Tag: NASA
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It’s official: NASA signs up to send crew on SpaceX’s Dragon space taxi
An artist’s conception shows SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule en route to the International Space Station. (Credit: SpaceX) NASA has ordered its first mission from SpaceX to carry astronauts to the International Space Station, six months after placing a similar order with Boeing. “It’s really exciting to see SpaceX and Boeing with hardware in flow for…
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Ice volcanoes on Pluto? NASA’s New Horizons probe spots ‘weird’ mountains
A color-coded topographical map, based on New Horizons data, shows Piccard Mons on the surface of Pluto. The mountain’s structure suggests that it’s an ice volcano. (Credit: NASA / JHUAPL / SwRI) Scientists with NASA’s New Horizons mission say that at least a couple of the miles-high mountains on Pluto look as if they’re ice-belching…
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After missing out on NASA’s next cargo contract, Boeing focuses on space taxis
An artist’s conception shows Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner space taxi in orbit. (Credit: Boeing) Boeing says it’s out of the running for NASA’s next contract to deliver cargo to the International Space Station, but it’ll still be sending up cargo as well as astronauts on its CST-100 Starliner spaceship under the terms of different deal. The…
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Want to be an astronaut? Here’s your chance – NASA says it’s recruiting
NASA says it will take astronaut applications starting next month. (NASA photo) NASA is opening its doors to recruit a fresh batch of astronauts – and by the time the candidates finish training, they just might be able to ride shiny new space taxis into orbit. Today the space agency said it would start taking applications on…
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How NASA is remodeling the International Space Station, 15 years after moving in
The International Space Station has been continuously occupied since 2000. (NASA photo) Today marks the 15th anniversary of that first moving-in day for spacefliers living on the International Space Station – and like many places that have been lived in for 15 years, the ISS is in the midst of renovations. This isn’t your typical “reno,” however: There’s…
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Kerberos unleashed at last: Pluto’s dog-bone moon poses another mystery
This image of Kerberos was created by combining four individual images from New Horizons’ Long Range Reconnaissance Imager that were captured on July 14, approximately seven hours before the spacecraft’s closest approach to Pluto, at a range of 245,600 miles (396,100 kilometers) from Kerberos. The image has bee processed to recover the highest possible resolution.…
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Hurricane Patricia looks scary from space: Satellites track storm as it menaces Mexico
An infrared image from the Suomi NPP satellite’s VIIRS instrument shows the well-defined eye of Hurricane Patricia as of 9:20 GMT Friday. (Credit: NASA / NOAA / CIMSS) Even the International Space Station’s commander is worried about Hurricane Patricia, the strongest storm ever tracked by the National Hurricane Center. NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, who is…
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See Earth every day from a million miles away, thanks to NASA’s EPIC website
Typhoons roll across the Pacific in an image captured Oct. 17 by the Deep Space Climate Observatory, or DSCOVR. (Credit: NASA) Today NASA paid off on its promise to launch a website featuring daily images from the Deep Space Climate Observatory – and it’s spectacular. The refrigerator-sized spacecraft – which has been known as DSCOVR, Triana and…
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Science journal gives New Horizons mission to Pluto its day in the sun
NASA’s New Horizons probe captured this backlit image of Pluto as it flew past the dwarf planet on July 14. Scattered sunlight reveals numerous haze layers within Pluto’s thin atmosphere, while the surprisingly diverse surface landscape indicates ongoing geological activity. (Credit: NASA / JHUAPL / SwRI) The first peer-reviewed scientific paper about the New Horizons probe’s…
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New Horizons’ Pluto pictures reveal a weird blue glow – and water ice!
A picture from NASA’s New Horizons probe reveals the blue color of Pluto’s atmospheric haze, as seen in a backlit view. Credit: NASA / JHUAPL / SwRI The latest pictures from NASA’s New Horizons mission to Pluto reveal for the first time that the backlit dwarf planet is surrounded by a beautiful blue glow –…