Category: Nasa

Nasa

Engineering Reality: Lee Bingham Leads Lunar Surface Simulation Support for Artemis Campaign

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If you design a new tool for use on Earth, it is easy to test and practice using that tool in its intended environment. But what if that tool is destined for lunar orbit or will be used by astronauts on the surface of the Moon? NASA’s Simulation and Graphics Branch can help with that. Based at Johnson Space Center in Houston, the branch’s high-fidelity, real-time graphical simulations support in-depth engineering analyses and crew training, ensuring the safety, efficiency, and success of complex space endeavors before execution. The team manages…

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NASA says removal of ‘first woman, person of color’ language from Artemis websites ‘does not indicate’ moon mission crew change

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NASA websites no longer state that the Artemis 3 lunar mission will aim to land the first person of color and the first woman on the moon — a longstanding goal of the Artemis program that the agency has consistently called upon when discussing lunar plans. The change appeared this weekend as NASA continues to cancel programs dedicated to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) as well as purge its websites of any language related to these efforts. These decisions are guided by the Trump administration’s push to end programs…

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NASA’s Curiosity Rover Detects Largest Organic Molecules Found on Mars

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Researchers analyzing pulverized rock onboard NASA’s Curiosity rover have found the largest organic compounds on the Red Planet to date. The finding, published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggests prebiotic chemistry may have advanced further on Mars than previously observed. Scientists probed an existing rock sample inside Curiosity’s Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) mini-lab and found the molecules decane, undecane, and dodecane. These compounds, which are made up of 10, 11, and 12 carbons, respectively, are thought to be the fragments of fatty acids that…

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Like Sands Through the Hourglass…

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Shimmering ejections emitted by two actively forming stars make up Lynds 483 (L483). High-resolution near-infrared light captured by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope shows incredible new detail and structure within these lobes, including asymmetrical lines that appear to run into one another. L483 is 650 light-years away in the constellation Serpens.

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60 Years Ago: Gemini III, America’s First Two-Person Flight 

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On March 23, 1965, the United States launched the Gemini III spacecraft with astronauts Virgil “Gus” Grissom and John Young aboard, America’s first two-person spaceflight. Grissom earned the honor as the first person to enter space twice and Young as the first member of the second group of astronauts to fly in space. During their three-orbit flight they carried out the first orbital maneuvers of a crewed spacecraft, a critical step toward demonstrating rendezvous and docking. Grissom and Young brought Gemini 3 to a safe splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean.…

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Ouch! Carlo Rambaldi’s original screen-used ‘E.T.’ model might reach $1 million at Sotheby’s auction

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Why is it so wet-looking? He looks like a professional wrestler covered in baby oil. We can’t answer that question, but if you’re willing to stump up a million dollars, you can own this incredibly glossy piece of sci-fi history. It might be slightly scary, but this rare remnant of Hollywood’s illustrious past was actually used in the filming of director Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi fantasy, “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,” and could fetch nearly one million dollars when Sotheby’s auction bidding finally closes on the historic lot next month. An authentic shooting…

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Preserving astronomy history: The fight is on to save an iconic Royal Observatory Greenwich site

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Near the small town of Herstmonceux in the English county of East Sussex sits the former home of the Royal Greenwich Observatory. The Royal Observatory Greenwich was first built in Greenwich, London, in 1675. At this original location, the observatory was set up with the goal of producing star charts and accurate time-keeping devices, to allow the British military and commercial fleets to more effectively navigate during their global travels. Over two centuries later, in 1884, the Royal Observatory Greenwich’s extensive star charts made the site a prime choice for…

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What will the partial solar eclipse of March 2025 look like from space?

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A partial solar eclipse will come to Earth on Saturday, March 29, 2025, as the moon passes in front of the sun. From Earth, photographers will capture images of a bite being taken out of the sun. From space, a fleet of satellites will image a shadow being cast across Earth. The moon projects two kinds of shadows at all times. There’s a large fuzzy outer shadow, called the penumbra, and a much smaller, darker central shadow, the umbra. The latter causes a total solar eclipse, which is seen across…

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Aurora alert: Giant ‘hole’ in sun and strong geomagnetic storm converge to supercharge northern lights this weekend

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A massive eruption on the sun that flung solar plasma toward Earth on Friday may trigger a strong geomagnetic storm this weekend that could supercharge auroras across the northern United States. The solar eruption, called a coronal mass ejection (or CME), exploded on Friday (March 21) even as a so-called “coronal hole” opened on the sun to unleash a separate high-speed stream of solar particles toward Earth. The result: A tag-team of solar material that should reach Earth this weekend to amplify northern lights displays late Saturday and early Sunday…

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‘Star Trek’ icon lives on with new Nichelle Nichols Space Camp to inspire young women to aim for the stars

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“Star Trek” royalty Nichelle Nichols passed away in 2022 but her legacy endures. Most well-known for her her memorable portrayal of Communications Officer Lt. Nyota Uhura in “Star Trek: The Original Series” and six final frontier feature films, Nichelle Nichols has now inspired a new educational endeavor fueled to blast off next year via the Nichelle Nichols Foundation. The Nichelle Nichols Space Camp launches from January 17-19, 2026 at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, with its upcoming class of students ready to take that brave step…

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