The crescent Moon passes Pollux and Castor in the western twilight. Jupiter aligns with Mars in the dawn, then they edge apart. And a strong new meteor shower will either happen or it won’t! The post This Week's Sky at a Glance, May 27 – June 4 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
Read MoreMonth: May 2022
NASA to Pick Next Generation Spacesuits for Moonwalking, Spacewalking
NASA will announce at 2 p.m. EDT (1 p.m. CDT) Wednesday, June 1, the company, or companies, selected to move forward in developing the next generation of spacesuits for Artemis missions at the Moon and the International Space Station during an event at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Read MoreCockroach-eaten Apollo 11 moon dust goes up for auction
For sale: One small sample of the moon brought back to Earth in 1969 by the Apollo 11 astronauts, the first humans to walk on the lunar surface. Condition: Well-traveled and once digested. The dust was carefully extracted from the stomachs of cockroaches (opens in new tab). Three of the insects are included with the lot. That is, more or less, what is now being offered by RR Auction, a New Hampshire-based firm that specializes in space memorabilia. The cockroach-consumed moon dust (opens in new tab) is among the highlights…
Read MoreNASA chief Bill Nelson urges action after ‘heavy weight’ of recent mass shootings
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson added his voice Wednesday (May 25) to the chorus urging action to prevent mass shootings. In a Twitter thread (opens in new tab), the former U.S. Senator (D-Fla.) and one-time space shuttle astronaut said he has been feeling a “heavy weight” following the news that at least 19 children and two adults died in a shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday (May 24). Referring to recent similar mass deaths by gun violence, Nelson said Americans have been murdered “while shopping at a…
Read MoreNASA Supports Small Business Research to Power Future Exploration
NASA has selected hundreds of small businesses and dozens of research institutions to develop technology to help drive the future of space exploration, ranging from novel sensors and electronics to new types of software and cutting-edge materials.
Read MoreHigh school students used a tiny computer to measure Earth’s magnetic field from space
High school students in Portugal have programmed a small computer on the International Space Station to measure Earth’s magnetic field from orbit. The three students, with help from their faculty mentor, created an add-on component for a Raspberry Pi computer — a low cost, credit-card-sized computer that plugs into a computer or TV monitor — as a part of the Astro Pi Challenge, a competition sponsored by the European Space Agency and the U.K.’s Raspberry Pi Foundation. The contest asked high school students to program a Raspberry Pi computer with…
Read MoreUpdate on a Possible Outburst of Meteors
Will there be a new meteor shower on the night of May 30–31? There’s only one way to find out. The post Update on a Possible Outburst of Meteors appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
Read MoreMystery of the Sun’s Chemical Makeup Lingers
Astronomers think they might have a solution to the conundrum of the Sun’s chemical composition. The post Mystery of the Sun's Chemical Makeup Lingers appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
Read MoreNASA to Discuss Status of Final Test Needed for Artemis I Moon Mission
NASA will hold a media teleconference at 12 p.m. EDT on Friday, May 27, to discuss the status of the next wet dress rehearsal test of the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of the uncrewed Artemis I lunar mission.
Read MoreBoeing Orbital Flight Test-2 Landing
Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft opens its main parachutes as it lands at White Sands Missile Range’s Space Harbor, Wednesday, May 25, 2022.
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