UFO fever is at a seeming all-time high. Given that those pesky UFOs (or unidentified anomalous phenomena/UAP as they’re now known) refuse to reveal themselves, this is the ideal time for “Asteroid City,” a fun new Wes Anderson sci-fi flick centered around a band of junior scientist inventors convening in the Arizona desert in the mid-’50s to experience a close encounter during a high school science competition. Released wide on June 23, 2023 by Focus Features, “Asteroid City” is a joyous yet oftentimes somber affair that will provide ample kicks…
Read MoreMonth: June 2023
NASA to Provide Coverage as Dragon Departs Station with Science
NASA is set to receive scientific research samples and hardware as a SpaceX Dragon cargo resupply spacecraft departs the International Space Station on Thursday, June 29.
Read MoreExploring Climate Data in a New Way
Local students take in the sights—and data—at an Earth Information Center student engagement event, Friday, June 23, 2023, at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
Read MoreLegacy Lives On for Sally Ride, NASA’s First Woman in Space
Trailblazing astronaut Sally Ride was celebrated during an event at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center to recognize the 40th anniversary of a groundbreaking moment in America’s history.
Read MoreNASA to Provide Coverage for Launch of ESA ‘Dark Universe’ Mission
The ESA (European Space Agency) and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than 11:11 a.m. EDT Saturday, July 1, to launch the Euclid spacecraft. Euclid is an ESA mission with contributions from NASA that will shed light on the nature of dark matter and dark energy, two of the biggest modern mysteries about the universe.
Read MoreNASA just recycled 98% of all astronaut pee and sweat on the ISS (engineers are thrilled)
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station have achieved a 98% water recovery rate in a breakthrough achieved by a method that might make the faint of heart slightly squeamish: they hit peak astronaut pee recycling. The water recycling achievement is an important milestone for low-orbit space missions that aim to provide the basic needs of astronauts without resupply missions. This means recycling or regenerating things like food, air and water. In terms of the International Space Station (ISS), each crewmember needs around a gallon of water each day for drinking,…
Read MoreNASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and DARPA want to fix your PDFs. Here’s how.
JPL, meet PDF. While NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is renowned for piloting rovers on Mars and deploying spacecraft to study planets in the solar system, JPL’s latest project is more down-to-earth: assembling the world’s largest publicly available archive of PDFs for security research. PDF files are the most popular form of digital document in the world. And while they might look like scanned copies of paper documents, they are actually collections of text, images, movies and active scripts that aren’t as secure as they should be given their ubiquity.…
Read More10 best events across the US to celebrate the Oct. 14 annular solar eclipse
Where will you be for America’s ‘ring of fire’? On Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023, the second of three central eclipses crosses the U.S. in the eight years between 2017 and 2024. For most onlookers, it will be a partial eclipse, with the moon taking a chunk out of the sun over the course of a few hours. However, if you position yourself within a roughly 125 miles wide path stretching from Oregon through Texas (and on to Central and South America) a rare annular solar eclipse will be visible. From…
Read MoreNew monument will honor Florida’s role in space exploration
Florida’s historic, present and future role in space exploration will be recognized by a new landmark, now that lawmakers have given the “go” for the launch of the monument in the state’s capital. Florida’s legislature unanimously voted to establish the Florida Space Exploration Monument, a new installation in Tallahassee to pay tribute to not only “the past achievements and contributions of individuals who have made this state a leader in space exploration, but also serve in the future to inspire individuals to help maintain this state’s role as such.” The…
Read MoreEarth’s thermosphere reaches highest temperature in 20 years after being bombarded by solar storms
Earth’s thermosphere recently hit a near 20-year temperature peak after soaking up energy from geomagnetic storms that bashed Earth this year. The temperature in the second-highest layer of the atmosphere will likely continue to climb over the next few years as the sun’s activity ramps up, which could impact Earth-orbiting satellites, experts warn. The thermosphere extends from the top of the mesosphere, at around 53 miles (85 kilometers) above ground, to the bottom of the exosphere, which begins at around 372 miles (600 km) above the ground, according to NASA. Beyond the exosphere…
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