Author: NeRD

NASA spacecraft captures 1st photo of its giant solar sail while tumbling in space

NeRD

On April 23, NASA launched a solar sail protype to orbit around our planet — a piece of technology that could very well revolutionize the way we think about spacecraft propulsion. Then, on Aug. 29, the agency confirmed this sail successfully unfurled itself in outer space. Yet, we still didn’t have official photographic evidence of this for some time.  Now, as of Sept. 5, we indeed do. NASA has released the first image of the open solar sail, formally called the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System, and stated that the…

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Sols 4295-4296: A Martian Moon and Planet Earth

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 2 min read Sols 4295-4296: A Martian Moon and Planet Earth Using…

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NASA Selects Langley Research Center Support Contractor

NeRD

Credit: NASA NASA has awarded the Center, Operations Maintenance, and Engineering II contract to Jacobs Technology Inc. of Tullahoma, Tennessee, to support operations at the agency’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. The contract is a cost-plus-fixed-fee indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with a maximum potential value of $973.7 million. Following a phase-in period that starts Tuesday, Oct. 1 and runs to Dec. 31, the contract will have a base period of 15 months followed by five optional periods that could extend the contract to the end of 2035. Under this contract, Jacobs…

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New Hardware for Future Artemis Moon Missions Arrive at NASA Kennedy

NeRD

On the left, the Canopee transport carrier containing the European Service Module for NASA’s Artemis III mission arrives at Port Canaveral in Florida, on Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024, before completing the last leg of its journey to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center’s Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout via truck. On the right, NASA’s Pegasus barge, carrying several pieces of hardware for Artemis II, III, and IV arrives at NASA Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39 turn basin wharf on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. Credit: NASA From across the Atlantic Ocean and…

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NASA’s Boeing Starliner Mission Landing Criteria, Timeline 

NeRD

NASA and Boeing teams work around Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft after it landed at White Sands Missile Range’s Space Harbor, May 25, 2022, in New Mexico for the company’s Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2. NASA/Bill Ingalls As NASA and Boeing prepare to return the company’s Starliner spacecraft uncrewed from the International Space Station to Earth, safety and mission success remain as top priorities for the teams. Mission managers will complete a series of operational and weather checks before the spacecraft undocks from the orbital complex.  The Starliner spacecraft is the first American…

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Ames Wind Tunnel

NeRD

Construction of the world’s largest wind tunnel and its original 40- by 80-foot test section. A later expansion created an additional 80- by 120-foot test section. A Navy blimp, which would have been based at Hangars 2 and 3 at Moffett Field, patrols in the background.

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Eclipses Create Atmospheric Gravity Waves, NASA Student Teams Confirm

NeRD

4 Min Read Eclipses Create Atmospheric Gravity Waves, NASA Student Teams Confirm In this photo taken from the International Space Station, the Moon passes in front of the Sun casting its shadow, or umbra, and darkening a portion of the Earth's surface above Texas during the annular solar eclipse Oct. 14, 2023. Credits: NASA Student teams from three U.S. universities became the first to measure what scientists have long predicted: eclipses can generate ripples in Earth’s atmosphere called atmospheric gravity waves. The waves’ telltale signature emerged in data captured during…

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Chinese astronauts study ancient microbes aboard Tiangong space station (video)

NeRD

Chinese astronauts aboard the Tiangong space station are studying anaerobic archaea in an experiment to determine if some of Earth’s early forms of life can handle a simulated cosmic environment. Shenzhou 18 crewmembers — commander Ye Guangfu and crewmates Li Cong and Li Guangsu — have been aboard the Tiangong space station since late April and have been busy conducting spacewalks and running experiments. That scientific work includes research on space radiation damage and adaptability of anaerobic archaea, as a newly released video shows.  China’s Shenzhou 18 astronauts perform research…

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Hubble Telescope spies a very sparkly mini-galaxy (image)

NeRD

New images released by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope are of the Pegasus Dwarf spheroidal galaxy, also known as Andromeda VI.  Pegasus is located in the Andromeda Galaxy, also called Messier 31, which is the Milky Way’s closest neighbour at about 2,480,000 light-years away from Earth. As such, Andromeda is one of the few galaxies visible to the naked eye — best observed in November. The images were captured as part of a re-examination of the entire Andromeda system, meant to gather further information to answer long-standing questions related to dark…

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Celestron Origin Intelligent Home Observatory smart telescope review

NeRD

The Celestron Origin Intelligent Home Observatory is Celestron’s first smart telescope that brings the wonder of deep sky imaging into the palm of your hand. This makes it easier than ever to take your own photos of nebulas, galaxies and more with just a few seconds of setup. The telescope and built-in camera are controlled with an easy-to-use app that takes all the fuss out of locating and photographing distant celestial spectacles. Priced at $3,999 (£3,069 GBP), the Celestron Origin isn’t within everyone’s budget. This also isn’t a grab-and-go, do-everything…

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