Greek Farmers Fear Crop Losses Amid Uncertainty Over Bulgarian Water Supply
Greek farmers are growing increasingly concerned about the future of their crops as uncertainty looms over their access to water from Bulgaria
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft landed on asteroid Bennu last week, and already it’s found water on the minor planet, reported Geek.com
Early data from the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) mission revealed water locked inside Bennu.
Information gathered by the spacecraft’s OVIRS and OTES spectrometers reveals the presence of molecules that contain oxygen and hydrogen atoms bonded together, known as “hydroxyls.”
Scientists believe these hydroxyl groups exist across the asteroid in water-bearing clay minerals, suggesting that, at some point, Bennu’s rocky surface interacted with water.
The orb itself is too small to have hosted liquid water, according to NASA. But fluids were present at some point on Bennu’s parent body—a much larger asteroid.
“When samples of this material are returned by the mission to Earth in 2023,” she continued, “scientists will receive a treasure trove of new information about the history and evolution of our Solar System.”
More than two years after its launch in September 2016, OSIRIS-REx finally reached the near-Earth asteroid last week. The spacecraft is now in survey mode, flying over Bennu’s north pole, equator, and south pole at close ranges to determine the planetoid’s mass.
“The spacecraft is healthy and the science instruments are working better than required,” he added. “It is time now for our adventure to begin.”
The third New Frontiers planetary science mission (following Juno and New Horizons), OSIRIS-REx is expected to return to Earth with a collected specimen in September 2023.
Bulgaria has joined Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro in organizing protests against rising food prices
A drone spotted near Sofia Airport caused flight delays last night, the airport’s press center confirmed, as reported by BTA.
In honor of International Marriage Week (February 7-14), Ruse Mayor Pencho Milkov congratulated Kalya and Miho Mihovi, the oldest married couple in the municipality, who have been together for 73 years.
Cybercriminals are mass-distributing fake emails in Bulgaria, posing as law firms, with the goal of infecting recipients' computers with a Trojan virus.
A person was killed in a shooting in Brussels on Friday, believed to be connected to clashes between rival drug gangs, the local prosecutor’s office reported, citing Reuters.
Burgas has officially launched its bid to become the European Capital of Culture for 2032, taking the first step in the extensive preparation process
Bulgaria's Perperikon: A European Counterpart to Peru's Machu Picchu
Bulgarians Among EU's Least Frequent Vacationers, Struggling with Affordability