Social media and photo sites were full of “shooting star” watchers overnight. The Geminid meteor shower reached its peak Monday (Dec. 13), sparking amateurs and professionals alike to catch a few images of the show. At its peak, there can be as many as 100 to 150 meteors an hour. This year, skywatchers had a bright waxing moon to contend with, moving to a full phase on Saturday (Dec. 18), but it looks like at least a few bright meteors managed to outshine it. There may still be some bright…
Read MoreMonth: December 2021
NASA astronaut Christina Koch is breaking records and inspiring the next generation
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Record-setting NASA astronaut Christina Koch is continuing her mission to inspire the next generation of explorers. As part of a long-duration mission, Christina Koch spent 328 days in space, marking the longest single spaceflight by a woman, and the second-longest after fellow NASA astronaut, Scott Kelly. While aboard the International Space Station (ISS), Koch participated in a variety of research investigations, including some student-run experiments. She spoke to Space.com about inspiring young people and how important it is to engage with kids through these types of…
Read MoreNASA greenlights Axiom Space’s 2nd private mission to International Space Station
NASA has given the go-ahead to another private crewed mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The agency will work with Axiom Space to find a window for the Houston-based company’s second ISS mission, NASA officials said in an update Monday (Dec. 13). That flight, known as Ax-2, is currently scheduled to launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida between fall 2022 and spring 2023. Axiom has contracted with SpaceX to launch four crewed missions to the ISS using Crew Dragon capsules and Falcon 9 rockets. The first of…
Read More“Humanity Has ‘Touched’ the Sun”
On its eighth close pass, NASA’s record-breaking Parker Solar Probe entered our star’s atmosphere and “touched” the surface of the Sun. The post “Humanity Has ‘Touched’ the Sun” appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
Read MoreNASA Awards Contracts for Rotorcraft Vertical Lift Technology Services
NASA has awarded multiple contracts to provide rotorcraft vertical lift technology development research and development support at the agency’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley.
Read MoreA Memorial in the Stars
Stargazers can find solace for grief in the stars. The post A Memorial in the Stars appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
Read MoreNASA scientists consider the health risks of space travel
Humans aren’t built to live in space, and being there can pose serious health risks. For space administrations like NASA, a major goal is to identify these risks to hopefully help lessen them. That was a major theme during NASA’s Spaceflight for Everybody Virtual Symposium in November, a virtual symposium dedicated to discussing current knowledge and research efforts around the impact of spaceflight on human health. During a panel discussion titled “Human Health Risks in the Development of Future Programs” on Nov. 9, NASA scientists discussed these risks and how…
Read MoreMars helicopter Ingenuity flies for 17th time on Red Planet
NASA’s Mars helicopter Ingenuity soared through the Red Planet skies for the 17th time last weekend, but we’ll have to wait a little longer yet to get a full accounting of the flight. The 4-pound (1.8 kilograms) chopper appeared to hit all of its marks during the 614-foot-long (187 meters) traverse, which occurred on Dec. 5. But the communication link between Ingenuity and its robotic partner, NASA’s Mars rover Perseverance, was disrupted during the helicopter’s descent, mission team members said. (All of Ingenuity’s data and photos are relayed first to…
Read MoreWhy will it take China’s Yutu 2 moon rover so long to reach lunar ‘mystery hut’?
China’s Yutu 2 lunar rover recently spotted something intriguing on the far side of the moon, but it’ll take the vehicle a few months to reach the object for a closer look. Yutu 2 photographed a strangely cube-shaped rock last month, during the robot’s 36th lunar day of activities. The rover drive team estimates that the object, which has been dubbed the “mystery hut,” to be around 260 feet (80 meters) away. That doesn’t sound far, but it’ll take careful planning and effort by the Yutu 2 team to cover…
Read MoreA Cosmic Delivery – NASA Receives Samples of Asteroid Ryugu
IIn this image, a Hayabusa2 sample canister containing sample fragments of the asteroid Ryugu is transferred from JAXA, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, to NASA.
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