TOKYO — A House of Representatives bill would direct NASA to begin work on an asteroid mission in collaboration with industry, as well as a space debris inspection mission. The House Appropriations Committee released the report accompanying its commerce, justice and science (CJS) spending bill on July 8, a day before a markup by the … Read more
The International Space Station (ISS) is counting down its days, with retirement just a few years away hanging over the orbital lab. For more than 20 years, the space station served as a home for astronauts in low Earth orbit, but it will soon meet its demise as it plummets through the atmosphere, leaving behind … Read more
Source: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore spent an unexpected Fourth of July aboard the International Space Station, but it was hardly a patriotic display of technical prowess. The two NASA astronauts arrived at the space station on June 6 for what was supposed to be an eight-day mission. But their return … Read more
A micrograph of a dark Bennu particle, about a millimeter long, with a crust of bright phosphate. A smaller fragment that has broken off is visible on the right. Credit: From Lauretta & Connolly et al. (2024) Meteoritics and planetary sciencedoi:10.1111/maps.14227 Analysis of a sample from the asteroid Bennu has revealed essential components of life … Read more
NASA has captured photos and videos of the two massive asteroids that passed by our planet a few weeks ago. The two asteroids, 2011 UL21 and 2024 MK, passed by Earth on June 27 and 29 respectively and were captured by NASA’s Deep Space Network’s Goldstone planetary radar. While 2011 UL21 flew past us at … Read more
39 Scientists have calculated the speed of meteoroid impacts on Mars using seismic measurements taken by NASA’s retired InSight lander during its mission. Two companion studies published June 28 independently estimate significantly higher speeds than previously inferred from images taken by spacecraft orbiting the Red Planet. The studies show that seismic measurements promise to be … Read more
On Friday, June 28, 2024, technicians lifted NASA’s Orion spacecraft into space using a 30-ton crane. NASA/Radislav Sinyak This is the spacecraft that NASA will launch to the moon. For the first time since 1972, four astronauts will orbit Earth’s natural satellite. The Orion spacecraft, which will be used for the space agency’s Artemis 2 … Read more
NASA warns of possible asteroid collision with Earth in 2024 The Threat of Near-Earth Objects Hundreds of millions of rocks orbit the sun in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. While many of these rocks remain in the asteroid belt, some venture close to Earth, earning them the designation Near-Earth Objects (NEOs). NASA defines … Read more
As shown in this artist’s concept, the SHERLOC instrument is located at the end of the robotic arm of NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech After six months of effort, an instrument that helps NASA‘s Perseverance Mars Rover’s search for possible signs of ancient microbial life is back online. After a mechanical failure halted SHERLOC … Read more
When NASAThe Juno orbiter flew close by a Jupiter moonsaw a few volcanic plumes spewing material into the air roomsomething the robotic spacecraft had not previously captured. The plumes rise high above Jupiter’s planet Io. third largest moon. It is the most volcanically active world in our solar system, with astronomers believing hundreds of volcanoes … Read more