DNA from four former United States presidents will be going to space. Texas-based space burial company Celestis will honor George Washington, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan by adding their symbolic remains to the aerospace firm’s upcoming deep space remembrance Enterprise Flight, along with several deceased “Star Trek” legends and science fiction superstars. The flight was announced in a Celestis blog post (opens in new tab) on Feb. 20, President’s Day In addition to the cremated remains and DNA samples of Nichelle Nichols, DeForest Kelley, “Star Trek”…
Read MoreMonth: February 2023
Asteroid Ryugu is rich in organic molecules that can be building blocks of life
The asteroid Ryugu is rich in organic molecules that could serve as the building blocks of life. The discovery was made when scientists took a first look at a sample collected by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft from the asteroid. The Ryugu sample contains several so-called “prebiotic organics” including several types of amino acids that are used by living things to build proteins essential for regulating chemical reactions and forming structures like hair and muscles. These molecules can also be created by various non-living processes, such as chemical reactions that can take…
Read MoreSpaceX on track to launch Crew-6 astronaut mission for NASA tomorrow (Feb. 27)
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX’s Crew-6 astronaut mission is still looking good to launch on Monday (Feb. 27). NASA and SpaceX held a prelaunch teleconference late on Saturday (Feb. 25) to discuss the upcoming mission that will see the Crew Dragon Endeavour launch to the International Space Station (ISS) atop a Falcon 9 rocket. Earlier this week, the rocket and its spacecraft were rolled out to Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Liftoff is set for Monday at 1:45 a.m. EST (0645 GMT).…
Read MoreBoeing’s Starliner on track to launch its 1st astronaut flight this spring, NASA says
Boeing’s Starliner crew vehicle is on track to fly its first astronauts in space in April. In a Feb. 17 update, NASA and Boeing officials outlined the aerospace company’s work on its entry for NASA’s commercial crew program, and where the historic flight might fit into the space station’s busy manifest in upcoming months. “We don’t have any big announcements, but we thought we would share the progress,” said Steve Stitch, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, at the start of last week’s call. Stitch was joined by Jeff Aaron,…
Read MoreEverything we know about Loki season 2: release window, plot, cast & more
Following Marvel Studios’ big show at San Diego Comic-Con (opens in new tab) in July 2022, we got a clearer idea of what to expect from the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the coming years. And that includes many more shows for Disney Plus, including Loki season 2, which is currently shooting – here you’ll find what we know so far. Phase 5 is kicked off in early 2023 with the Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania, and Phase 6 will start in late 2024 with a new Fantastic Four reboot. You…
Read MoreThis Week In Space podcast: Episode 50 —Experiencing Apollo 11 with Tom Jennings
On this episode of This Week in Space (opens in new tab), Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik meet with Tom Jennings, the Peabody and Emmy Award-winning producer of a popular National Geographic documentary about Apollo 11. When the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 rolled around in 2019, we were awash in documentaries, books, and more. One of the best documentaries was National Geographic’s “Apollo: Missions to the Moon (opens in new tab),” produced by Tom Jennings. Join us for a conversation with Jennings about the challenges of finding truly unique,…
Read MoreFaulty power supply scuttled debut launch of Japan’s new H3 rocket
Japan’s space agency says it has identified the issue that caused the first launch of the H3 rocket to be aborted last week. The first-ever attempt to launch the new H3 was aborted on Feb. 16, when an issue detected with the first stage meant the rocket’s two solid rocket boosters did not ignite as planned. The launcher was then rolled back to the assembly building while the cause was investigated. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has now announced that the cause of the abort was a fault with…
Read MoreThe largest 2D map of the sky over Earth just got even bigger
The largest two-dimensional map of the sky over Earth ever created just got even larger and is now covering almost half the sky over Earth. The map created with data from a six-year-long pioneering survey of the cosmos features over a billion bright specks that represent galaxies, each containing billions of stars, according to theNational Optical Astronomy Observatory (NRAO). (opens in new tab) The expansion of the map comes thanks to the 10th data release from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI (opens in new tab)) Legacy Imaging Survey (opens…
Read MoreSpace Station Science Highlights: Week of Feb. 20, 2023
Crew members aboard the International Space Station conducted scientific investigations during the week of Feb. 20 that included evaluating the benefits of growing plants on the space station, demonstrating robotic hopping maneuvers, and testing an instrument to measure air particles.
Read MoreCrew-6 Preparations Continue
The sun rises on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
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