We’ve enjoyed a number of celestial spectacles in recent years – from total solar eclipses to stunning auroras – and yet Earth will soon witness a space event that will trump them all. In the next five years we will be treated to a visit from asteroid 99942 Apophis and it will come close enough … Read more
Flying over 15 billion miles from Earth, Voyager 1 is the first man-made object to move through interstellar space. Traveling at about 60,000 kilometers per hour relative to the Sun, Voyager 1 is currently the farthest human object. It is a technological marvel that has been zooming around the orbits of the planets for almost … Read more
The Starliner spacecraft from NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test is pictured docked in the forward port of the Harmony module as the International Space Station orbited 263 miles (423 kilometers) above the Mediterranean Sea. Credit: NASA Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft is stuck in the space station for the time being NASA and Boeing have adjusted the … Read more
What if it is likely that a newly discovered asteroid will hit Earth in fourteen years? But that is not everything. This menacing space rock, with a diameter of about 330 to 1,050 feet (or 100 to 320 meters), has just disappeared behind the sun, making crucial observations impossible for the next seven months. In … Read more
Watch a simulation of space debris orbiting Earth The following images are computer-generated images of low Earth orbit objects currently being tracked. The orbital debris points are scaled according to the image size of the image to optimize their visibility and are not scaled to Earth. (Courtesy: NASA ODPO) WASHINGTON – NASA now acknowledges that … Read more
Enlarge / Boeing’s Starliner capsule takes off aboard United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket. In an update released late Friday evening, NASA said it was “adjusting” the date of the Starliner spacecraft’s return to Earth from June 26 to an unspecified time in July. The announcement followed two days of lengthy meetings to assess the … Read more
Astronomers typically deal with the very, very big: large telescopes, gigantic galaxies, and massive exploding stars. But one of the more revolutionary astronomical instruments of the decade is a mini satellite the size of a breadbox. The satellite will act as an artificial star that astronomers can observe from the ground, allowing them to more … Read more
This is not investment advice. The author has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. WCCF TECH INC has a disclosure and ethics policy. After NASA solicited and then selected a new round of proposals for its Mars sample return program, a Freedom of Information request from an X user in Australia shared details … Read more
A menacing asteroid could bring Earth’s often feuding nations together, at least for a while. Dealing with a large, dangerous asteroid that appears to have our planet in its crosshairs will require a healthy dose of international cooperation, experts say — and it’s best to think about that scenario now, while we have plenty of … Read more
Earth has a “limited willingness” to “rapidly conduct” the necessary space missions to defend itself against a devastating asteroid impact, even with fourteen years’ notice. During an exercise involving multiple U.S. government agencies in April 2024, NASA conducted a so-called “tabletop” game in which participants plotted their response to a 72 percent chance that an … Read more