Mobile phone users will help unlock the secrets of the Solar System. NASA is
planning to piggyback an astronomy mission on a commercial communications
satellite. Its Cosmic Hot Interstellar Plasma Spectrometer (CHIPS) will be
launched in 2001 on a Russian Cosmos rocket. While the satellite relays
telephone calls, the attached spectrometer will scan the sky for extreme
ultraviolet radiation to determine the types of plasma in the Local Bubble, an
area surrounding the Sun that is thought to be filled with ionised gas.
More from New Scientist
Explore the latest news, articles and features
Mind
What to read this week: The 21st Century Brain by Hannah Critchlow
Culture
ÎçÒ¹¸£Àû1000¼¯ºÏ
Long covid reveals the harm of one-size-fits-all medical treatment
Leader
Space
Ann Leckie continues to shine with new sci-fi novel Radiant Star
Culture
Comment
Is an AI version of Mark Zuckerberg – or any boss – a good plan?
Regulars
Popular articles
Trending New Scientist articles
1
Weird 'transdimensional' state of matter is neither 2D nor 3D
2
100-year-old assumption about the universe may soon be overturned
3
Is consciousness more fundamental to reality than quantum physics?
4
Thought-provoking photographs capture what it feels like to have ADHD
5
We may finally have a cure for many different autoimmune conditions
6
Simple treatment tweak drastically reduces blood loss from severe cuts
7
Why dinosaurs lived much more complex lives than we thought
8
Why your opinion of used electric vehicles is probably wrong
9
Largest-ever octopus was great white shark of invertebrate predators
10
Cancer is increasing in young people and we still don't know why
