Tag: Asteroids
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NASA’s Dawn mission gears up for close look at Ceres
This artist concept shows NASA’s Dawn spacecraft above dwarf planet Ceres, as seen in images from the mission. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA NASA’s Dawn spacecraft will remain at Ceres for the rest of its mission, heading closer to the asteroid belt’s largest resident than ever before to obtain new measurements of ice, salts and a tenuous intermittent…
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Asteroid-bound probe returns Earth-moon family portrait
The MapCam camera on the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft took this picture of the Earth and the moon Oct. 2 at a distance of around 3.2 million miles (5.1 million kilometers) from Earth. Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona Ten days after a swingby to receive a gravitational boost toward its asteroid target, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft turned one of…
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Scientists celebrate 10th anniversary of Dawn mission’s launch
Artist’s concept of the Dawn spacecraft with imagery of Ceres (left) and Vesta (right) captured during the mission. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech In the ten years since its launch from Cape Canaveral, NASA’s Dawn spacecraft has orbited the two largest worlds in the asteroid belt and overcome defective components that threatened to derail the mission on its…
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NASA shows off a drive-by snapshot of Earth from OSIRIS-REx asteroid probe
This color composite image of Earth was taken by the MapCam camera on NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft on Sept. 22, just hours after the spacecraft completed its Earth gravity assist maneuver at a range of about 106,000 miles. (NASA GSFC / Univ. of Arizona Photo) During last week’s flyby, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft captured a stunning portrait…
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OSIRIS-REx probe buzzes Earth on its way to an asteroid – and earthlings wave back
Artwork shows NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft passing by Earth. (NASA GSFC / Univ. of Arizona Illustration) NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft took pictures — and had its picture taken — as it zoomed past Earth today on its way to the asteroid Bennu. The close encounter served as much more than a photo op: OSIRIS-REx’s gravity-assist maneuver was…
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OSIRIS-REx asteroid mission receives gravitational boost from planet Earth
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated at 4:30 p.m. EDT (2030 GMT) after flyby. Artist’s concept of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft flying by Earth. Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center/University of Arizona NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, en route to asteroid Bennu to retrieve samples and return them to scientists, slingshot past Earth on Friday, using gravity to change its trajectory for a…
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Seattle science educator Dennis Schatz celebrates his asteroid – and the eclipse
Dennis Schatz is senior adviser at the Pacific Science Center. (Dennis Schatz via Amazon.com) The Pacific Science Center’s senior adviser, Dennis Schatz, has achieved a kind of fame that so far has eluded the likes of Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates: getting his name on an asteroid. Asteroid Schatz joins more…
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Why asteroids loom as a future space frontier for mining and manufacturing
In this artist’s conception, a mining spacecraft makes a rendezvous with an asteroid. (SpaceResources.lu) It’s been 55 years since satellite communications became the first commercial space frontier, and space tourism is looming as the next frontier. But what comes after that? Would you believe in-space mining and manufacturing? Those are the opportunities that came to…
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Planetary Resources’ asteroid miners cheer Luxembourg law on space property
Lawmakers in the tiny European country of Luxembourg today approved a measure affirming that space resources can be privately owned. The law, adopted nearly unanimously by Luxembourg’s parliament, also sets up procedures for authorizing and supervising space exploration missions. It will go into force on Aug. 1. Planetary Resources – which is headquartered in Redmond, Wash.,…
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It’s Asteroid Day! Scientists look on the bright side of our cosmic shooting gallery
This chart shows the distribution of known asteroids as of 2011, projected onto the solar system’s ecliptic plane. White circles represent the orbits of Earth, Mars and Jupiter. Scientists say there may be more than a million asteroids measuring 130 feet or wider. (JAXA / AKARI Graphic) Asteroid experts say they’re looking forward to an…