Author: NeRD

What the asteroid with a 1-in-48 chance of hitting Earth in 2032 looks like (images)

NeRD

It might not look like much in this image, but this is the asteroid that has made a major news impact in 2025. That’s because this space rock, designated asteroid 2024 YR4, has a 1-in-48 chance of impacting Earth in 2032. For obvious reasons, astronomers are desperate to learn as much as they can about 2024 YR4, estimated to be as large as 177 feet wide (54 meters wide). That’s around as wide as Cinderella’s Castle in Walt Disney World Florida is tall. The image featured here was captured on…

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2024 State-of-the-Art Small Spacecraft Technology Report is Released

NeRD

Credit: NASA NASA’s Small Spacecraft Systems Virtual Institute (S3VI) is pleased to announce the official release of the highly anticipated 2024 State-of-the-Art Small Spacecraft Technology report. This significant accomplishment was made possible by the contributions of numerous dedicated people across NASA who graciously supported the preparation of the document as authors and reviewers. We also want to extend our gratitude to all the companies, universities, and organizations that provided content for this report. The 2024 report can be found online at https://www.nasa.gov/smallsat-institute/sst-soa. The report is also available in PDF format as a…

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Summary of the 10th DSCOVR EPIC and NISTAR Science Team Meeting

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 21 min read Summary of the 10th DSCOVR EPIC and NISTAR Science Team Meeting Introduction The 10th Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) Earth Polychromatic Camera (EPIC) and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Advanced Radiometer [NISTAR] Science Team Meeting (STM) was held October 16–18, 2024. Over 50 scientists attended, most of whom were from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), with several participating from other NASA centers, U.S. universities, and…

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NASA Sets Coverage of Firefly’s First Robotic Commercial Moon Landing

NeRD

Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander captured a bright image of the Moon’s South Pole (on the far left) through the cameras on its top deck, while it travels to the Moon as part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign. Credits: Firefly Aerospace With a suite of NASA science and technology on board, Firefly Aerospace is targeting no earlier than 3:45 a.m. EST on Sunday, March 2, to land the Blue Ghost lunar lander on the Moon. Blue Ghost is slated to touch down near Mare…

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An Afternoon of Family Science and Rocket Exploration in Alaska

NeRD

Explore This Section Science Science Activation An Afternoon of Family Science… Overview Learning Resources Science Activation Teams SME Map Opportunities More Science Activation Stories Citizen Science   2 min read An Afternoon of Family Science and Rocket Exploration in Alaska On Tuesday, January 28th, Fairbanks BEST Homeschool joined the Geophysical Institute for an afternoon of rocket exploration, hands-on activities, and stargazing inside a planetarium. This event was free and open to the public. Despite their frigid winter weather, 200 attendees were curious about the scientific endeavors of Alaska-based researchers alongside…

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A Stellar Bouquet

NeRD

This composite image contains the deepest X-ray image ever made of the spectacular star forming region called 30 Doradus. By combining X-ray data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory (blue and green) with optical data from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope (yellow) and radio data from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (orange), this stellar arrangement comes alive.

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Hubble Captures a Cosmic Cloudscape

NeRD

Explore Hubble Hubble Home Overview About Hubble The History of Hubble Hubble Timeline Why Have a Telescope in Space? Hubble by the Numbers At the Museum FAQs Impact & Benefits Hubble’s Impact & Benefits Science Impacts Cultural Impact Technology Benefits Impact on Human Spaceflight Astro Community Impacts Science Hubble Science Science Themes Science Highlights Science Behind Discoveries Hubble’s Partners in Science Universe Uncovered Explore the Night Sky Observatory Hubble Observatory Hubble Design Mission Operations Missions to Hubble Hubble vs Webb Team Hubble Team Career Aspirations Hubble Astronauts News Hubble News…

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Sols 4452-4453: Keeping Warm and Keeping Busy

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 2 min read Sols 4452-4453: Keeping Warm and Keeping Busy NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image of the science targets before it, including “Catalina Island,” the flat rock at image center, using its Left Navigation Camera. The rover captured…

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SpaceX test-fires Starship megarocket and Super Heavy booster ahead of next launch (video, photos)

NeRD

In preparation for its eighth Starship launch, SpaceX is finishing up preflight shakedowns for the megarocket’s first stage, or Super Heavy booster, and second stage, also known simply as “Ship.” As such, things have been busy down in Starbase, Texas, at SpaceX’s Starship manufacturing and test facilities. More specifically, the company recently completed static test fires on both vessels tapped to fly on Starship’s next integrated test flight (IFT-8). All 33 Raptor engines of SpaceX’s 233-foot (71-meter) Super Heavy booster were ignited last weekend for the vehicle’s launch simulation run.…

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NASA Tests Drones to Provide Micrometeorology, Aid in Fire Response

NeRD

5 Min Read NASA Tests Drones to Provide Micrometeorology, Aid in Fire Response Pilot in command Brayden Chamberlain performs pre-flight checks on the NASA Alta X quadcopter during the FireSense uncrewed aerial system (UAS) technology demonstration in Missoula. Credits: NASA ARC/Milan Loiacono In Aug. 2024, a team of NASA researchers and partners gathered in Missoula, to test new drone-based technology for localized forecasting, or micrometeorology. Researchers attached wind sensors to a drone, NASA’s Alta X quadcopter, aiming to provide precise and sustainable meteorological data to help predict fire behavior. Wildfires…

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