NASA retires mineral mapping instrument on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
NASA switched off one of its oldest instruments studying Mars on April 3, a step that's been planned since last year. Riding aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, CRISM, or the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars, revealed miner.....»»
Voyager 1 team accomplishes tricky thruster swap
Engineers working on NASA's Voyager 1 probe have successfully mitigated an issue with the spacecraft's thrusters, which keep the distant explorer pointed at Earth so that it can receive commands, send engineering data, and provide the unique science.....»»
How to watch NASA’s oldest active astronaut launch to the ISS on Wednesday
Don Pettit isn't your average senior citizen. Instead of enjoying life in the slow lane, he's getting ready for a rocket ride to the ISS......»»
Cloud atlas of Mars showcases array of atmospheric phenomena
Cloud enthusiasts have a new tool to investigate striking formations in the skies above the red planet. A browsable database of 20-years-worth of images of clouds and storms, created by the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) in Berlin, is helping scientis.....»»
Orchestrating a swarm of robots for exploration of canyon on Mars
An enormous canyon stretches across Mars: Valles Marineris is 3,000 kilometers long, 600 kilometers wide and on average 8 kilometers deep. Its Latin name goes back to the Mars orbiter Mariner, which discovered the valley in the early 1970s......»»
SpaceX launches billionaire to conduct the first private spacewalk
A daredevil billionaire rocketed back into orbit Tuesday, aiming to perform the first private spacewalk and venture farther than anyone since NASA's Apollo moonshots......»»
NASA spacecraft to study Jupiter moon"s underground ocean cleared for October launch
NASA on Monday approved next month's launch to Jupiter's moon Europa after reviewing the spacecraft's ability to withstand the intense radiation there......»»
NASA will proceed with final preps to launch Europa Clipper next month
After a four-month review, NASA says suspect transistors on Europa Clipper are good to go. Enlarge / The main body of NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft is reflected in one of the mission's deployable solar array wings during testi.....»»
SpaceX’s delayed Polaris Dawn mission to launch tonight
The historic SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission, which includes the first ever commercial spacewalk, will launch tonight from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida......»»
Artemis III landing sites identified using mapping and algorithm techniques
Where would be the most ideal landing site for the Artemis III crew in SpaceX's Human Landing System (HLS)? This is what a recent study submitted to Acta Astronautica, and available on the arXiv preprint server, hopes to address as an international t.....»»
Like a diamond in the sky: How to spot NASA"s solar sail demo in orbit
Now that its reflective sail has deployed fully open in orbit, the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System can be seen in the night sky from many locations across the world!.....»»
NASA scientific balloon takes flight with student-built payloads
NASA's Scientific Balloon Program's fifth balloon mission of the 2024 fall campaign took flight Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, from the agency's Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility in Fort Sumner, New Mexico. The HASP 1.0 (High-Altitude Student Platform).....»»
Hubble and Chandra find supermassive black hole duo
Like two Sumo wrestlers squaring off, the closest confirmed pair of supermassive black holes have been observed in tight proximity. These are located approximately 300 light-years apart and were detected using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and the Ch.....»»
Parker Solar Probe lines up for final Venus flyby
NASA's Parker Solar Probe executed a short maneuver on Aug. 26 that kept the spacecraft on course for the mission's seventh and final planned Venus flyby on Nov. 6......»»
Hidden, compact galaxies in the distant universe—searching for the secrets behind the little red dots
Astronomers exploring the faraway universe with the James Webb Space Telescope, NASA's most powerful telescope, have found a class of galaxies that challenges even the most skillful creatures in mimicry—like the mimic octopus. This creature can imp.....»»
Two astronauts are left behind in space as Boeing"s troubled capsule returns to Earth empty
Boeing's first astronaut mission ended Friday night with an empty capsule landing and two test pilots still in space, left behind until next year because NASA judged their return too risky......»»
Two NASA astronauts stuck in space have flown long missions before
The two NASA astronauts left behind at the International Space Station following the return of Boeing's troubled capsule are Navy test pilots who have ridden out long missions before......»»
Boeing Starliner Returns Home to an Uncertain Future
NASA has three more operational Starliner missions on the books. It hasn't decided whether it will commit to any more than that......»»
The maiden voyage of Blue Origin"s massive new rocket won"t be for NASA
The maiden voyage of Blue Origin"s massive new rocket won"t be for NASA.....»»
With NASA’s plan faltering, China knows it can be first with Mars sample return
"China is likely to become the first country to return samples from Mars." Enlarge / A "selfie" photo of China's Zhurong rover and the Tianwen-1 landing platform on Mars in 2021. (credit: China National Space Administration).....»»
Faced with a tight deadline, NASA and Blue Origin agree to delay New Glenn debut
"We can’t take our foot off the pedal here." Enlarge / The second stage of the New Glenn rocket rolled to the launch site this week. (credit: Blue Origin) NASA and Blue Origin announced Friday that they have agreed to.....»»