Author: NeRD

‘Dune: Prophecy’ showrunner and Harkonnen stars dissect a stellar first season (exclusive)

NeRD

HBO’s “Dune: Prophecy” aired its eventful season finale on Dec. 22, right before Christmas bells rang, and it was a satisfying end to this spinoff series set 10,000 years before Paul Atreides’ birth and concerned the rise of the Bene Gesserit sect. With the Sisterhood’s thinking machine smashed to bits, Emperor Corrino putting himself out of his misery, Tula embracing her enhanced son Desmond Hart, and Valya finally touching down on Arrakis in the sixth episode titled “The High-Handed Enemy,” many loose narrative ends and inevitable fates were all tied…

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What time is SpaceX’s Starship Flight 7 launch test on Jan. 13?

NeRD

SpaceX is ready to launch its first Starship flight of 2025, a mission that will test a new version of the world’s largest rocket. But if you’re hoping to watch the planned Jan. 13 launch live online, you’ll need to know when and where, and for that we’ve got you covered. After a successful fueling test late Friday, Jan. 10, SpaceX is on track to launch its Starship Flight 7 mission at 5 p.m. EST (2200 GMT) on Monday, Jan. 13, from the company’s Starbase facility near Boca Chica Beach…

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First NASA Neurodiversity Network Intern to Present at the American Geophysical Union Annual Conference

NeRD

Learn Home First NASA Neurodiversity… Heliophysics Overview Learning Resources Science Activation Teams SME Map Opportunities More Science Activation Stories Citizen Science   2 min read First NASA Neurodiversity Network Intern to Present at the American Geophysical Union Annual Conference The NASA Science Activation Program’s NASA’s Neurodiversity Network (N3) project sponsors a summer internship program for high school students, in which learners on the autism spectrum are matched with NASA Subject Matter Experts. N3 intern Lillian Hall and mentor Dr. Juan Carlos Martinez Oliveros presented Lilly’s summer research project on December…

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Los Angeles Fires Seen from International Space Station

NeRD

NASA/Don Pettit On Jan. 10, 2025, NASA astronaut Don Pettit posted two images of the Los Angeles fires from the International Space Station. Multiple destructive fires broke out in the hills of Los Angeles County in early January 2025, fueled by a dry landscape and winds that gusted up to 100 miles per hour. See satellite imagery of the fires. Image credit: NASA/Don Pettit

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Space2Sea Antarctica: 2 Ukrainian soldiers fulfill 1st part of Antarctic dream

NeRD

Space2Sea Antarctica marks the inaugural voyage in a series produced by FUTURE of SPACE (FoS). This innovative journey blends Earth’s uncharted territories with the inspiring narrative of human curiosity and exploration. It encapsulates the core mission of FoS to: Embrace New Frontiers, Celebrate the Human Experience, and Elevate the Conversation. Student journalist Gabe Castro-Root of American University is chronicling the mission for FoS. You can read his latest dispatch below. By the beginning of 2025, Valeriia Subotina and Mariia Chekh will be back at war. The two Ukrainian soldiers have…

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NASA Research To Be Featured at American Astronomical Society Meeting

NeRD

6 min read NASA Research To Be Featured at American Astronomical Society Meeting In this mosaic image stretching 340 light-years across, Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) displays the Tarantula Nebula star-forming region in a new light, including tens of thousands of never-before-seen young stars that were previously shrouded in cosmic dust. The most active region appears to sparkle with massive young stars, appearing pale blue. NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Webb ERO Production Team From new perspectives on the early universe to illuminating the extreme environment near a black hole, discoveries from…

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Mars is bigger and brighter this weekend than it will be all year. Here’s how to see it

NeRD

Mars will make its closest approach to Earth this weekend while rising to its highest point in the night sky. On Sunday (Jan. 12), the Red Planet will make its close approach of Earth at 8:32 a.m. EST (13:32 GMT). This event, known as perigee, causes Mars to appear bigger and brighter in the sky than usual, offering skywatchers an excellent viewing opportunity, according to In-the-Sky.org. Mars will be visible from New York City beginning around 5:43 p.m. EST (2243 GMT), when it reaches an altitude of 7 degrees above…

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NASA Awards 2025 Innovative Technology Concept Studies

NeRD

A collage of artist concepts highlighting the novel approaches proposed by the 2025 NIAC awardees for possible future missions. Credit: NASA/Left to Right: Saurabh Vilekar, Marco Quadrelli, Selim Shahriar, Gyula Greschik, Martin Bermudez, Ryan Weed, Ben Hockman, Robert Hinshaw, Christine Gregg, Ryan Benson, Michael Hecht NASA selected 15 visionary ideas for its NIAC (NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts) program which develops concepts to transform future missions for the benefit of all. Chosen from companies and institutions across the United States, the 2025 Phase I awardees represent a wide range of aerospace concepts.…

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World’s 1st wooden satellite deploys from ISS to demonstrate cleaner spacecraft tech (photo)

NeRD

An experimental satellite made of wood has been deployed from the International Space Station (ISS) to test how the renewable, sustainable material withstands the harsh orbital environment. The satellite, designed and built by Kyoto University and Japanese wood processing company Sumitomo Forestry, is called LignoSat, a reference to the organic polymer lignin, which is prevalent in wood cells. The 1U cubesat — a cube measuring 4 inches (10 centimeters) on a side — will remain in space for about six months before it gets pulled back into Earth’s atmosphere by…

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NASA Sets Coverage for Firefly First Commercial Robotic Moon Launch

NeRD

As part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign, Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission One lander will carry 10 NASA science and technology instruments to the Moon’s near side. Credit: Firefly Aerospace Carrying NASA science and technology to the Moon as part of the agency’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign, Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 is targeting launch Wednesday, Jan. 15. The mission will lift off on a SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space…

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