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Instrumentation

Los Alamos Technologies Help Scientists Detect, Record & Interpret 'Monster' Burst of Gamma Rays
March 21 — On the ground and in space, Los Alamos National Laboratory’s science tools provided early information on the first gamma ray burst so powerful that it could be seen with the naked eye. The burst was detected March 19 by NASA's Swift satellite, thanks to software on Swift’s Burst Alert Telescope, which was the first instrument to detect the sudden rise in gamma rays.

Plethora of Papers Proves Crashed Mission a Success
October 23 — Despite a resounding crunch into the Utah desert floor in 2004, scientists have mined a treasure trove of data from the Genesis mission.

Understanding Killer Electrons in Space
July 10 — Settling a long-standing scientific debate, Los Alamos scientists have demonstrated conclusively how electromagnetic waves accelerate ordinary electrons in the belts of radiation outside Earth's atmosphere to a state where they become "killer electrons," particles that are hazardous to satellites, spacecraft, and astronauts.

Mars Rover Laser Tool Ready for Testing
June 21 — Mars mission Job One: Get there. Job Two: Find rocks and zap them with your laser tool.

GRaND science instrument moves closer to launch from Cape
April 10 — A mission back in time is nearing the launch pad minute by minute. The Dawn spacecraft, NASA’s mission into the heart of the asteroid belt, arrived at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida, today for final processing and launch operations.

'Software glasses' clarify view of lunar thorium
March 15 — Using a novel approach to data analysis, a sharper pair of “software glasses,” scientists are taking a closer look at spectroscopic Moon images to better understand how that body was formed.

Supercomputing satellite hits the road
August 31 — A satellite smaller than an armchair is departing Los Alamos National Laboratory this week, heading for a last phase of testing before its December launch.

Cassini measures geysers of Saturn's moon Enceladus
March 10 — Cassini data obtained during a close flyby of the Saturn moon Enceladus support an observation that large amounts of water are spewing into space from the tiny moon's surface.

Los Alamos scientist to speak on gamma ray bursts
September 2 — A few times a day a special type of massive star transforms itself into a black hole, simultaneously collapsing and ejecting material in a jet that moves very close to the speed of light. During their fleeting existence, these jets flood much of the universe with an enormous burst of gamma rays.

Robotic telescope discovery sheds new light on gamma-ray bursts
May 18 — A new type of light was detected from a recent gamma-ray burst, as discovered by Los Alamos National Laboratory and NASA scientists using both burst-detection satellites and a Los Alamos-based robotic telescope.

Los Alamos wizardry to aid new Mars science laboratory
December 22 — Having analyzed Mars from afar via orbiting satellite, Los Alamos National Laboratory instruments will next be on their way to get out and play in the Martian dirt. Two of the eight instruments aboard NASA's planned Mars Science Laboratory rover, scheduled for launch in 2009, include Los Alamos technology.

New NASA IBEX mission to carry Los Alamos instrument
January 28 — A new NASA mission, IBEX, will probe the very edge of the solar system, capturing the quiet hum of a vast, distant shock wave. One of its two instruments is a compact Los Alamos device called the High Energy Neutral Atom Imager.

Telling a salty tale of martian water
October 7 — University of California scientists working at Los Alamos National Laboratory, along with a scientist from Indiana University have devised a method for determining whether sulfate salts can account for evidence of water on Mars. The work could pave the way to a better understanding of the martian environment and the history of water on Mars.

Media Advisory: Robots, scientists and Pueblo school kids
November 3 — Continuing its all-star annual series of robot-building workshops, scientists from Los Alamos National Laboratory will bring the cold, hard, hand of science to bear in the classroom this week. Armed with a box of robot kits and a cumulative 100-plus years of professional experience, Los Alamos scientists will do a show-and-tell that should turn some heads at Jemez Valley Elementary School, Jemez Valley Middle School, San Diego Riverside School, Walatowa High and Jemez Valley High School.

Los Alamos releases new maps of Mars water
July 24 — new maps of likely sites of water on Mars showcase their association with geologic features such as Vallis Marineris, the largest canyon in the solar system.

The weatherman of Mars
December 9 — Researchers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, the University of Arizona Lunar Planetary Laboratory, Tucson, AZ, and Cornell University, Center for Radiophysics and Space Research, Ithaca, NY have discovered further evidence for the possible existence of a changing, and perhaps predictable, Martian climate.

Mars Odyssey quenches researchers' thirst for water data
May 28 — Researchers with the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory have determined that Mars has enough water to sustain human exploratory missions.

Mars Odyssey's neutron spectrometer maps water-ice
March 1 — Scientists today unveiled maps that detail the location of hydrogen, that may indicate water-ice, just below Mars' surface. The maps are based on data from a neutron spectrometer built at the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory and flown aboard NASA's Mars Odyssey now in orbit around the Red planet. The data are supported by simultaneous measurements made using the Mars Odyssey's gamma-ray spectrometer.

Los Alamos instruments capturing the sun
December 4 — NASA's Genesis mission swings into full gear today as its instruments, three of which were designed and built by the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory, begin capturing particles from the sun.

Yule track Santa's progress with Laboratory web site
December 20 — With a little help from Los Alamos National Laboratory's Nonproliferation and International Security Division, children of all ages can track Santa Claus' trek from the North Pole around the world on Christmas Eve.

Los Alamos spectrometers part of four-satellite Cluster II mission
August 4 — Imaging spectrometers developed at the U.S. Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory are among the science tools aboard the new, four-satellite Cluster II mission.

