Author: NeRD

SpaceX to set new rocket-reuse record on March 21 launch of US spy satellites

NeRD

SpaceX will set a new rocket-reuse record early Friday morning (March 21), if all goes according to plan. A Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to lift off from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base Friday at 2:49 a.m. EDT (0649 GMT; 11:49 p.m. on March 20 local California time), on the NROL-57 mission for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). This rocket’s first stage also lofted the SPHEREx space telescope and PUNCH solar probes for NASA on March 11, according to a SpaceX mission description. An on-time liftoff for NROL-57 would…

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Hubble Sees a Spiral and a Star

NeRD

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope Picture of the Week features a sparkling spiral galaxy paired with a prominent star, both in the constellation Virgo. While the galaxy and the star appear to be close to one another, even overlapping, they’re actually a great distance apart.

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The Earth Observer Editor’s Corner: January–March 2025

NeRD

Explore This Section Earth Home Earth Observer Home Editor’s Corner Feature Articles Meeting Summaries News Science in the News Calendars In Memoriam More Archives 11 min read The Earth Observer Editor’s Corner: January–March 2025 NASA’s Earth Observing fleet continues to age gracefully. While several new missions have joined the fleet in the past year, scientists and engineers work to extend the life of existing missions and maximize their science along the way. The crowning example is the first Earth Observing System (EOS) Flagship mission, Terra, which celebrated a quarter-century in…

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Aliens abduct space-crazed kid in wild new trailer for Pixar’s ‘Elio’ (video)

NeRD

After making a course correction with a number of reshoots and directorial shuffling, “Elio” is poised to be Disney & Pixar’s next potential blockbuster when the kid-centric sci-fi comedy drops into our galaxy with a rescheduled release date of June 20, 2025 and we’ve got a vibrant new trailer to share. “Elio’s” family-friendly plotline orbits around its aliens-obsessed 11-year-old hero who dreams of venturing into the heavens on intergalactic adventures when he’s suddenly beamed up into the midst of the “Communiverse.” This vast interplanetary institution is a consortium of representatives…

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Next-Generation Water Satellite Maps Seafloor From Space

NeRD

6 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Located off the coast of Ecuador, Paramount seamount is among the kinds of ocean floor features that certain ocean-observing satellites like SWOT can detect by how their gravitational pull affects the sea surface. NOAA Okeanos Explorer Program More accurate maps based on data from the SWOT mission can improve underwater navigation and result in greater knowledge of how heat and life move around the world’s ocean. There are better maps of the Moon’s surface than of the bottom of…

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The MacBook Pro is one of the best laptops for astronomers and it’s just hit its lowest-ever price

NeRD

The MacBook Pro is one of the best laptops for astronomers, delivering processing power, portability, and incredible display quality. For professional and amateur stargazers it’s an invaluable asset offering some of the best-in-class image processing, data analysis, and telescope control. Save $200 and buy the Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch for just $1,399 at Amazon. Regardless of the model, the MacBook Pro is always in demand but it comes with a hefty price tag. If you’re looking to upgrade your current laptop or a Mac is on your wishlist, then this…

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Alien life could survive on Earth-like planets circling dead stars, study suggests

NeRD

White dwarfs may be stellar corpses, but that doesn’t mean that everything around them has to be lifeless. That’s the conclusion of Florida Institute of Technology researcher Caldon Whyte, who’s particularly fascinated by these stellar remnants. Until now, scientists have generally thought that planets orbiting white dwarfs would be unsuitable for life because the dynamic temperature decrease of their dead parent star makes their atmospheres too unstable. As the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) increasingly investigates white dwarf systems, however, Whyte and colleagues developed a model capable of assessing if…

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New Bridge Ready to Serve NASA, America’s Space Interests

NeRD

The high-rise bridge that serves as the primary access point for employees and visitors to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida is fully operational. In the late hours of March 18, 2025, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) opened the westbound portion of the NASA Causeway Bridge, which spans the Indian River Lagoon and connects NASA Kennedy and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to the mainland. This new bridge span (right side of photo) sits alongside its twin on the eastbound side, which has accommodated traffic in both directions since…

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Welcome Home, Crew-9!

NeRD

NASA/Keegan Barber NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore, left, Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, second from left, and NASA astronauts Nick Hague, second from right, and Suni Williams, right, are all smiles as they wait to exit a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft on March 18, 2025. The four returned from a long-duration science expedition aboard the International Space Station, splashing down off the coast of Florida. Throughout its mission, Crew-9 contributed to a host of science and maintenance activities and technology demonstrations. Williams conducted two spacewalks, joined by Wilmore for one and Hague for another.…

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Sols 4481-4483: Humber Pie

NeRD

Curiosity Navigation Curiosity Home Mission Overview Where is Curiosity? Mission Updates Science Overview Instruments Highlights Exploration Goals News and Features Multimedia Curiosity Raw Images Images Videos Audio Mosaics More Resources Mars Missions Mars Sample Return Mars Perseverance Rover Mars Curiosity Rover MAVEN Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Odyssey More Mars Missions Mars Home 2 min read Sols 4481-4483: Humber Pie NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image using its Front Hazard Avoidance Camera (Front Hazcam) on March 14, 2025 — sol 4480, or Martian day 4,480 of the Mars Science Laboratory…

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