Readying spacecraft to surf Venus" atmosphere
ESA's EnVision mission to Venus will perform optical, spectral and radar mapping of Earth's sister planet. But before getting down to work the van-sized spacecraft needs to "aerobrake"—lowering its orbit with thousands of passages through the plane.....»»
NASA can talk to its spacecraft using lasers now
NASA's Deep Space Optical Communications test has completed its first phase, showing that laser communications in space are possible and faster than radio......»»
NASA turns off another of Voyager 2’s instruments to save power
The Voyager spacecraft, launched in the 1970s, has turned off its plasma science instrument to save power for exploring interstellar space......»»
NASA powers down Voyager 2 plasma instrument to extend mission
To save power, NASA has switched off another scientific instrument on its long-running Voyager 2 spacecraft......»»
Solar Sails and Comet Tails: How Sunlight Pushes Stuff Around
It seems crazy, but light actually exerts a physical force on objects. It could power a new generation of spacecraft for deep-space missions......»»
NASA"s instruments capture sharpest image of Earth"s radiation belts
From Aug. 19–20, ESA's (European Space Agency's) Juice (Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer) mission made history with a daring lunar-Earth flyby and double gravity assist maneuver, a spaceflight first. As the spacecraft zipped past our moon and home planet.....»»
Watch the Crew Dragon hurtling through space at 17,500 mph
Watch this footage showing a Crew Dragon spacecraft zipping through space, high above the Pacific Ocean, as it travels to the space station......»»
Increased sea surface cooling from hurricanes observed along the Southeast Coast of the United States in recent decades
Utilizing satellite observations and ocean reanalysis datasets, researchers have analyzed the change in sea surface cooling induced by hurricanes and the corresponding ocean-atmosphere environment along the Gulf and Southeast coastal regions of the U.....»»
New mission to create total solar eclipses in space
A UK team of researchers including UCL's Professor Lucie Green are working on the launch of a spacecraft mission that will allow us to view the sun's atmosphere in more detail than ever before......»»
Watch out-of-this-world footage from the recent Polaris Dawn mission
A camera attached to the Polaris Dawn Crew Dragon spacecraft recorded some remarkable footage from 450 miles above Earth......»»
SpaceX launches mission to bring Starliner astronauts back to Earth
SpaceX is bringing back propulsive landings with its Dragon capsule, but only in emergencies. Enlarge / SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft climbs away from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, on Saturday atop a Falcon 9 roc.....»»
SpaceX set to launch mission to bring Starliner astronauts back to Earth
SpaceX is bringing back propulsive landings with its Dragon capsule, but only in emergencies. Enlarge / SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft is ready for launch atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Spa.....»»
Kuo: New Apple Vision Pro with M5 chip on the way, featuring Apple Intelligence support
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo this morning reported that Apple is readying a new generation of Apple Vision Pro headset, set to go into production in the second of half of 2025. The new Vision Pro would apparently not change much in terms of general.....»»
Another building block of life can handle Venus" sulfuric acid
Venus is often described as a hellscape. The surface temperature breaches the melting point of lead, and though its atmosphere is dominated by carbon dioxide, it contains enough sulfuric acid to satisfy the comparison with Hades......»»
New approach reveals details about aerosol properties from hard-to-sample areas in the atmosphere
The spatial distribution of ambient aerosol particles plays a huge role in aerosol–radiation–cloud interactions; however, not enough sampling has been done from the atmospheric boundary layer and lower free troposphere. This leaves large gaps in.....»»
Record-breaking laser demonstration completes mission
NASA's TBIRD (TeraByte InfraRed Delivery) demonstration and its host spacecraft—the PTD-3 (Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator-3)—have completed their technology demonstration. The TBIRD payload spent the past two years breaking world records for.....»»
Study shows Mars" early thick atmosphere could be locked up in the planet"s clay surface
Mars wasn't always the cold desert we see today. There's increasing evidence that water once flowed on the red planet's surface, billions of years ago. And if there was water, there must also have been a thick atmosphere to keep that water from freez.....»»
Ice cores show pollution"s impact on Arctic atmosphere
A Dartmouth-led study on ice cores from Alaska and Greenland found that air pollution from the burning of fossil fuels reaches the remote Arctic in amounts large enough to alter its fundamental atmospheric chemistry. The findings illustrate the long.....»»
Murine study suggests cosmic radiation in outer space may affect long-term cognition
During missions into outer space, galactic cosmic radiation (GCR) will penetrate current spacecraft shielding and thus pose a significant risk to human health......»»
Planetary defense research mission readies for asteroid visit
The European Space Agency is about to launch a spacecraft on an important research mission designed to bolster planetary defense......»»
Astronomers catch a glimpse of a uniquely inflated and asymmetric exoplanet
An international group of researchers including University of Arizona astronomers, using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, has observed the atmosphere of a hot and uniquely inflated exoplanet. The exoplanet, which is the size of Jupiter but only a t.....»»