SAN ANTONIO — July 21, 2025 — NASA’s Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites (TRACERS) mission, a collaborative effort led by the University of Iowa (UI) with substantial contributions from Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), has entered its final integration phase. NASA is set to launch TRACERS’ two satellites into low Earth orbit on July 22nd from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The TRACERS mission will explore the dynamic interactions between the Sun’s and Earth’s magnetic fields.

Astronomers have discovered a companion star in an incredibly tight orbit around Betelgeuse using the NASA and U.S. National Science Foundation-funded ‘Alopeke instrument on Gemini North, one half of the International Gemini Observatory, partly funded by the NSF and operated by NSF NOIRLab. This discovery answers the longstanding mystery of the star’s varying brightness and provides insight into the physical mechanisms behind other variable red supergiants.

SAN ANTONIO — July 21, 2025 — Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) scientists conducted lab experiments to address a mystery about the origins of frozen hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) on Jupiter’s icy moon Europa. Their results, published in the July 2025 issue of Planetary Science Journal, may help explain puzzling observations made by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

Simple laboratory model for cosmic flows developed: A water tornado enables a realistic simulation of the dynamics of gas and dust in planet-forming discs.

Kepler’s laws confirmed in a water tank: The orbits of floating particles follow the same physical rules as celestial bodies in a gravitational field.

Potential for experiments on planet formation: The cost-effective and versatile setup opens up new ways to study interactions between dust and gas under laboratory conditions.

Astronomers may have caught a still-forming planet in action, carving out an intricate pattern in the gas and dust that surrounds its young host star. Using ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), they observed a planetary disc with prominent spiral arms, finding clear signs of a planet nestled in its inner regions. This is the first time astronomers have detected a planet candidate embedded inside a disc spiral.

A recent review in journal Earth and Planetary Physics highlights that China's Tianwen-2 mission, launched on May 29, 2025, will carry a penetrating radar to directly probe the internal structures of the near-Earth asteroid 2016 HO₃ (Kamo'oalewa) and the active asteroid 311P/PANSTARRS. This investigation is expected to provide crucial data for unveiling the internal characteristics of asteroids and comets, thereby offering new insights into the early evolution of the solar system.