NASA’s Curiosity Rover is On Its Way Back to Drilling on Mars
In December 2016, a critical part of Curiosity’s drill stopped working. Two stabilizers flanking the drill bit steady the drill against its target rock. You can see how the setup…
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NASA
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NASA’s Dragonfly Mission Could Revolutionize How Worlds are Explored
NASA’s New Frontiers program is home to groundbreaking missions like New Horizons, Juno, and OSIRIS-REx. This week, two finalists were chosen for a robotic mission planned to launch in the…
A Look at the Science Aboard the Dragon Capsule’s Second Trip to the ISS
On Sunday morning, NASA’s Mark Vande Hei and Joe Acaba used the ISS robotic arm to grab hold of SpaceX’s Dragon Capsule for the second time. The Dragon Capsule returns…
NASA is Becoming Quite the Fan of SpaceX’s Reusable Stuff
In June, a brand new Falcon 9 rocket carried supplies aboard a reused SpaceX Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station. It was the first time the Dragon spacecraft had…
Enceladus’ Core Could Explain How Its Ocean Gets All That Heat
NASA’s Cassini mission is no longer with us, but its legacy lives on in the research using its data. Today, that research takes a closer look at Enceladus – one…
Slapping the James Webb Space Telescope Together is Taking Longer Than Expected
For more than 25 years, the Hubble Space Telescope has wowed us with breathtaking images. But technology is leaving Hubble behind. And our thirst for more knowledge. NASA is hard…
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft Is About to Get a Good Push From Earth
The last time OSIRIS-REx was this close to Earth it was flying through the humid skies above Florida on its way to space. On Friday, the spacecraft will pass about…
Cassini Beams Back Final Images, Now What?
That’s a wrap for NASA’s Cassini spacecraft. After spending 13 years traveling throughout Saturn and its moons, Cassini ended its mission with a fiery descent into the ringed giant’s upper…
Saturn’s Rings Never Looked So Good
NASA’s Cassini spacecraft is taking its final full lap around Saturn. In three days, Cassini will begin what NASA is calling “The Final Plunge.” While the spacecraft will meet a…
Saturn’s North Pole is Mesmerizing in First Detailed Image from Cassini Spacecraft
When NASA’s Cassini spacecraft kicked off its Grand Finale in late April, it was positioned right above Saturn’s north pole. As it looked down on the ring planet, its camera…
An Asteroid Named Florence Will Cruise Harmlessly Near Earth on Sept. 1
Named after Florence Nightingale (founder of modern nursing), this asteroid will meander through space at about 4.4 million miles from Earth according to NASA. So, why is NASA even talking…
NASA’s Latest Satellite Launch Isn’t Flashy But is Vital
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket roared to life on the Florida coast this morning. Sitting atop it was NASA’s TDRS-M satellite. It isn’t aiming for another world. Or…
Cassini’s Last Five Orbits Around Saturn
August is shaping up to be quite the month for space fans. The Perseid Meteor Shower is peaking this weekend. SpaceX is preparing for another ISS resupply mission. A total…
SpaceX is Heading Back to the ISS This Month. Here’s What We Know
SpaceX’s busy year continues on August 13th. That’s when a Falcon 9 is expected to shoot off its launch pad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida en route to the…
Look in Awe at Jupiter’s Great Red Spot as If You Were There
True-color. It’s what we call images that show how an object looks to human eyes. NASA loves to slap enhanced color effects on images of other worlds. It’s not just…
Next Month’s Solar Eclipse at 50,000 Feet
The best spots to see next month’s solar eclipse will enjoy about two and a half minutes of totality. At least, on the ground. One team of NASA-funded scientists will…
A Piece of the Space Shuttle Could Help Pave the Way for Mars Missions
The Donatello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) used to sit in the space shuttle payload bay filled with cargo bound for the International Space Station. Now, Lockheed Martin is going to…
Mars’ Moon Phobos is Moving in a Hurry in Fresh Hubble Images
The tiny moon Phobos wasn’t the target for the Hubble Space Telescope. Mars was. Last May, the famous space telescope was tasked with observing Mars near opposition. That is when…
What Lies Beneath Jupiter’s Great Red Spot? NASA’s Juno Spacecraft is About to Find Out
The Great Red Spot has been a fixture in Jupiter’s clouds for at least 350 years. Maybe longer. The huge spot is still ‘Great,’ but not as great as it…
A SpaceX Dragon Capsule Went To the ISS and Back Again for the Second Time (UPDATE)
SpaceX’s CRS-11 mission had plenty of history behind it. It was the first time the private space company launched a reusable Dragon capsule to the International Space Station (ISS). And…
Why NASA’s Creating Colorful Fake Clouds Above the Mid-Atlantic Tonight (UPDATING)
A Terrier-Improved Malemute sounding rocket is expected to fire off the launch pad from the Wallops Flight Facility (in Virginia) at just 9:00 pm ET tonight. It won’t be the…
A Spectacular Look at the Curiosity Rover From Space
You see that tiny blue dot sticking out amidst sand and rock bathed in shades of red and brown? That’s NASA’s Curiosity rover trucking up the lower part of Mount…
Kepler’s Final Tally Of Planets After Staring At 160,000 Stars Is In
For Kepler’s first four years, it stared at a patch of sky in the Cygnus constellation. As it trailed behind Earth’s on its yearly trip around the sun, Kepler constantly…
Cool Facts About NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Sun Mission
The facts are about the only thing on the Parker Solar Probe that will be cool. Temperatures reaching 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit will bake the carbon-shield protecting the rest of the…