Tag: NASA
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NASA challenges companies to mine lunar soil
Credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani NASA announced Thursday it plans to purchase lunar soil from a commercial company, an effort the agency’s top official said is intended to set a precedent for the transfer of ownership of extraterrestrial material and stimulate a market harvesting resources from bodies throughout the solar system. The initiative is starting small, but…
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Juno and the case of Jupiter’s missing ammonia
NASA’s Juno spacecraft, the agency’s flagship mission to Jupiter, continues to stream back an incredible amount of scientific data about the largest planet in our solar system just over four years after arriving in orbit. Some of the most recent discoveries pertain to lightning in Jupiter’s upper atmosphere, called “shallow lightning,” as well as indications…
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First Mode wins $1.8M contract to build hardware for Psyche mission to asteroid
An artist’s conception shows NASA’s Psyche spacecraft at the asteroid Psyche. The Deep Space Optical Communication demonstrator is pointing out from the bottom panel of the spacecraft in this configuration. (NASA / JPL-Caltech / ASU Illustration) Seattle-based First Mode has been awarded a $1.8 million subcontract from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to build flight hardware…
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Rust on the Moon. How is that possible without oxygen and liquid water?
Humanity’s fleet of robotic explorers peppered throughout the solar system continue to reveal new and exciting pieces of information regarding other members of the Sun’s stellar family. New research from India’s Chandrayaan-1 lunar mission shows the Moon is rusting. The baffling discovery led scientists on an intriguing search for the answer to how this seemingly…
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Aerojet Rocketdyne getting Shuttle engines ready for SLS Core Stage Green Run support
Four veteran Space Shuttle Main Engines will benchmark the performance of the rookie Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage in the final two critical tests of NASA’s Green Run campaign. After loading the stage with propellant for the first time and demonstrating in a countdown that it can satisfy engine start criteria, the final test…
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NASA, Northrop Grumman complete first SLS Flight Support Booster test
Northrop Grumman’s Propulsion Systems Division has completed the first of a series of Flight Support Booster (FSB) tests of the NASA Space Launch System’s solid rocket motors, a series that will last as long as the SLS program exists. The FSB-1 booster will help NASA and Northrop Grumman evaluate new materials for use in future…
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SLS booster test-fired in Utah
An SLS flight support booster was test-fired Wednesday in Utah. Credit: NASA/Northrop Grumman/Scott Mohrman Northrop Grumman test-fired a five-segment solid-fueled booster for NASA’s Space Launch System Wednesday at the company’s test facility in Promontory, Utah. The powerful rocket ignited at 3:05 p.m. EDT (1:05 p.m. MDT; 1905 GMT) Wednesday and burned for a little more…
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Carrington Event still provides warning of Sun’s potential 161 years later
On 28 August 1859, a series of sunspots began to form on the surface of our stellar parent. The sunspots quickly tangled the Sun’s magnetic field lines in their area and produced bright, observed solar flares and one — likely two — Coronal Mass Ejections, one major. The massive solar storm impacted our planet on…
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Carrington Event still provides warning of Sun’s potential 161 years later
On 28 August 1859, a series of sunspots began to form on the surface of our stellar parent. The sunspots quickly tangled the Sun’s magnetic field lines in their area and produced bright, observed solar flares and one — likely two — Coronal Mass Ejections, one major. The massive solar storm impacted our planet on…
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James Webb passes critical test as telescope moves toward 2021 launch
The James Webb Space Telescope — a collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) — has successfully completed a critical pre-flight milestone and test that paves the way for continued final testing of the most complex telescope ever built. At present, James Webb remains on track for a…