Jet Propulsion Laboratory news stories on Newser

Greenland, Antarctic Ice Melting Faster Than Expected

Kevin Spak — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 14:08:00 CST

The ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica are melting significantly faster than previously estimated, according to a new international report led by scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Unless the trend is reversed, the melting ice sheets will push global sea levels up six inches by 2050, the scientists found.

Rocket Scientists See Red Flag in Background Checks

Nick McMaster — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 15:52:40 CST

A case brought by workers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory could help determine a government standard for employee privacy. The rocket scientists have won a district court ruling against a Bush-era homeland security initiative that instituted background checks for all employees. The employees consider the checks not just intrusive but...

NASA Rover on Strike

Peter Fearon — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 03:49:10 CST

NASA engineers are perplexed by a rebellious streak that has developed in its Martian roving robot, Spirit. It was expected to last just 90 days when it landed on Mars five years ago, but the robot has continued to send back data. This past weekend, however, Spirit failed to report...

Mars Through a Microscope

Peter Fearon — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 07:34:53 CDT

The Phoenix Mars Lander has taken the first high-resolution images of another planet's dirt and sand in its continued quest for signs of life in the planet's polar region. The microscopic particles were kicked up when the lander touched down and collected on a slide, Reuters reports. Scientists note that...

Phoenix Samples Martian Dirt

Peter Fearon — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 05:41:38 CDT

The Phoenix Mars Lander grabbed a small sample of the fine soil of the planet's polar region yesterday. It was only a test "dig and dump"—using the spacecraft's 8-foot-long robotic arm—but paves the way for retrieving and analyzing samples of Martian soil later this week, reports the Arizona...

7 Minutes of Danger in Mars Quest

Peter Fearon — Fri, 23 May 2008 02:52:48 CDT

The latest NASA mission searching for signs of life on Mars comes to a heart-pounding climax Sunday as the Phoenix Lander attempts to touch down at the red planet's pole in a hunt for water. The lander must perform complex maneuvers in which the whole mission is at risk for...

Laws of Physics May Need an Overhaul

Ambreen Ali — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 18:04:56 CDT

The laws of physics just might be broken. Scientists have detected gravity-defying behavior from spacecrafts flung around the Earth, the Economist reports. Five different spacecrafts picked up speed at a pace deviating,ever so slightly, from the laws created by Newton and Einstein. After laborious calculations, astronomers have created a...

Antarctica Speeds Into Trouble

Peter Fearon — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 11:35:00 CST

Parts of Antarctica thought to be unaffected by global warming are in fact melting as the temperature of the oceans rises, and in parts of the continent, annual ice loss has jumped 140% in the past decade, new research shows. Satellite mapping shows change on a previously unimagined scale, reports...