Taking pictures of the invisible tracking weather above the sky
December 17 — Using a technique called neutral atom imaging from a satellite high above the North Pole, researchers at the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory are developing pictures of the magnetosphere, an invisible magnetic layer around the Earth. These pictures will be essential to a better understanding of the "weather" in space, where a blast of solar wind particles can knock out a multimillion-dollar satellite.

Taking pictures of the invisible: Tracking weather above the sky
December 17 — Using a technique called neutral atom imaging from a satellite high above the North Pole, researchers at the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory are developing pictures of the magnetosphere, an invisible magnetic layer around the Earth. These pictures will be essential to a better understanding of the "weather" in space, where a blast of solar wind particles can knock out a multimillion-dollar satellite.

Lightning over oceans more plentiful than expected
December 9 — Storms over the oceans generate more lightning than previously realized, and researchers may be able to use this finding in studies of atmospheric energy distribution mechanisms linked to climate and weather effects. Energy from the sun can be captured and redistributed globally through the latent heat carried in water vapor. Storm clouds with lightning tend to be more intense and provide a relatively greater release of latent heat through rainfall -- condensation of the water vapor. Remote tracking of such systems may tell researchers where substantial amounts of latent heat are being released over the ocean and thus better understand energy distribution through the atmosphere.

Los Alamos instruments to prospect for water on the moon
December 30 — Three Los Alamos instruments on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Lunar Prospector, scheduled for a Jan. 5, 1998, launch, will look for water, map the location of valuable elements and gather data on events that release gases from below the surface of Earth's nearest neighbor.

Los Alamos science instruments to fly on Cassini
October 8 — Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists led the development of two scientific sensors that will provide key measurements of the space environment around Saturn when the Cassini spacecraft reaches the ringed planet in 2004. The two sensors are part of the Cassini Plasma Spectrometer, or CAPS, a microwave oven-sized unit that is one of 12 scientific instruments on the two-story-tall Cassini spacecraft. Cassini, a joint effort of the National Aeronautics and Space Agency and the European Space Agency, is scheduled for launch Oct. 13.

Los Alamos and Surrey Satellite contract for Cibola flight experiment platform
March 10 — Los Alamos National Laboratory and Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) announced today a contract agreement for development of an advanced satellite platform for ionospheric and lightning studies.

Los Alamos makes first map of ice on Mars
February 15 — Lurking just beneath the surface of Mars is enough water to cover the entire planet ankle-deep, says Los Alamos National Laboratory scientist Bill Feldman.

Mars within Los Alamos' Neutron Spectrometer's reach
October 19 — A neutron spectrometer designed and built at the U.S. Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory is closing in on Mars aboard NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey.

Los Alamos instruments to capture the sun
July 23 — Three instruments designed and built by researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory will help scientists understand the origin of the solar system.

XMM-Newton discovers X-ray nova and unique, pulsating white dwarf in the Andromeda Galaxy
June 4 — In its first look at the Andromeda Galaxy, known as M31, the X-ray Multi-Mirror satellite observatory has revealed several unusual X-ray sources. In examining new satellite data, an international team of scientists, including researchers at the United States Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory, discovered an unusually bright spot created by an enormous X-ray nova outburst. Another mysterious object has been found as well: one of the "coolest" sources of the central region appears to be a luminous white dwarf with an extremely soft energy spectrum and the shortest X-ray pulsation period seen to date.

Proven Los Alamos technology on trek to Mars
April 4 — A neutron spectrometer designed and built at the U.S. Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory is aboard NASA's Mars Odyssey set to launch Saturday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

Lunar Prospector provides a world of data
March 12 — Los Alamos National Laboratory present their latest findings from NASA's Lunar Prospector mission at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Houston, Texas.

Attack of the robot scientists
December 12 — Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory will bring the cold, hard, hand of science to bear in the classroom this week. Armed with a box of robot kits and a cumulative 100-plus years of professional experience, five Lab scientists will do a show-and-tell that should turn some heads Thursday among their third-grade audience at Jemez Valley Elementary School.

Los Alamos gamma ray burst work advances on satellite
October 6 — They burn as brightly as 100 million billion stars, flash randomly across the heavens, and were discovered more than 25 years ago here at the US Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory. Now, with tomorrow's launch of the High Energy Transient Explorer, gamma ray bursts (GRBs) will begin to reveal more of their secrets as the latest in detection equipment is lifted into orbit.

Los Alamos unleashes GENIE on Cerro Grande destruction
July 25 — The U.S. Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory is using a sophisticated image analysis technology to create high-resolution maps of the destruction caused by the Cerro Grande wildfire.

MTI satellite begins scientific work, maps Cerro Grande Fire damage
June 14 — With its orbital checkout phase complete, the Multispectral Thermal Imager satellite, MTI, is inaugurating the scientific-data development stage of its three-year mission by starting to provide pictures of the fire-ravaged Los Alamos area, among other cooperative U.S. sites.

Los Alamos instrument flies aboard IMAGE satellite
March 28 — When a Boeing Delta II rocket blasted skyward Saturday, among the items in its satellite payload was a device about the size of an overnight bag. Dubbed MENA, for Medium Energy Neutral Atom imager, the 10-pound sensor developed by Los Alamos National Laboratory will work with similar devices aboard the IMAGE satellite to provide the first global images of the major plasma regions and boundaries of the Earth's magnetosphere. These sensors also will study the reactions of these charged particle areas to the solar wind.

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