Important Innovations Collection

New World Being Created in a Swirling Orange Disc Source:  European Space Agency  Creation of a Planet Deep in Space Astronomers have discovered a new planet being born inside a swirling orange disc surrounding a distant young star.  And, the team of international astronomers who discovered it say this is the first time that humanity has witnessed the birth of a planet.  They add this discovery will help them to better understand how planets come to exist around stars. Celestial Creation As you can see in the picture, the new planet is forming in the very bright yellow twist in the inner region of the orange, swirling disc that surrounds the young star AV Aurigae.  It was spotted by the European Space Agency's European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in northern Chile. 520 Light Years Away The birth of the new planet is taking place 520 light years from Earth.  Lead astronomer Anthony Boccaletti of the Observatoire de Paris in Fra...

European Space Agency Will Explore Jupiter & Its Moons Source:  ESA - JUICE JUICE'S Search for Signs of Alien Life The European Space Agency (ESA) is putting the final touches on a new spacecraft specifically designed to search for alien life.  The first place that it will search for extraterrestrial life is Jupiter and its Moons . The spacecraft is called JUICE or Jupiter  Icy Moons Explorer.  JUICE's purpose is to find alien life or determine if the planet and its Moons are capable of sustaining life. This is yet another example of how seriously global space agencies, are taking the search for life beyond Earth. NASA with its upcoming Mars probe is leading the exploration along with ESA. JUICE's Timeline Right now in Germany, JUICE is being outfitted with highly advanced communications systems, navigation sensors and onboard computers. Next stop is The Netherlands, where it will go through rigorous testing...

Satellite Spots 1st Alien World Source:  ESA's CHEOPS image  ESA's New Highly Advanced Satellite Europe's new exoplanet-spotting space telescope CHEOPS has been tested in space for the past three months.  It has successfully spotted several exoplanets.  These are planets that orbit stars outside of our solar system.  They're known as alien planets,  By the end of April it will start scientific observations of great importance to the process of  discovering life beyond the Earth. CHEOPS  CHEOPS is on a different mission than NASA's Kepler space telescope that searches for exoplanets. The CHEOPS space telescope is targeting known  exoplanets to determine their sizes and density.  Thanks to its highly advanced instrumentation, the accuracy of measurement that CHEOPS delivers will be unprecedented. Search for Alien Life on Alien Planets The discoveries and findings from CHEOPS are expected to be critical to...

NASA Diligently Searching Source:  NASA Caltech Space Image What's Underground on Mars? NASA scientists have a fascinating and very innovative theory.  They're exploring the possibility that some forms of life could be supported underground and inside caves on Mars.  They believe there's a chance that water may exist underground to support life on the Red Planet. 2020 Launch In July 2020 NASA will launch its Mars 2020 rover with a mission to search for life on the Red Planet.  It will touch down on the Martian surface on the targeted date of February 18, 2021 at a location called Jezero Crater.  NASA calls the area  one of the most scientifically interesting landscapes on Mars. Search for Water and Life Jezero Crater was once home to an ancient river delta that may contain signs of microbial life. The possibility exists that there is water underground on Mars.  Exploring for water and life is rover's big mission.   The rover will jo...