Aboard the massive research vessel Thomas G. Thompson, sailing 1,600 miles northeast of New Zealand near the Polynesian islands of Samoa, WashU graduate students Adrea Williams and Judy Zhang were thinking deep thoughts.
Jupiter’s moon Io, the fourth-largest moon in the solar system, has long fascinated scientists with its volcanic eruptions and sulfur-rich surface. Ryan Ogliore, associate professor of physics at Washington University in St. Louis, is leading a group of scientists and engineers in developing an exciting robotic space mission to explore Io’s volcanoes.
NASA's Perseverance rover has made an intriguing discovery—a rock with indications that it may have once harbored microbial life billions of years ago.
As we venture deeper into space, the importance of power and in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) grows. Generating products with local materials becomes crucial, reducing the dependency on supplies from Earth.