NASA is forming a response team after an independent review board examined the agency’s ongoing plans and objectives for its upcoming mission to retrieve samples from Mars.
Space News & Blog Articles
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If Earth is Average, We Should Find Extraterrestrial Life Within 60 Light-Years
In 1960, while preparing for the first meeting on the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI), legendary astronomer and SETI pioneer Dr. Frank Drake unveiled his probabilistic equation for estimating the number of possible civilizations in our galaxy – aka. The Drake Equation. A key parameter in this equation was ne, the number of planets in our galaxy capable of supporting life – aka. “habitable.” At the time, astronomers were not yet certain other stars had systems of planets. But thanks to missions like Kepler, 5523 exoplanets have been confirmed, and another 9,867 await confirmation!
Iran launches 3rd military satellite to orbit
Iran sent its 3rd military satellite to orbit on Wednesday (Sept. 27), lofting the Noor 3 spacecraft atop a Qasem rocket.
Launch of NASA’s Psyche asteroid mission slips a week due to spacecraft issue
Artist’s illustration of the Psyche spacecraft and its destination. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
The launch of NASA’s Psyche asteroid mission is being delayed a week due to an issue with the spacecraft, according to multiple sources. Liftoff on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket is now scheduled for no earlier than Oct. 12.
Commercial spaceflight research needs a code of ethics, scientists say
As commercial space flights increase, experts urge clear ethical guidelines on research involving passengers in the absence of existing ethical frameworks.
Japan and India plan 2025 moon mission to hunt for water near the lunar south pole
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Is making progress on its rover for a joint mission with India to the south pole of the moon.
The Van Allen Belts
The Van Allen Belts are two layers of charged particles, primarily electrons and protons, that surround Earth and are held in place by Earth's magnetic field. They were discovered in 1958 by American physicist James Van Allen and his team using instruments on the first US satellite, Explorer 1.
Astronomers discover thousands of active red galaxy hearts with powerful radio signals
The radio signals hint at an important evolutionary step in the lives of galaxies.
How fast will October's annular solar eclipse travel?
The moon's shadow will travel as fast as 7,000 mph on Oct. 14 and as slow as 1,700 mph. We explore what affects the speed of a solar eclipse.
NASA astronaut Jan Davis recounts career, father's POW experience in new book
NASA space shuttle astronaut Jan Davis first read her father's letters about being a WWII prisoner of war in 2020. The collection inspired her to write a new memoir, called "Air Born."
A giant moon collision may have given rise to Saturn's iconic rings, study suggests
A collision between two ancient icy moons that may have once orbited Saturn could have given rise to the planet's iconic ring system, a new study reveals.
Radio telescope will launch to moon's far side in 2025 to hunt for the cosmic Dark Ages
The Dark Ages are the period of time between the Big Bang and the birth of stars and galaxies.
SpaceX launch of NASA's Psyche asteroid mission is just 1 week away
NASA's Psyche mission is set to launch atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket just seven days from now, on Oct. 5.
Material matters
The Biofilms study continues its cosmic quest to combat bacterial contamination. With three experiments aboard the International Space Station, it's on a mission to improve antimicrobial technology, benefitting astronauts and people on Earth alike.
NASA Opens the Lid on OSIRIS-REx's Sample Capsule
On Sunday, September 23rd, the Sample Retrieval Capsule (SRC) from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission landed in the Utah desert. Shortly thereafter, recovery teams arrived in helicopters, inspected and secured the samples, and flew them to the Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR). On Monday, the sample canister was transferred to the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Directorate (ARES) in Houston, Texas. Yesterday, on Tuesday, September 26th, NASA announced that the process of unsealing and removing the samples from the canister had begun with the removal of the initial lid.
1st black hole imaged by humanity is confirmed to be spinning, study finds
New research has found the jet blasting outward from this black hole swings like a pendulum on an 11-year cycle.
Watch a 180-year-old star eruption unfold in new time-lapse movie (video)
Over two decades of data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory helped scientists craft a stunning new video of a historic stellar eruption.
FAA closes investigation of Blue Origin launch failure
The Federal Aviation Administration has finished investigating the failure suffered by Blue Origin's New Shepard suborbital vehicle on Sept. 12, 2022.
How Do Lava Worlds Become Earth-Like, Living Planets?
Earth was once entirely molten. Planetary scientists call this phase in a planet’s evolution a magma ocean, and Earth may have had more than one magma ocean phase. Earth cooled and, over 4.5 billion years, became the vibrant, life-supporting world it is today.
Day Has Returned, but India’s Lander and Rover have Failed to Wake Up
It looks like India’s Chandrayaan-3 succumbed to the cold, and its mission is over. The frigid lunar night lasted about two weeks, and a new day has dawned. With that day came hopes of a sunlit revival for the lander and the rover, but the India Space Research Organization (ISRO) says the chances of the spacecraft awakening in the Sun are diminishing by the hour.
Japan's 'moon sniper' probe snaps photo of Earth from orbit
Japan's SLIM lunar lander has sent back an eerie image of Earth as a test of the camera it will use to help it land accurately on the moon a few months from now.
