On Episode 95 of This Week In Space, Tariq and Rod discuss the future of space-based solar power with John Mankins. Climate change has become a top priority for all of us, including NASA. Space solar power — beaming energy from space 24 hours per day — has become a real possibility and is being studied internationally by the US, Europe, Japan, and China. It promises to provide a zero-emissions, zero-carbon source of energy worldwide — but it will take significant investment, development, and commitment. A recent NASA-backed study was…
Read MoreMonth: January 2024
Watch Rocket Lab launch 4 private satellites, recover booster early Jan. 28
Rocket Lab plans to launch four private satellites and recover the returning booster early Sunday morning (Jan. 28), and you can watch the action live. The company’s Electron rocket is scheduled to lift off from New Zealand on Sunday during a 45-minute window that opens at 1:15 a.m. EST (0615 GMT; 7:15 p.m. local New Zealand time). You can watch live here on Space.com, courtesy of Rocket Lab, or directly via the companny’s website. Coverage will begin 30 minutes before the launch window opens. Related: Facts and information about Rocket…
Read MoreThe moon could be perfect for cutting-edge telescopes — but not if we don’t protect it
Space scientists are eager to protect the option of doing astronomy from the moon. There are plans in the works to place astronomical hardware on the lunar landscape such as super-cooled infrared telescopes, a swath of gravitational wave detectors, large Arecibo-like radio telescopes, even peek-a-boo instruments tuned up to seek out evidence for “out there” aliens. Yes, the future of lunar astronomy beckons. But some scientists say there’s an urgent need to protect any moon-based astronomical equipment from interference caused by other planned activities on the moon, ensuring they can carry…
Read MoreNASA Awards Contract for Aviation, Railroad Safety Reporting Systems
NASA NASA has awarded a contract to Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. of McLean, Virginia, for the maintenance and operation of incident reporting programs and continuing development to improve current and future reporting systems. The Aviation Safety Reporting System and Related Systems award is a cost-plus-fixed-fee indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract managed by the Human Systems Integration Division at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley. The contract will support NASA’s Aviation Safety Reporting System and the agency’s Confidential Close Call Reporting System (C3RS). The award for continuation of work includes a 60-day…
Read MoreNASA Offers Virtual Activities for Northrop Grumman’s Next Resupply Mission
Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus cargo craft is pictured moments away from being captured by the Canadarm2 robotic arm controlled by NASA astronaut and Expedition 69 Flight Engineer Woody Hoburg from inside the International Space Station. NASA NASA invites the public to participate in virtual activities ahead of the launch of Northrop Grumman’s 20th commercial resupply services mission for the agency. Mission teams are targeting 12:29 p.m. EST Monday, Jan. 29, for launch of Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus cargo spacecraft on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape…
Read MoreNASA’s LRO Spots Japan’s Moon Lander
1 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) On Jan. 19, 2024, at 10:20 a.m. EST, the JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) landed on the lunar surface. Five days later, NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft passed over the landing site and photographed SLIM. NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter captured this image of the JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) SLIM lander on the Moon’s surface on Jan. 24, 2024. SLIM landed at 13.3160 degrees south latitude, 25.2510 degrees east longitude, at an…
Read More2023 NASA International Space Apps Challenge Announces 10 Global Winners
5 min read 2023 NASA International Space Apps Challenge Announces 10 Global Winners This Earth observation was captured during a day pass by the Expedition 40 crew aboard the International Space Station on September 2, 2014. European Space Agency Astronaut Alexander Gerst Ten teams from around the world have been named the Global Winners of the 2023 NASA International Space Apps Challenge. The Challenge is the largest annual global hackathon, and gives participants the opportunity to engage with real world problems we face on Earth and in space. The 2023…
Read MoreArtemis Teams Install Emergency Escape Baskets at NASA Kennedy
Teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems Program began installing the four emergency egress baskets at Launch Pad 39B in preparation for NASA’s Artemis II crewed mission at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In the event of an emergency at the pad during the launch countdown, these baskets, similar to gondolas on ski lifts, will take the astronauts and pad personnel safely from the mobile launcher to the base of the pad where emergency transport vehicles will drive them away. Following installation, teams will thoroughly test the baskets by…
Read MoreSpace mysteries: Does the sun move in the solar system?
From an early age, we are taught to understand that the planets of our solar system change in position while orbiting a central star, the sun. But does the sun itself move within the solar system? Well, in general the sun is far from static in the universe. We know, for instance, that our star orbits the heart of the Milky Way at staggering speeds reaching 450,000 miles per hour (720,000 kilometers per hour) and dragging the whole solar system along with it. Over the course of the day, the…
Read MoreJanuary’s Full Wolf Moon looks stunning in 1st full moon photos of 2024 (photos)
The first full moon of 2024 rose over Earth on Thursday (Jan. 25), in the form of January’s Wolf Moon. The January full moon takes its name from packs of hungry wolves that would howl outside native American villages amid the cold and deep snows of winter, according to NASA. Wolves weren’t the only ones who braved the frigid weather on Thursday to observe the moon, as skywatchers across the globe bundled up and went hunting for incredible images of Earth’s lunar companion.Related: Full moon calendar 2024: When to see…
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