Month: September 2024

El X-59 de la NASA avanza en las pruebas de preparación para volar

NeRD

3 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) El técnico de soporte vital de la NASA Matthew Sechler ayuda a instalar un asiento eyectable en el avión X-59, en las instalaciones de Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, en Palmdale, California. La culminación de instalación del asiento marca un hito en la integración de la aeronave mientras se prepara para las pruebas en tierra firme. Crédito: Lockheed Martin Read this story in English here. El equipo que prepara el X-59 de la NASA continúa realizando pruebas en preparación para…

Read More

40 Years Ago: STS-41D – First Flight of Space Shuttle Discovery

NeRD

On Aug. 30, 1984, space shuttle Discovery lifted off on the STS-41D mission, joining NASA’s fleet as the third space qualified orbiter. The newest shuttle incorporated newer technologies making it significantly lighter than its two predecessors. Discovery lofted the heaviest payload up to that time in shuttle history. The six-person crew included five NASA astronauts and the first commercial payload specialist. During the six-day mission, the crew deployed a then-record three commercial satellites, tested an experimental solar array, and ran a commercial biotechnology experiment. The astronauts recorded many of the…

Read More

Scientists make lab-grown black hole jets

NeRD

An experiment using beams of protons to probe how plasma and magnetic fields interact may have just solved the mystery of how quasars and other active supermassive black holes unleash their relativistic jets. Let’s picture the scene at the heart of a quasar. A supermassive black hole, perhaps hundreds of millions — or even billions — of times the mass of our sun, is ravenously devouring matter that is streaming into its maw from a spiraling, ultra-hot disk. That charged matter is called plasma, and  it gets gravitationally drawn into…

Read More

Proyecto de la NASA en Puerto Rico capacita a estudiantes en biología marina

NeRD

9 Min Read Proyecto de la NASA en Puerto Rico capacita a estudiantes en biología marina Una península cubierta por un bosque verde en la isla de Culebra se adentra en las aguas azules del Caribe mientras una tormenta cae a lo lejos. El azul turquesa que rodea la isla indica la presencia de aguas poco profundas, que son el hogar de los famosos arrecifes de coral de esta isla. Credits: Centro Ames de la NASA/Milan Loiacono Read this story in English here. Tainaliz Marie Rodríguez Lugo respiró hondo, se ajustó…

Read More

NASA’s Mini BurstCube Mission Detects Mega Blast

NeRD

3 min read NASA’s Mini BurstCube Mission Detects Mega Blast The shoebox-sized BurstCube satellite has observed its first gamma-ray burst, the most powerful kind of explosion in the universe, according to a recent analysis of observations collected over the last several months. “We’re excited to collect science data,” said Sean Semper, BurstCube’s lead engineer at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “It’s an important milestone for the team and for the many early career engineers and scientists that have been part of the mission.” The event, called GRB 240629A, occurred…

Read More

NASA Earth Science Education Collaborative Member Co-Authors Award-Winning Paper in Insects

NeRD

Learn Home NASA Earth Science Education… Earth Science Overview Learning Resources Science Activation Teams SME Map Opportunities More Science Stories Science Activation Highlights Citizen Science   2 min read NASA Earth Science Education Collaborative Member Co-Authors Award-Winning Paper in Insects On August 13, 2024, the publishers of the journal Insects notified authors of three papers selected to receive “Insects 2022 Best Paper Award” for research and review articles published in Insects from January 1 to December 31, 2022. One of the winning papers was co-authored by Russanne Low, PhD, Institute…

Read More

Station Science Top News: August 29, 2024

NeRD

Researchers used an interferometer that can precisely measure gravity, magnetic fields, and other forces to study the influence of International Space Station vibrations. Results revealed that matter-wave interference of rubidium gases is robust and repeatable over a period spanning months. Atom interferometry experiments could help create high-precision measurement capabilities for gravitational, Earth, and planetary sciences. Using ultracold rubidium atoms, Cold Atom Lab researchers examined a three-pulse Mach–Zehnder interferometer, a device that determines phase shift variations between two parallel beams, to understand the influence of space station vibrations. Researchers note that atom sensitivities and visibility degrade…

Read More

Satellites are making the night sky brighter — as a launch site, New Zealand has a duty to combat light pollution

NeRD

This article was originally published in The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Space.com’s Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. New Zealand’s space sector has been developing rapidly since the first rocket lifted off in 2017. It now contributes about NZ$1.7 billion in revenue, with plans to grow to $10 billion by 2030. Last year, New Zealand hosted seven rocket launches, all by the US-listed but local company Rocket Lab. It was in response to Rocket Lab’s initial proposal for a launch site that New Zealand developed a regulatory system from scratch in less than two years…

Read More

Stick to the shade in new extended ‘Dune: Awakening’ gameplay trailer (video)

NeRD

Dune: Awakening – Gamescom Gameplay Presentation – YouTube Watch On “Your journey begins here, in the desert. Find the Fremen. Wake the Sleeper” It might have felt like we were all living on Arrakis this past July with the relentless scorching heat. Rest assured that cooler temperatures are rapidly arriving, but not for that storied sci-fi destination commonly known as Dune. Folding space back to that desolate planet where the spice Melange is harvested and water is held sacred, a new 27-minute gameplay trailer for Funcom’s upcoming “Dune: Awakening” was…

Read More