleged affairs with Trump. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal from porn star Stormy Daniels, who sought to revive a defamation lawsuit she filed against former President Donald Trump. The justices did not comment in leaving in place a lower court ruling dismissing the case.
There’s more than 1 way to send a spacecraft to Venus
AdIt used to be -- in the U.S.-- NASA was the only way to fund and send a robotic mission to another world, but not anymore. The company wants to send the first robotic mission to Venus in 2023. (Image credit: Rocket Lab) (Rocket Lab)Meanwhile, NASA is considering funding its own missions to the planet considered Earth’s twin. Currently there are two Venus missions under consideration and two more equally fascinating missions, one designed to study Jupiter’s moon Io and another to Neptune’s moon Triton. AdHere’s what launching a robotic mission to another planet looks like, in a nutshell, according to Wagner:“This is what a typical NASA mission is.
Space probe makes 1st Venus fly-by on way to Mercury
BERLIN – A spacecraft bound for Mercury swung by Venus on Thursday, using Earth's neighbor to adjust its course on the way to the solar system’s smallest and innermost planet. The fly-by is the second of nine so-called planetary gravity assists that the spacecraft needs for its seven-year trip to Mercury. Mercury’s extreme temperatures, the intense gravity pull of the sun and blistering solar radiation make for hellish conditions. BepiColombo will make one more fly-by of Venus and six of Mercury itself to slow down before its arrival in 2025. The last spacecraft to visit Mercury was NASA’s Messenger probe, which ended its mission in 2015 after a four-year orbit.
Astronomers see possible hints of life in Venus's clouds
Astronomers have found a potential sign of life high in the atmosphere of neighboring Venus: hints there may be bizarre microbes living in the sulfuric acid-laden clouds of the hothouse planet. They said it doesn't satisfy the “extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence" standard established by the late Carl Sagan, who speculated about the possibility of life in the clouds of Venus in 1967. “It’s not a smoking gun," said study co-author David Clements, an Imperial College of London astrophysicist. After three astronomers met in a bar in Hawaii, they decided to look that way at the closest planet to Earth: Venus. ... Not a single process we looked at could produce phosphine in high enough quantities to explain our team’s findings.”That leaves life.
Venus shines brightest all week in the morning sky
ROANOKE, Va. – A lot of us had gotten used to seeing Venus shine in the western evening sky. In June, the brightest planet to grace our sky transitioned between the earth and the sun. Now, it shines brightly in the eastern morning sky, rising a few hours before the sun does. When the planet is about 25% illuminated by the sun is when it will appear at its brightest. It will also appear with a friend, Aldebaran, which is one of the brighter starts in our sky.
LOOK UP! Venus shines brightest all week in the evening sky
ROANOKE, Va. – It’s not at all rare to look to the west and see the planet Venus. In fact, it’s the second-brightest celestial body that we see in the night sky (second to the moon). This week (Apr 27-May 1), Venus will be at its brightest point Monday evening around 9. That’s good news for us in southwest and central Virginia, as we expect a clear sky around that time. To Venus’ left, you’ll see the moon so you can use that as a reference point.
Always removing female symbol from packaging for inclusion
Sean Gallup/Getty Images(CNN) - Always sanitary products will remove the Venus symbol, historically used to represent the female sex, from its products to be inclusive of transgender and nonbinary customers. Transgender activists and allies had publicly urged Proctor & Gamble to redesign its pad wrapper without the gender symbol, a circle atop a cross. "For over 35 years Always has championed girls and women, and we will continue to do so," Proctor & Gamble said Tuesday in a statement. "We're also committed to diversity & inclusion and are on a continual journey to understand the needs of all of our consumers." Proctor & Gamble has not said when the design change will happen.