Pictures from space! Our image of the day

Space can be a wondrous place, and we’ve got the pictures to prove it! Take a look at our favorite pictures from space here, and if you’re wondering what happened today in space history don’t miss our On This Day in Space video show here!  Honoring with a name (Image credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky) March 3, 2021: Recently, NASA named its headquarters building in honor of Mary W. Jackson, the agency’s first African American female engineer. Here, Artist Tenbeete Solomon (AKA Trap Bob) (on the right) presents her artwork honoring Jackson…

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In photos: NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover mission to the Red Planet

Image 1 of 54 (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech) Perseverance on Mars NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover landed inside Mars’ Jezero Crater on Feb. 18, 2021, shortly before 4 p.m. EST (2100 GMT). The 28-mile-wide (45 kilometers) Jezero Crater lies about 19 degrees north of the Red Planet’s equator. The rover will study the crater’s geology, hunt for subsurface water ice, and test out its scientific instruments.   Image 2 of 54 (Image credit: United Launch Alliance) Mars 2020 mission launch The Mars 2020 mission successfully launched toward the Red Planet on July…

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Japanese billionaire seeks 8 crewmembers for moon-bound mission on SpaceX’s Starship

March 2, 2021, the dearMoon contest called for applicants to make up its eight-person crew.  (Image credit: dearMoon/SpaceX) Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa is looking for eight crewmembers for a mission to the moon. Maezawa, a controversial entrepreneur who previously held a “girlfriend contest” for a now-defunct space-bound mission, announced Tuesday (March 2) that his dearMoon project, which aims to fly the “first civilian mission to the moon,” according to the project website, is now looking for eight crewmembers to fly to and around the moon and back on SpaceX’s Starship…

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Perseverance rover: NASA’s Mars car to seek signs of ancient life

NASA’s Perseverance rover isn’t just exploring the Red Planet. The life-hunting robot will also help a little bit of Mars make it to Earth a decade or so from now, if all goes according to plan. Perseverance, the centerpiece of NASA’s $2.7 billion Mars 2020 mission, touched down inside the Red Planet’s Jezero Crater on Feb. 18, 2021. Once it’s fully up and running, the car-sized robot will search for evidence of past microbial life and collect  several dozen samples for future return to Earth, among other ambitious tasks. “I…

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