Day: April 26, 2025

International Dark Sky Week 2025: See these 10 night sky sights to celebrate

NeRD

April 21 – 28 is International Dark Sky Week, a global celebration of the night sky during which like-minded organizations and people take action to raise awareness of an inevitable aspect of modern-day life: the rising scourge of light pollution. Light pollution is a serious issue for night sky enthusiasts hoping to explore the cosmos from our vantage point on Earth, and is the primary reason why powerful observatories are built in remote locations, such as the Atacama Desert in Chile. Even so, a 2022 study from the Royal Astronomical…

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‘We learned so much that we didn’t know’: Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost moon lander mission was full of surprises

NeRD

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado — Lessons learned and on-the-spot surprises from the first fully successful commercial lunar lander mission bolsters the chances of long-term robotic and human operations on the moon. The Firefly Aerospace Blue Ghost Mission 1 safely touched down on March 2 within the targeted Mare Crisium landing zone. Plopping down on its four landing legs, the spacecraft delivered ten science instruments and technology demonstration gear through the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. Blue Ghost completed more than 14 days of surface operations during 346 hours of daylight,…

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Earth Science Showcase – Kids Art Collection

NeRD

1 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) On April 16, 2025, the Earth Science Division at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley held an Earth Science Showcase to share its work with the center and their families. As part of this event, kids were invited to share something they like about the Earth. These are their masterpieces. Sora U. Age 9. “Wildlife” Sora U. Age 9. “Wildlife” Wesley P. Age 2.5. “Pale Blue” Wesley P. Age 2.5. “Pale Blue” Kira U. Age 5. “Hawaii” Kira…

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