Category: Nasa

Nasa

Modern-day alchemy! Scientists turn lead into gold at the Large Hadron Collider

NeRD

For centuries, alchemists dreamed of turning lead into gold — not through magic, but by unlocking the hidden potential within metals themselves. While their methods never panned out, those of modern science finally have. Researchers at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) — the world’s largest and highest-energy particle accelerator — have observed a real-life transmutation of lead into gold. But this transformation didn’t come from direct collisions, as was previously observed. Instead, it emerged through a new mechanism involving near-miss interactions between atomic nuclei. The LHC was built to accelerate…

Read More

Aubrie Henspeter: Leading Commercial Lunar Missions 

NeRD

As NASA partners with American industry to deliver science and technology payloads to the Moon, a dedicated team behind the scenes ensures every mission is grounded in strategy, compliance, and innovation. Leading that effort is Aubrie Henspeter, who advises all aspects of procurement for NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative—one of the cornerstone projects supporting the Artemis campaign.  Official portrait of Aubrie Henspeter. NASA/Bill Stafford With 20 years at NASA, Henspeter brings multifaceted experience to her role as CLPS procurement team lead in the Lunar & Planetary Exploration Procurement…

Read More

May’s full Flower Moon delights skywatchers worldwide with stunning lunar display (photos)

NeRD

May’s full ‘Flower Moon’ bloomed brightly on May 12, dazzling stargazers with a spectacular display of reflected luminance. Named for the colorful wildflowers that bloom across North America and Europe this time of year, the May full moon is also known as the Milk Moon, Hare’s Moon, or Corn Moon over the centuries, according to NASA. Regardless of what you call it, a full moon is catnip to the astrophotography community — and his one was no exception. Photographers around the world turned out in force to capture stunning compositions…

Read More

Trump’s 2026 budget plan would cancel NASA’s Mars Sample Return mission. Experts say that’s a ‘major step back’

NeRD

NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover has been on the prowl within Jezero Crater following its touchdown in February 2021. That car-sized robot has been devotedly picking up select specimens from across the area, gingerly deploying those sealed pick-me-ups on the Red Planet’s surface, as well as stuffing them inside itself. Those collectibles may well hold signs of past life on that enigmatic, dusty and foreboding world. NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) have for years been intently plotting out plans to send future spacecraft to Mars and haul those Perseverance-plucked…

Read More

Las carreras en la NASA despegan con las pasantías

NeRD

5 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) La clase de pasantía 2025 del Centro de Investigación de Vuelo Armstrong de la NASA en Edwards, California, frente al histórico avión X-1E expuesto en el centro. De izquierda a derecha, los estudiantes: Tyler Requa, Gokul Nookula, Madeleine Phillips, Oscar Keiloht Chavez Ramirez y Nicolas Marzocchetti.  NASA/Steve Freeman Read this story in English here. ¿Sueñas con trabajar para la NASA y contribuir a la exploración y la innovación en beneficio de la humanidad? Los programas de pasantías de la agencia…

Read More

Jupiter’s Turbulent Atmosphere

NeRD

JunoCam, the visible light imager aboard NASA’s Juno, captured this view of Jupiter’s northern high latitudes during the spacecraft’s 69th flyby of the giant planet on Jan. 28, 2025. Jupiter’s belts and zones stand out in this enhanced color rendition, along with the turbulence along their edges caused by winds going in different directions.

Read More

5 Tips to Craft a Standout NASA Internship Application

NeRD

3 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Four NASA interns pose in front of the NASA Pavilion at the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, an annual airshow in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. NASA A NASA internship provides a stellar opportunity to launch your future as part of America’s aerospace workforce. NASA interns take on meaningful work and contribute to exciting agency projects with the guidance of a supportive mentor. The internship program regularly ranks as the nation’s most prestigious and competition is steep: in fiscal year 2024, NASA’s Office of…

Read More

NASA celebrated this employee’s story of resilience, then tried to scrub it from the internet. Then fired her.

NeRD

“People see me now, and they just assume, ‘oh, she had it easy,’” she says, but Rose Ferreira has had it anything but easy. The trajectory of her life has been so turbulent, in fact, that NASA, her previous employer, published a feature article about her determination on its website. That story chronicles her journey from a poverty-stricken childhood in the Caribbean and years living unhoused, to pursuing her education and rising to become a NASA intern, which ultimately led to working at the space agency full-time. In January, that…

Read More

The 2025 full Flower Moon rises tonight: Here’s what to expect

NeRD

The Full Flower Moon 2025 rises tonight! The May full moon gets its name from the abundance of wildflowers that spring into life at this time of year, and it promises a stunning view for skywatchers around the world. The Flower Moon will be 100% illuminated at 12:56 p.m. EDT (17:56 GMT) today (May 12), at which point Earth’s closest celestial companion will be well below the horizon for skywatchers across the U.S. This sets the stage for a dramatic lunar entry when the full moon rises over the southeastern…

Read More