Month: March 2021

The Perseverance rover’s 1st month on Mars has been super smooth, scientists say

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NASA’s newest Mars rover is settling nicely into its new home. The Perseverance rover landed inside Mars’ Jezero Crater on Feb. 18, on a mission to hunt for evidence of past microbial life and collectsamples for future return to Earth. For the past month, the mission team has been checking out Perseverance’s seven science instruments and its various subsystems, and the rover has jumped through every hoop. “So far, all of this has been going exceedingly well,” Perseverance project scientist Ken Farley, of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California,…

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Russia’s only woman cosmonaut, Anna Kikina, inspires one-of-a-kind Barbie doll

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The only woman who is currently active in Russia’s cosmonaut corps now has her own one-of-a-kind Barbie doll. Anna Kikina, who became a cosmonaut in 2012, is among the latest role models chosen for Mattel’s “You Can Be Whoever You Want” campaign, which is aimed at inspiring young girls to pursue the profession of their choosing. “The most popular doll in the world continues to inspire girls to chase their wildest dreams and clearly shows that each of them can become whoever they want! Barbie presents a doll that embodies…

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NASA honors Navajo language on Mars with Perseverance rover rock names

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NASA is highlighting the Navajo language with its latest Mars mission.  After landing successfully on the Red Planet Feb. 18, NASA’s Perseverance rover is exploring, focusing its sights on a rock named “Máaz,” the Navajo word for “Mars.” The team behind the rover is in collaboration with the Navajo Nation Office of the President and Vice President, and together they have been naming different features on the Martian surface using words in the Navajo language. Mission scientists at NASA worked with Navajo (or Diné) team member Aaron Yazzie, an engineer…

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Brilliant SpaceX rocket launch sparks fireball reports along the US East Coast

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This photo by Eduardo R. shows the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch on March 14, 2021 as seen from Chesapeake Beach, MD.  (Image credit: Eduardo R. ) “Is it a fireball?” “Is it a space jellyfish?” Nope, it’s a SpaceX rocket.  Some observers along the U.S. East Coast saw a strange sight in the dark, early morning sky on Sunday (March 14): a bright object streaking across the sky, leaving a ballooning, illuminated trail behind it. The pre-dawn sky made this spectacle even more striking and the American Meteor Society…

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Exclusive: Hero Collector shoots for the Moon with new ‘Space: 1999’ die-cast spaceships

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Image 1 of 5 The iconic Eagle One spacecraft from “Space: 1999” is launching for sale in summer 2021. (Image credit: Hero Collector) Image 2 of 5 The iconic Eagle One spacecraft from “Space: 1999” is launching for sale in summer 2021. (Image credit: Hero Collector) Image 3 of 5 The iconic Eagle One spacecraft from “Space: 1999” is launching for sale in summer 2021. (Image credit: Hero Collector) Image 4 of 5 The iconic Eagle One spacecraft from “Space: 1999” is launching for sale in summer 2021. (Image credit:…

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