Kyoto, Japan -- Asteroids that orbit close to the Earth inevitably cause us some anxiety due to the even remote possibility of a collision. But their proximity also offers ample opportunities to learn more about the universe. Ryugu, a 900-meter diameter asteroid in the Apollo belt, has recently proven useful in our search for signs of life's precursors elsewhere in our Solar System.

A team of researchers at Kyoto University have found evidence of salt minerals in samples recovered from Ryugu during the initial phase of Japan's Hayabusa2 mission. The discovery of these deposits, containing sodium carbonate, halite, and sodium sulfates, suggest that liquid saline water once existed within a parent body of Ryugu.

Before examining the samples, the team expected that sample grains returned from the asteroid might contain substances not generally found in meteorites. They anticipated that these could be highly water-soluble materials, which readily react with moisture in Earth's atmosphere and are difficult to detect unless examined in their pristine state as preserved in the vacuum of space.

MIT researchers demonstrated the first fully 3D-printed, droplet-emitting electrospray engine. The low-cost device can be fabricated more quickly than traditional thrusters, potentially from on board a spacecraft, and could enable CubeSats to perform precise, in-orbit maneuvers, aiding space research projects.

Jumping workouts could help astronauts prevent the type of cartilage damage they are likely to endure during lengthy missions to Mars and the Moon, a new Johns Hopkins University study suggests.