Sign in Subscribe

discoveries

Curiosity Shakes Loose a Pesky Rock

- On April 25, 2026, NASA’s Curiosity drilled a sample from a rock nicknamed “Atacama” and unintentionally pulled the rock off the surface when retracting its arm. - Engineers spent several days repositioning the arm and vibrating the drill to free the stuck rock. - The rock detached on May 1 and broke into pieces. - Mastcam captured a close-up image on May 6; the rock is about 1.5 ft in diameter, 6 in thick, and shows the circular drill hole.

Source: Read the full article

Photo by @mike_kiev / Unsplash

Read next

NASA Satellites Uncover Large-Scale Ocean Nutrient Stress

NASA Satellites Uncover Large-Scale Ocean Nutrient Stress

- A study published June 5 (Science Advances) combines two decades of NASA MODIS satellite data, ocean surveys, and genetic markers in Prochlorococcus to map phytoplankton nutrient stress globally. - Warming sea-surface temperatures increase stratification, reduce upwelling, and limit surface nutrients, with strongest stress in subtropical gyres and the South

Fighting Fire With Fire

Fighting Fire With Fire

- NASA’s Aqua/MODIS imagery captured smoke from numerous fires in Australia’s Northern Territory on May 28, 2026. - Many detected fires are deliberate prescribed burns, typically lit in mornings to manage savanna fuel loads. - Indigenous practices and modern programs (e.g., WALFA, Arnhem Land Fire Abatement)

NASA-Funded Study Shows Wildfire Smoke’s Hidden Ozone Toll

NASA-Funded Study Shows Wildfire Smoke’s Hidden Ozone Toll

- A NASA-supported study found that over the past decade wildfires have increased ground-level ozone (smog) across much of the contiguous U.S., worsening air quality far from fires. - Nationally, fires offset nearly four years of ozone-control gains; in the Midwest wildfires erased about 5.3 years of progress