NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will pass Earth this weekend, returning a sample gathered from the potentially hazardous asteroid Bennu on Sunday (Sept. 24). Fingers crossed that space enthusiasts may be able to watch the first part of this historic sample return mission — the first time NASA has collected material from an asteroid and brought it home — live and for free online. That is if all goes according to plan for Italian astrophysicist and astronomer Gianluca Masi and his Virtual Telescope Project. “I’m very pleased and excited to announce that the Virtual…
Read MoreMonth: September 2023
How NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission will help protect Earth against asteroid Bennu and its flyby in 2182
The asteroid Bennu is a scientific gem, but a potentially dangerous one: No other space rock has a higher known probability of hitting Earth in the next 200 years. NASA’s OSIRIS-REx asteroid-sampling mission will help scientists better understand how to protect humankind if Bennu’s trajectory were ever to intersect with that of our planet. Bennu, discovered in 1999, is a rare B-type asteroid that is rich in carbon material believed to contain chemical compounds from the early epochs of the solar system. On top of that, its orbit makes the…
Read MoreOSIRIS-REx probe will bring pristine asteroid samples to Earth on Sept. 24. Watch it live
NASA’s first-ever pristine asteroid sample will come down to Earth on Sunday morning (Sept. 24), and you can watch the historic action live. If all goes according to plan, the agency’s OSIRIS-REx probe will release a capsule containing samples of the near-Earth asteroid Bennu on Sunday at 6:42 a.m. EDT (1042 GMT). That capsule will touch down softly under parachutes at 10:55 a.m. EDT (1455 GMT) at the Department of Defense’s Utah Test and Training Range and Dugway Proving Grounds, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) southwest of Salt Lake City.…
Read MoreNASA Scientists to Discuss Oct. 14 ‘Ring of Fire’ Solar Eclipse
NASA will host a media teleconference at 4 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, Sept. 26, to discuss the upcoming annular solar eclipse. The annular eclipse will cross the U.S. from Oregon to Texas on Saturday, Oct. 14, with a partial solar eclipse visible throughout the contiguous U.S.
Read MoreSeeing New Zealand From a New Perspective
Expedition 69 Flight Engineer Jasmin Moghbeli captured this image of New Zealand, dotted by white clouds, on Sept. 12, 2023, as the International Space Station orbited 230 miles above the island nation.
Read MoreRecord-Setting NASA Astronaut Soon Returns to Earth; Watch Live
Now the record-holder for the longest single spaceflight by an American, NASA astronaut Frank Rubio is scheduled to depart the International Space Station and return to Earth Wednesday, Sept. 27. The agency will provide full coverage from hatch closing through landing.
Read MoreSee Artemis 2 astronauts explore moon-like crater in Canada (photos)
Astronauts for the Artemis 2 moon mission, along with potential future lunar crews, practiced their prospecting skills on a Canadian crater this month. The expedition included Artemis 2 moon astronaut Jeremy Hansen, with the Canadian Space Agency, and NASA astronaut Christina Koch. The two will be mission specialists aboard Artemis 2, the first moon mission to send humans around our neighboring satellite since 1972. While Hansen and Koch will not be landing on the moon, geology training will assist them with spotting features like craters from afar. Space agencies around…
Read MoreWhat time is NASA’s OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return capsule landing on Sept. 24?
It’s been seven years since the launch of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission to collect and return samples of asteroid Bennu, and the long wait for the spacecraft’s homecoming is nearly over. OSIRIS-REx, short for Origins-Spectral Interpretation-Resource Identification-Security-Regolith Explorer, launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, in Florida, on September 8, 2016. The journey to rendezvous with Bennu took the spacecraft two years to complete, which were followed by another two years of scans while orbiting the asteroid. The much-anticipated collection of material from Bennu’s surface didn’t occur until October 20, 2020, and…
Read MoreAutumnal equinox 2023 brings fall to the Northern Hemisphere this weekend
When is the first day of fall in 2023? A carefully worded answer is that on Saturday (Sept. 23), at 2:50 a.m. EDT (0650 GMT), autumn begins astronomically in the Northern Hemisphere, and spring starts in the Southern. The sun is currently migrating south, having spent the previous six months shining directly on the northern half of our planet. So, at the official start time of autumn, the sun would appear directly overhead from a ship in the Laccadive Sea, positioned on the equator, 170 miles (275 kilometers) northeast of…
Read MoreStudents Walk in the Clouds at NASA Armstrong STEM Event
2 min read Students Walk in the Clouds at NASA Armstrong STEM Event Students are wrapped in a cloud from a demonstration by NASA’s California Office of STEM Engagement event with Center of Science and Industry at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. NASA/Steve Freeman More than 500 local students, ranging from grades first to eighth, joined NASA and COSI (Center of Science and Industry) in a Learning Lunchbox event where they saw a demonstration of how clouds form, and had the opportunity to ask NASA experts questions.…
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