UPDATE for 1:15 pm ET: Astra is currently at T-1 hour, 45 minutes and holding for its first launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida today. The launch was targeting a 2:10 p.m. EST (1910 GMT) before the hold. Live webcast will begin 60 min before launch. Read more and watch live. Astra will launch its first-ever mission from the Lower 48 on Saturday (Feb. 5), and you can watch the action live. The California startup plans to launch the ELaNa 41 mission from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space…
Read MoreMonth: February 2022
Citizen Scientists Find 1,000+ Asteroids Photobombing Hubble Images
The combined power of citizen science and machine learning have led to the discovery of more than 1,000 new asteroids in archival images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. The post Citizen Scientists Find 1,000+ Asteroids Photobombing Hubble Images appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
Read MoreCould the moon ever be pushed from orbit like in ‘Moonfall’?
The moon has been Earth’s close companion for billions of years, and while our view of its shape and size varies somewhat as it orbits our planet, it remains a constant presence in the sky. But could that change? In the 2022 movie “Moonfall” (Lionsgate, released on Feb. 4), a mysterious force ejects the moon from orbit and propels it on a collision course toward Earth, with a planet-smashing impact looming in just a few weeks. (Caution, spoilers ahead.) When confronted with this high-stakes and over-the-top disaster scenario, the film’s…
Read MoreWhy Mars helicopters like Ingenuity could glow in the dark
Helicopters making dusk flights on Mars might glow in the dark. A new study suggests that Mars drones, such as the Ingenuity helicopter making periodic sorties on the Red Planet, “may cause tiny electric currents to flow in the Martian atmosphere,” according to NASA. The potential currents are not a threat to the helicopter, if they do indeed arise in the first place, but would create an interesting effect for any cameras that are nearby. More broadly, the study provides an avenue to better understand the accumulation of electric charge…
Read MoreNASA Astronauts to Call Indiana, Texas, Virginia Students from Space
Students across the country will have three opportunities to hear from NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station.
Read More‘Moonfall’ pulls scenes from space shuttle Endeavour move 10 years ago
Hollywood has finally taken inspiration from the decade-ago move of a NASA space shuttle through the streets of Los Angeles and it only took the moon falling out of the sky for it to happen. “Moonfall,” which opened in theaters on Friday (Feb. 4), is the first major motion picture to use the 2012 delivery of the space shuttle Endeavour to the California Science Center as the direct basis for a plot point. (Note: this article includes spoilers, but only as it relates to the use of Endeavour in “Moonfall,”…
Read MoreSpace Station Science Highlights: Week of January 31, 2022
Crew members aboard the International Space Station conducted scientific investigations during the week of Jan. 31 that included testing a technology for on-demand production of nutrients, examining the process of concrete hardening in microgravity, and launching a CubeSat to observe high-altitude gamma ray bursts.
Read MoreThe best space gifts and deals for kids 2022
If you’re looking for the best space gifts and deals available this year, you’ve come to the right place. When it comes to the best space gifts and deals, there’s a wide range of products out there that can educate your child, enhance their school experience or simply entertain them. We’ve searched the universe for the best space gifts and deals and put them into this handy guide, so you don’t have to. Whether you’re looking for telescopes, model rockets, science kits or essentials, we’ve got you covered. There’s something…
Read MoreSpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stage to crash into moon 1 month from today
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket upper stage is poised to slam into the moon one month from today (Feb. 4). In February 2015, the Falcon 9 launched the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR), a joint mission between the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and NASA. The rocket carried DSCOVR toward the Earth-sun Lagrange Point 1 (L1), a gravitationally stable spot about 930,000 miles (1.5 million kilometers) from Earth. After getting there, the upper stage ended up pointing away from our home planet. “This rendered a deorbit burn to…
Read MoreNASA Invites Media to Learn About Mission Studying Snowstorms
NASA will hold a briefing for members of the media to learn more about an airborne science campaign studying snowstorms at 11 a.m. EST Thursday, Feb. 10. The agency will stream audio of the call live online.
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