Tag: NASA
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First astronaut missions to the Moon since 1972 delayed due to heat shield questions, hardware readiness
The Artemis 2 crew, standing in from of their Artemis spacecraft, discusses their planned around-the-moon flight with reporters at the Kennedy Space Center. Left to right: commander Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now. A quartet of astronauts will have to wait until next year before their…
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America’s first lunar lander in a half-century won’t reach the Moon
A few hours after a successful liftoff on United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket, Astrobotic’s first commercial lunar lander ran into serious trouble. The robotic Peregrine lander, still in orbit around Earth, appears to have a propellant leak that will prevent it from reaching the Moon. There are 20 payloads aboard the Peregrine lunar lander, including…
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Astrobotic rules out soft landing on moon after propellant leak dooms its spacecraft
Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander is shown during last month’s preparations for launch. (ULA Photo) Astrobotic says that it’s given up on its plan to put a commercial spacecraft safely on the moon’s surface, due to a propellant leak that will soon leave its Peregrine lander without fuel. The Pittsburgh-based company said there was no indication that…
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Milestone moon lander mission targets an otherworldly frontier for DNA data storage
Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander is prepared for placement within its launch vehicle’s fairing. (Astrobotic Photo) A mission to send a commercial lander to the moon, set for launch in a couple of days, will bring the fruition of projects that have been in the works for years — including projects that aim to put DNA into…
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NASA discusses Moon-bound science as ULA’s Vulcan rocket gets go ahead for Jan. 8 launch
The payload for the Certification-1 (Cert-1) flight test on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vulcan rocket is encapsulated inside its payload fairing in preparation for launch. The mission will launch the first Astrobotic Peregrine commercial lunar lander, as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, into a highly elliptical orbit more than 220,000…
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NASA awards funds to study deep-space interferometer and other far-out ideas
This collage highlights several concepts proposed by 2024 NIAC Phase I awardees, including miniaturized interstellar spacecraft, a Venus glider, a water detoxifier for Mars, a solar-system-scale interferometer and an electric aircraft flying above Mars. (NASA Illustration) A proposal to build a far-flung set of radio antennas to measure the cosmos is one of 13 far-out…
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A cat video highlighted a big year for lasers in space
It’s been quite a year for laser communications in space. In October and November, NASA launched two pioneering demonstrations to test high-bandwidth optical communication links, and these tech demos are now showing some initial results. On December 11, a laser communications terminal aboard NASA’s Psyche spacecraft on the way to an asteroid linked up with…
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A year for gearing up: Aerospace ventures are counting down to big missions in 2024
United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket lifts off with two prototype Amazon satellites on Oct. 6. (ULA Photo) If 2022 was packed with headline-grabbing aerospace developments — including the first pictures from the James Webb Telescope and the first launch of NASA’s giant moon rocket — 2023 was what you might call a rebuilding year.…
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ISS Roundup: 25 year anniversary, spacewalks, cargo arrivals and departures
The final quarter of 2023 saw the International Space Station (ISS) celebrate 25 years in orbit, though there was no letup in the ongoing work as the Expedition 70 crew settled into the tasks and experiments that are carried out onboard the orbital laboratory. Cargo spacecraft arrived at the Station carrying supplies and fresh experiments…
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1,000 sols into their mission, Perseverance and Ingenuity continue to investigate Jezero Crater
After celebrating their 1,000th sol, or Martian day, on Mars, NASA’s Perseverance rover and Ingenuity helicopter are continuing to explore Jezero Crater on the Red Planet. Recently, the robotic pair completed their extensive investigation of the ancient river delta within Jezero, which contains evidence of flowing water that may have once filled Jezero thousands of…