More Planets than Stars: Kepler’s Legacy

4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) The Kepler mission enabled the discovery of thousands of exoplanets, revealing a deep truth about our place in the cosmos: there are more planets than stars in the Milky Way galaxy. The road to this fundamental change in our understanding of the universe, however, required almost 20 years of persistence before the mission became a reality with its selection in 2001. The Kepler spacecraft at Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. in Boulder, Colorado. The Kepler mission surveyed a region…

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Asteroid Apophis will swing past Earth in 2029 — could a space rock collision make it hit us?

The asteroid Apophis, infamous because it’s headed to brush past Earth in 2029, most likely isn’t something to worry about, a new study finds. This space rock, scientists calculated, will not collide with other space rocks that could worryingly alter its orbit and redirect it toward Earth — at least until the day it swings past our planet, that is. Apophis is a peanut-shaped, near-Earth asteroid leftover from the formation of our solar system about 4.6 billion years ago. It wobbles back and forth even while spinning on its axis…

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SWOT Satellite Catches Coastal Flooding During California Storms

4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) This image shows SWOT satellite data for water surface height in part of Mendocino County, Northern California, on Jan. 15, before several atmospheric rivers arrived, and on Feb. 4, after the first storms. Light blue and green indicate the highest water levels relative to mean sea level. (Inland water heights include the underlying ground elevation.) NASA/JPL-Caltech Operated by NASA and the French space agency, the Surface Water and Ocean Topography mission provides a new view of water on land,…

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La NASA abre plazo de solicitudes para ser astronauta

La nueva promoción de astronautas de la NASA, seleccionada en 2021, se graduó en una ceremonia que tuvo lugar el 5 de marzo de 2024 en el Centro Espacial Johnson de la agencia en Houston. Créditos: NASA Read this release in English here. La NASA dio la bienvenida a su nueva cohorte de astronautas de la generación Artemis durante una ceremonia celebrada el martes en el Centro Espacial Johnson de la agencia en Houston. Los 10 astronautas graduados ya son elegibles para misiones de vuelo. La agencia también anunció la apertura…

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SpaceX rocket launches pioneering methane-tracking satellite to orbit

A new satellite that will track climate-heating methane emissions from oil and gas companies around the world launched this week from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base.  The washing-machine-sized satellite, named MethaneSAT, lifted off Monday (March 4) atop a Falcon 9 rocket, one of 53 payloads on SpaceX’s Transporter-10 rideshare mission. MethaneSAT is designed to ultimately help policymakers independently verify industry reports by pinpointing hotspots of methane, the invisible but potent greenhouse gas, which traps much more heat in Earth’s atmosphere per molecule than carbon dioxide. MethaneSAT, the first satellite by…

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NASA graduates new astronaut class as it begins recruiting for more

“The Flies” are ready to fly, so NASA is again in need of some new flyboys (and gals). On the same day that the space agency welcomed its latest class of astronauts, nicknamed “The Flies,” into its corps, NASA announced it is again accepting applications for its next group of candidates for flights to the International Space Station, the moon and, eventually, missions to Mars. “The breadth and depth of experience that this class brings to our space program is nothing short of amazing,” Shannon Walker, deputy chief of NASA’s…

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10 Ways Students Can Prepare to #BeAnAstronaut

10 Ways Students Can Prepare to #BeAnAstronaut Want to #BeAnAstronaut, but don’t know where to start? Here are some ways you can kick-start your journey! Even if you don’t qualify to #BeAnAstronaut — yet — within NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement, or OSTEM, there are ways to get involved with NASA’s missions. Check out the top 10 ways to #BeAnAstronaut: 1. Apply for NASA internships.  Becoming an intern is the perfect way to get your start with NASA. Several astronauts started out as interns! Astronaut Jessica Watkins was selected as…

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‘Star Wars Battlefront Classic Collection’ blasts its way into our galaxy on March 14

Don’t kid yourselves, LucasArts’ “Star Wars: Battlefront” and “Star Wars Battlefront II” are some of the most beloved “Star Wars” video games of the last two decades, with plenty of enjoyable space opera action for your hard-earned dollars and now they’re charging back for a 20th anniversary salute beginning on Mar. 14, 2024. As recently reported by StarWars.com, Nintendo Direct, Aspyr and Lucasfilm Games have just revealed details regarding their upcoming “Star Wars Battlefront Classic Collection,” which presents classic sci-fi shooters “Star Wars Battlefront” (2004) and “Star Wars Battlefront II”…

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NASA Joins Rice University for 2024 Space Studies Program

March 4, 2024 RELEASE: J24-006 Students from around the world will visit NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston this summer for a variety of activities associated with the 36th annual Space Studies Program of the International Space University. Through a continuing partnership with Houston’s Rice University, NASA Johnson will welcome students from many countries participating in tours, lectures and hands-on activities with aerospace experts from June 8 to Aug. 3, 2024. “Johnson Space Center is looking forward to partnering with Rice as it hosts the International Space University’s Space Studies…

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