Here are some recent stories of interest.
—The Columbian: “Europa Might Have Less Oxygen Than Expected“
New research suggests there’s less oxygen on the icy surface of Jupiter’s moon Europa than thought — and that could affect what, if any, life might be lurking in the moon’s underground ocean. Even with little or no oxygen, microbes might still be bustling around in the ocean believed to exist miles beneath Europa’s frozen crust. As for what else, “who knows,” said NASA scientist Kevin Hand, who was not involved in the study published Monday in Nature Astronomy.
—Webbtelescope.org: “NASA’s Webb, Hubble Telescopes Affirm Universe’s Expansion Rate, Puzzle Persists“
The best measurements from Hubble show the universe is now expanding faster than predicted based on observations of how it looked shortly after the big bang. These observations were made by the Planck satellite mapping of the cosmic microwave background radiation – sort of a blueprint for how the universe would evolve structure after it cooled down from the big bang. The simple solution to the dilemma is to say that maybe Hubble observations are wrong due to some creeping inaccuracy in its deep-space yardstick. Then along came the James Webb Space Telescope to crosscheck Hubble’s results. Webb’s sharp infrared views of Cepheids agreed with Hubble data. Webb confirmed that the Hubble telescope’s keen eye was right all along.
—NASA JPL: “NASA’s Network of Small Moon-Bound Rovers Is Ready to Roll“
A trio of small rovers that will explore the Moon in sync with one another are rolling toward launch. Engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California recently finished assembling the robots, then subjected them to a punishing series of tests to ensure they’ll survive their jarring rocket ride into space and their travels in the unforgiving lunar environment. Part of a technology demonstration called CADRE (Cooperative Autonomous Distributed Robotic Exploration), each solar-powered rover is about the size of a carry-on suitcase.