Author: NeRD

Sunrise on the moon! Private Blue Ghost lander captures amazing shot after historic lunar touchdown (photo)

NeRD

Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lander has captured a gorgeous shot of sunrise on the moon as it begins its workday on the lunar surface. Blue Ghost aced its lunar landing attempt on Sunday (March 2), setting down close to Mons Latreille, a solitary lunar peak in the vast basin Mare Crisium (“Sea of Crises”) in the northeastern region of the moon’s near side. And the spacecraft is already getting to work, starting up its science payloads and capturing amazing images of its surroundings and the distant Earth from the lunar…

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NACA Test Pilot Poses with Plane

NeRD

NASA In this 1957 photo, George Cooper, a test pilot for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, or NACA, stands next to a North American F-100, a supersonic fighter tested by the NACA. Cooper served as a pilot in World War II before being hired at the NACA’s Ames Aeronautical Laboratory in 1945. Between 1945 and his retirement in 1973, Cooper tested over 135 aircraft, routinely pushing them to their limits. On March 3, 1915, the NACA was established by Congress to “supervise and direct the scientific study of the…

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NASA Astronauts to Answer Questions from Students in Ohio, Texas

NeRD

NASA’s Space X Crew-9 members pose together for a portrait. Credit: NASA Students from Ohio and Texas will have the chance to hear NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station answer their prerecorded questions this week. At 12:55 p.m. EST, Wednesday, March 5, NASA astronauts Suni Williams, Nick Hague, Butch Wilmore, and Don Pettit will respond to questions submitted by students from Puede Network, in partnership with The Achievery in Dallas. At 10:30 a.m., Thursday, March 6, a separate call with NASA astronauts Williams, Hague, and Wilmore, will answer questions…

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Station Science Top News: Feb. 27, 2025

NeRD

Preventing biofilm formation in space Ashley Keeley, University of Idaho, holds an anti-bacterial coating sample. University of Idaho Student Payload Opportunity with Citizen Science Team Two anti-microbial coatings reduced formation of biofilms in microgravity and have potential for use in space. Controlling biofilms could help protect human health and prevent corrosion and degradation of equipment on future long-duration space missions. Biofilms, communities of microorganisms that attach to a surface, can damage mechanical systems and present a risk of disease transmission. Bacteria Resistant Polymers in Space examined how microgravity affects polymer…

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‘America First’ on the moon? US must ‘dominate’ in space, acting NASA chief says during lunar landing

NeRD

As a private lunar lander closed in on the moon early Sunday morning (March 2), poised to make history with the first fully successful landing, NASA’s acting chief Janet Petro was excited. And why not? NASA and its commercial partner Firefly Aerospace were just 24 minutes away from what became the successful landing of the Blue Ghost moon lander on the plain of Mare Crisium — a historic soft landing for a privately built spacecraft. The probe is carrying 10 instruments to study the moon for NASA as the agency’s…

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Pikoy Galaxy Projector review

NeRD

We test all sorts of star projectors, and with so many coming to the market now (thanks to TikTok and Instagram campaigns), it’s hard to know what to choose. Specifications Size: 4.1 x 4.1 x 3.9 inches (105 x 105 x 100 millimeters) Weight: 0.95 pound (430 grams) Laser: Yes, Class 1 Control: On-body, remote control Rotation: Yes Sleep timer: Yes Speaker: Yes (built-in sounds only) Projection surface: Not specified (but large) Although we have compiled a guide of the best star projectors, new models crop up all the time.…

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Is it time to revisit what NASA’s Viking lander found on Mars in 1976?

NeRD

Back in 1976, the dual NASA Viking landers came to full stop on the Red Planet. Their life detection experimental findings still reverberate within the scientific community – fueling the on-going discussion on a key question: Is there life on Mars? Fast forward to today, a new paper tackles and reconsiders the results of the Viking Biology experiments. Perchlorate finding The most significant change since those 1970’s experiments were conducted was the discovery of high levels of perchlorate on Mars. Perchlorate, plus abiotic oxidants, explains the Viking results and there…

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Touchdown! Carrying NASA Science, Firefly’s Blue Ghost Lands on Moon

NeRD

First image captured by Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander, taken shortly after confirmation of a successful landing at Mare Crisium on the Moon’s near side. This is the second lunar delivery of NASA science and tech instruments as part of the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative. Credit: Firefly Aerospace Carrying a suite of NASA science and technology, Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 successfully landed at 3:34 a.m. EST on Sunday near a volcanic feature called Mons Latreille within Mare Crisium, a more than 300-mile-wide basin located in the…

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Russian cargo ship docks at space station with science, spacesuit and supplies

NeRD

A new delivery of food, fuel and supplies has arrived at the International Space Station by way of a Russian supply ship. Roscomsos’ Progress MS-30 (or Progress 91, as referred to by NASA) cargo spacecraft autonomously docked to the aft port of the space station’s Zvezda service module on Saturday (March 1) as the two vehicles orbited 260 miles (418 kilometers) over the South Atlantic Ocean. The 6:02 p.m. EST (2302 GMT) link up came two days after the Progress launched from the Baikonur Cosmdrome in Kazakhstan. The uncrewed spacecraft…

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