Month: January 2024

NASA restores contact with Mars helicopter Ingenuity after communications dropout on latest flight

NeRD

I held my breath for a moment on Jan. 18, when scientists announced they’d lost contact with the Perseverance Mars rover’s helicopter friend, Ingenuity.  Ingenuity had been nearing completion of its 72nd flight — a liftoff far past the threshold of “borrowed time” in this case, as the mighty craft was originally built for a mere maximum of five flights. The fate of Ingenuity was pretty uncertain for a short while. However, I’m pleased to report that Ingenuity has officially regained communication with ground control and continues to surpass the…

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Space mysteries: Why do Earth’s magnetic poles flip?

NeRD

Earth, our rocky, watery oasis in the cosmos is the ideal place for life to flourish for a number of reasons.  We sit at just the right distance from our home star for liquid water to exist on the planet’s surface. The gravitational pull of other large planets helps protect us from apocalyptic collisions with wandering meteorites. And the planet’s magnetic field encircles Earth with a protective barrier that shields us from charged particles hurtling through space.  Earth’s magnetic field is generated by the complex flow of molten metallic material…

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‘Constellation’ trailer teases new ‘action-packed space adventure’ on Apple TV+

NeRD

After surviving an explosion aboard the International Space Station, European Space Agency astronaut Jo Ericsson is thrust into a different, but no less life-threatening mission: to uncover the hidden history of space travel and recover all that she has lost. That is premise of “Constellation,” an “action-packed space adventure” coming to Apple TV+ on Feb. 21. The streaming service released the trailer for the eight-part series on Monday (Jan. 22). “When I was up there, the only thing I could focus on was getting back to my daughter,” Jo (Noomi…

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Hubble Observes an Askew Galaxy Coaxing Star Formation from its Partner 

NeRD

2 min read Hubble Observes an Askew Galaxy Coaxing Star Formation from its Partner  This new NASA Hubble Space Telescope image features two interacting spiral galaxies collectively called Arp 300. NASA, ESA, J. Dalcanton (University of Washington), and R. Windhorst (Arizona State University); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America) Arp 300 consists of two interacting galaxies, UGC 05028 (the smaller face-on spiral galaxy) and UGC 05029 (the larger face-on spiral). Likely due to its gravitational dance with its larger partner, UGC 05028 has an asymmetric, irregular structure, which is…

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Learn the history and heroics of ‘Star Wars’ Mandalorians in new souvenir hardcover

NeRD

Writer/producer Jon Favreau is currently ramping up the development phase for Disney+’s “The Mandalorian” Season 4, and he’s in the nascent stages of directing the recently announced “The Mandalorian & Grogu” feature for Lucasfilm.   While there’s a temporary lull in the action for the eventful world of Mandalorians, now is the ideal time to reflect on the legacy of this enigmatic helmeted tribe of the galaxy far, far away with an all-new reference guidebook. This is the way! London-based Titan Books has gathered the finest material from the archives of…

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This ‘Star Wars: Skeleton Crew’ fan trailer has us excited for the real thing

NeRD

There’s been a bit of radio silence around the Lucasfilm camp lately regarding its upcoming projects that always seem to be victims of a shell game concerning production slates and eventual releases. But with a new year comes fresh interest that should get fans energized (or angry), even if it’s a cleverly edited fake promo that many faithful followers are apparently getting upset about. With a title that sounds more like a Halloween special than a thrilling space opera series set in the galaxy far, far way, here comes a…

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Wild Mars plane concept could seek water from high in the Red Planet’s atmosphere

NeRD

The search for water on Mars could include a hunt from Red Planet skies. An early-stage vehicle, affectionately called MAGGIE, would search for water on Mars from high in the planet’s atmosphere. In fact, MAGGIE just received its first tranche of funding from NASA on the long road to getting ready for flight. While there’s no timeline yet for the craft’s first flight, another flying vehicle on Mars continues to exceed and excel. The Ingenuity helicopter on the Red Planet, originally built for a mere five flights, is well past…

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World-renowned spaceflight museum set for renovation at Cosmosphere

NeRD

The home of a famously sunken Mercury capsule and the spacecraft that brought the Apollo 13 crew back to Earth is getting an upgrade. The Cosmosphere, a world-class space museum located in Hutchinson, Kansas, announced this week that it is ready to continue with the redesign and renovation of its Hall of Space, a series of galleries that together allows visitors to step back through the history of space exploration by way of an extensive artifact collection. “We have done about a third of the museum, so starting with the…

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Fire! NASA kicks off Artemis moon program’s 2024 with big engine test (video)

NeRD

As NASA battles delays in its Artemis moon program, testing on its hardware continues at a rapid pace. NASA engineers fired up an engine for the Space Launch System (SLS) megarocket, a future version of the type that will help launch astronauts toward the moon as soon as 2025. The test on Wednesday (Jan. 17) successfully fired the RS-25 engine for nearly as long as a typical launch, which would be 8.5 minutes. Under scrutiny is the venerable RS-25 engine type, with heritage that dates from the space shuttle program.…

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