A SpaceX Dragon cargo resupply spacecraft is set to depart the International Space Station on Monday, Jan. 9, returning scientific research samples and hardware to Earth for NASA.
Read MoreMonth: January 2023
Space Station Science Highlights: Week of January 2, 2023
Crew members aboard the International Space Station conducted scientific investigations during the week of Jan. 2 that included testing on-demand production of nutrients, studying microgravity’s effect on a person’s grip, and monitoring microbes in the station’s plant growth habitat.
Read MorePrepping to Study the World’s Water
The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) spacecraft is in this early morning photo from Dec. 14, 2022, as preparations for launch continued.
Read MoreHubble Gazes at Colorful Cluster of Scattered Stars
The scattered stars of the globular cluster NGC 6355 are strewn across this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.
Read MoreScientific Samples, Hardware Return from the Space Station for More Study
A radiation protection vest, olive oil, and sutured tissues are among the scientific samples returning from the International Space Station on the 26th SpaceX commercial resupply services mission for NASA.
Read MoreFly to space and back with SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in amazing video
A new video provides an epic view of a historic SpaceX mission. On Tuesday morning (Jan. 3), a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched on a “rideshare” mission called Transporter-6 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, carrying 114 satellites to orbit for a variety of customers. Transporter-6 was the 200th orbital flight for SpaceX since the company’s 2002 founding. And it was the 15th mission for this particular Falcon 9’s first stage, tying a SpaceX reuse record. Related: 8 ways SpaceX has transformed spaceflight forever A SpaceX Falcon 9…
Read MoreTiny Space Force weather cubesat went up on SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket
One of the many payloads that took flight atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Tuesday (Jan. 3) is a tiny craft that could help transform the way the U.S. Space Force gathers weather data. The SpaceX mission, known as Transporter-6, sent a total of 114 small satellites to Earth orbit for a variety of customers, including the Space Force. The newest branch of the U.S. military put its Electro-Optical/Infrared (EO/IR) Weather Systems (EWS) cubesat on Transporter-6. EWS is an experimental satellite designed to prove out new imaging technology — specifically,…
Read MoreMassive, months-long volcanic eruption roils Jupiter’s moon Io
A massive volcanic eruption has been spotted emerging from Jupiter’s moon Io. The eruption was observed in the Fall of 2022 using the Io Input/Output observatory (IoIO) by Planetary Science Institute (PSI) senior scientist Jeff Morgenthaler. One of Jupiter’s largest moons, Io is considered to be the solar system’s most volcanic body with its extreme conditions and yearly outbursts of volcanism caused by the tremendous gravitational influence of its parent planet. The gravity of Jupiter, the solar system’s most massive planet, and that of two of the other large Jovian…
Read MoreSpace Station Swings by Kennedy
On April 8, 2022, this 30-second exposure captured the International Space Station as it passed over the Space Launch System rocket and the Orion spacecraft at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Read MoreSatellites watch ‘atmospheric river’ bring extreme rain to California (photos)
A so-called atmospheric river is bringing huge amounts of tropical moisture to California, prompting weather forecasters to issue alerts for high risks of flooding. Atmospheric rivers are channels that form in Earth’s atmosphere and funnel water vapor from the typically humid tropical regions to drier areas farther away from the equator. These channels can transport huge amounts of water within a short period of time, causing deluges when they make landfall. The type of atmospheric river threatening California on Wednesday and Thursday (Jan. 4 and Jan. 5) is a phenomenon…
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