Author: NeRD

NASA Welcomes Estonia as Newest Artemis Accords Signatory

NeRD

Credit: NASA While in Milan for international meetings, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson was among the witnesses as Estonia signed the Artemis Accords and became the 45th nation to join the United States and other signatories agreeing to the safe, transparent, and responsible exploration of the Moon, Mars, and beyond. The signing ceremony took place ahead of Italy hosting the 75th International Astronautical Congress beginning Monday, Oct. 14, where government and space officials from signatory countries will discuss advancing implementation of the Artemis Accords, among other topics. “We welcome Estonia’s signing…

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SpaceX catches giant Starship booster with ‘Chopsticks’ on historic Flight 5 rocket launch and landing (video)

NeRD

The biggest and most powerful rocket ever built took to the skies again. And this time, it came back. SpaceX launched its 400-foot-tall (122 meters) Starship vehicle for the fifth time ever today (Oct. 13), sending the giant rocket aloft from its Starbase site in South Texas at 8:25 am. EDT (1225 GMT; 7:25 a.m. local Texas time).  The mission aimed to break new ground for Starship, and for spaceflight in general: SpaceX planned to return Starship’s huge first-stage booster, known as Super Heavy, directly to its launch mount, catching…

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Can Life Exist on an Icy Moon? NASA’s Europa Clipper Aims to Find Out

NeRD

6 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) The puzzling surface of Jupiter’s icy moon Europa looms large in this reprocessed color view made from images taken by NASA’s Galileo spacecraft in the late 1990s. The images were assembled into a realistic color view of the surface that approximates how Europa would appear to the human eye. NASA/JPL-Caltech/SETI Institute With a spacecraft launching soon, the mission will try to answer the question of whether there are ingredients suitable for life in the ocean below Europa’s icy crust.…

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NASA Activates Resources to Help Assess Impacts from Hurricane Milton

NeRD

NASA canvases the areas impacted by Hurricane Milton using cloud-penetrating L-band radar providing responders insight into flooding across Florida. NASA In the wake of Hurricane Milton, NASA is deploying resources to support Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and state emergency management agencies to aid their response effort including satellite and aerial data collection. The agency’s Disasters Response Coordination System and Airborne Science Program are began conducting flights Friday to provide emergency responders with better insight into flooding, damage in Florida, and debris. “After the devastating impact from hurricanes Helene and…

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What time is SpaceX’s Starship Flight 5 launch test on Oct. 13 (and how to watch online)?

NeRD

Watch live! SpaceX to launch Starship, attempt to catch booster – YouTube Watch On It’s official: SpaceX is “go” to launch what may be its most ambitious Starship test flight yet, and if you’re hoping to watch it live online, don’t worry. We’ve got you covered.  SpaceX’s next Starship test launch, called Starship Flight 5, is now officially scheduled to launch on Sunday, Oct. 13, at 8 a.m. EDT (1200 GMT) from the company’s Starbase facility near Boca Chica Beach in South Texas. It will be 7 a.m. local time…

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FAA clears SpaceX to resume Falcon 9 rocket launches

NeRD

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has given SpaceX’s workhorse Falcon 9 rocket a green light to return to flight. The Falcon 9 had been grounded since Sept. 28, when the rocket suffered an issue with its upper stage during the launch of the Crew-9 astronaut mission for NASA. (A Falcon 9 did launch Europe’s Hera asteroid-inspection probe on Oct. 7, but that was a one-time exception granted by the FAA.) “The FAA notified SpaceX on Oct. 11 that the Falcon 9 vehicle is authorized to return to regular flight…

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SpaceX Starship launches: Live updates

NeRD

2024-10-11T23:05:00.079Z SpaceX aims for Starship Flight 5 launch on Oct. 13 SpaceX’s Starship Flight 5 rocket and its Super Heavy booster are stacked together ahead of a planned launch from Boca Chica Beach, Texas on Oct. 13, 2024, pending FAA approval. (Image credit: SpaceX) SpaceX on Friday, Oct. 11, said its next Starship rocket could launch as early as Sunday, Oct. 13, pending final FAA regulatory approvals. Liftoff is targeted for no earlier than 8 a.m. EDT (1200 GMT) on Oct. 13, if the approvals come through in time. A…

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Sols 4329-4330: Continuing Downhill

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 More Resources Mars Missions Mars Sample Return Mars Perseverance Rover Mars Curiosity Rover MAVEN Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Odyssey More Mars Missions The Solar System The Sun Mercury Venus Earth The Moon Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto & Dwarf Planets Asteroids, Comets & Meteors The Kuiper Belt The Oort Cloud 3 min read Sols 4329-4330: Continuing Downhill A post-drive image from NASA’s…

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The Next Full Moon is a Supermoon, and the Hunter’s Moon

NeRD

29 Min Read The Next Full Moon is a Supermoon, and the Hunter’s Moon A supermoon rises behind the U.S. Capitol, on March 9, 2020, in Washington. Credits: NASA/Joel Kowsky The Next Full Moon is a Supermoon; the Hunter’s Moon; the Travel Moon, the Dying Grass Moon, or the Sanguine or Blood Moon; the start of Sukkoth; Sharad Purnima, Kumara Purnima, Kojagari Purnima, Navanna Purnima Kojagrat Purnima, or Kaumudi Purnima; the end of Vassa and Pavarana; the Thadingyut Festival Moon; the end of the Phaung Daw U Pagoda Festival; and…

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‘Stunning was the word’: Astronauts snap amazing aurora photo from ISS during severe geomagnetic storm

NeRD

The auroras were pretty special on Thursday night (Oct. 10) — especially if you got to see them from orbit. NASA astronauts Don Pettit and Matthew Dominick are in that very exclusive club, getting a bird’s-eye view of the amazing auroral displays — which were supercharged by a recent solar storm — from the International Space Station (ISS). And the sight took the spaceflyers aback. “Stunning was the word,” Pettit wrote in a lengthy post on X on Friday (Oct. 11)  that shared a photo of the celestial light show. “The…

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