An Exoplanet Discovery from Hubble on This Week @NASA – September 13, 2019

TL;DR

Hubble Space Telescope finds water vapor on exoplanet K2-18b, potentially making it habitable. Next ISS crew, including Jessica Meir, prepares for launch. NASA resumes work in Florida after weathering Hurricane Dorian.

Transcript

Hubble makes an exoplanet discovery … The next space station crew gets ready to launch … And back to work in Florida after weathering the storm … a few of the stories to tell you about – This Week at NASA! Researchers using data from our Hubble Space Telescope have, for the first time, detected water vapor signatures in the atmosphere of a planet o... Read More

Key Insights

• 💦 Researchers have detected water vapor on an exoplanet in the habitable zone, potentially indicating the presence of liquid water on its surface.
• 🚀 The next crew destined for the International Space Station, including Jessica Meir, is preparing for launch.
• 💦 NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida has resumed work following Hurricane Dorian, with progress being made towards the launch of the Artemis I mission.
• 🌑 Radar data from the Cassini spacecraft suggest a new explanation for the steep-rimmed craters on Saturn's moon Titan.
• ❓ The Hubble Space Telescope continues to provide valuable insights into the universe beyond our solar system.
• 🧑‍🚀 The Artemis missions, including the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft, are a crucial part of NASA's plan to land astronauts on the Moon by 2024.
• 🫗 Titan, with its stable surface liquids of methane and ethane, shares similarities with Earth as one of the few planetary bodies known to have such conditions.

Questions & Answers

Q: What significant discovery has the Hubble Space Telescope made regarding exoplanet K2-18b?

The Hubble Space Telescope has detected water vapor signatures in the atmosphere of exoplanet K2-18b, located in the habitable zone, indicating the presence of potentially habitable conditions for liquid water on its surface.

Q: Who is part of the next crew scheduled to launch to the International Space Station?

The next crew includes Jessica Meir, Oleg Skripochka of Roscosmos, and Spaceflight Participant Hazzaa Ali Almansoori.

Q: How has NASA's work in Florida been impacted by Hurricane Dorian?

NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida paused work due to Hurricane Dorian, but has now resumed operations with the mobile launcher for Artemis missions returning to Launch Pad 39B.

Q: What does the radar data from Cassini spacecraft suggest about Saturn's moon Titan?

Radar data from Cassini suggests that explosions of warming liquid nitrogen are responsible for the steep-rimmed craters encircling some of the methane-filled lakes on Saturn's moon Titan.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Researchers using data from the Hubble Space Telescope have detected water vapor signatures on the exoplanet K2-18b, located in the habitable zone, making it a potential candidate for sustaining liquid water on its surface.

• The next crew for the International Space Station, including Jessica Meir, completes training and prepares for launch on September 25.

• NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida resumes work after Hurricane Dorian, with the mobile launcher for Artemis missions returning to Launch Pad 39B.