NASA"s Lucy in the cleanroom
L'Ralph is one of the Lucy spacecraft's three primary science instruments. The L'Ralph instrument is a multicolor camera which will gather information on the surface composition of the Trojan asteroids, including organics. The L'Ralph camera sits ato.....»»
Launch date set for NASA"s PREFIRE mission to study polar energy loss
NASA and Rocket Lab are targeting no earlier than Wednesday, May 22, 2024, for the first of two launches of the agency's PREFIRE (Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment) mission to study heat loss to space in Earth's polar regions......»»
NASA lays out how SpaceX will refuel Starships in low-Earth orbit
"The fundamental flow mechanism is the pressure delta across the umbilical." Enlarge / Artist's illustration of two Starships docked belly-to-belly in orbit. (credit: SpaceX) Some time next year, NASA believes SpaceX wi.....»»
How to watch the first crewed flight of the Starliner spacecraft
NASA has just released the targeted flight schedule for the first crewed test mission involving Boeing's Starliner spacecraft......»»
Hubble spots magnificent barred galaxy NGC 2217
The magnificent central bar of NGC 2217 (also known as AM 0619-271) shines bright in the constellation of Canis Major (The Greater Dog), in this image taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Roughly 65 million light-years from Earth, this barre.....»»
NASA scientists gear up for solar storms at Mars
In the months ahead, two of NASA's Mars spacecraft will have an unprecedented opportunity to study how solar flares—giant explosions on the sun's surface—could affect robots and future astronauts on the Red Planet......»»
Study provides new global accounting of Earth"s rivers
A study led by NASA researchers provides new estimates of how much water courses through Earth's rivers, the rates at which it's flowing into the ocean, and how much both of those figures have fluctuated over time—crucial information for understand.....»»
Webb captures iconic Horsehead Nebula in unprecedented detail
The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has captured the sharpest infrared images to date of one of the most distinctive objects in our skies, the Horsehead Nebula. These observations show a part of the iconic nebula in a whole new light, capturi.....»»
NASA hears from Voyager 1, the most distant spacecraft from Earth, after months of quiet
NASA has finally heard back from Voyager 1 again in a way that makes sense......»»
Astronauts arrive at Kennedy Space Center as first crew for Boeing"s Starliner spacecraft
It's not just another ride for a pair of veteran NASA astronauts who arrived to the Space Coast ahead of their flight onboard Boeing's CST-100 Starliner......»»
NASA still doesn’t understand root cause of Orion heat shield issue
“When we stitch it all together, we’ll either have flight rationale or we won’t." Enlarge / NASA's Orion spacecraft descends toward the Pacific Ocean on December 11, 2021, at the end of the Artemis I mission. (credit: NASA).....»»
NASA gives Starliner’s first crewed launch the go-ahead
With the first crewed test flight of the new Boeing Starliner spacecraft less than two weeks away, NASA has given the go-ahead for the launch......»»
NASA astronauts arrive for Boeing"s first human spaceflight
The two NASA astronauts assigned to Boeing's first human spaceflight arrived at their launch site Thursday, just over a week before their scheduled liftoff......»»
NASA"s Deep Space Optical Communications demonstration transmits data over 140 million miles
Riding aboard NASA's Psyche spacecraft, the agency's Deep Space Optical Communications technology demonstration continues to break records. While the asteroid-bound spacecraft doesn't rely on optical communications to send data, the new technology ha.....»»
Psyche spacecraft sends data back to Earth using lasers for the first time
NASA's experimental laser communication system, riding along with the Psyche spacecraft, has transmitted Psyche data from over 140 million miles away......»»
The Mars Sample Return mission has a shaky future, and NASA is calling on private companies for backup
A critical NASA mission in the search for life beyond Earth, Mars Sample Return, is in trouble. Its budget has ballooned from US$5 billion to over $11 billion, and the sample return date may slip from the end of this decade to 2040......»»
We may have spotted the first magnetar flare outside our galaxy
Not all gamma-ray bursts come from supernovae. Enlarge / M82, the site of what's likely to be a giant flare from a magnetar. (credit: NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team) Gamma rays are a broad category of high-energy.....»»
See incredible time lapses of two of space’s most famous objects
Two striking timelapses from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory show how two famous objects have changed over the last two decades......»»
Pushing the limits of sub-kilowatt electric propulsion technology for space mission concepts
NASA has developed an advanced propulsion technology to facilitate future planetary exploration missions using small spacecraft. Not only will this technology enable new types of planetary science missions, one of NASA's commercial partners is alread.....»»
NASA"s Chandra releases timelapse movies of Crab Nebula and Cassiopeia A
New movies of two of the most famous objects in the sky—the Crab Nebula and Cassiopeia A—are being released from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. Each includes X-ray data collected by Chandra over about two decades. They show dramatic changes in.....»»
A NASA rover has reached a promising place to search for fossilized life on Mars
While we go about our daily lives on Earth, a nuclear-powered robot the size of a small car is trundling around Mars looking for fossils. Unlike its predecessor Curiosity, NASA's Perseverance rover is explicitly intended to "search for potential evid.....»»