Andrea Harrington’s Vision Paves the Way for Lunar Missions 

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When future astronauts set foot on Mars, they will stand on decades of scientific groundwork laid by people like Andrea Harrington.   As NASA’s sample return curation integration lead, Harrington is helping shape the future of planetary exploration and paving the way for interplanetary discovery.   Official portrait of Andrea Harrington. NASA/Josh Valcarcel Harrington works in NASA’s Astromaterials Research and Exploration Sciences Division, or ARES, at Johnson Space Center in Houston, where she integrates curation, science, engineering, and planetary protection strategies into the design and operation of new laboratory facilities and sample…

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Sols 4541–4542: Boxwork Structure, or Just “Box-Like” Structure?

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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 Mosaics More Resources Mars Missions Mars Sample Return Mars Perseverance Rover Mars Curiosity Rover MAVEN Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Odyssey More Mars Missions Mars Home 3 min read Sols 4541–4542: Boxwork Structure, or Just “Box-Like” Structure? NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image using its Left Navigation Camera on May 14, 2025 — Sol 4539, or Martian day 4,539 of the Mars Science…

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Webb Finds Icy Disk

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Webb has found crystalline water ice in a debris disk around a young, Sun-like star called HD 181327. Based on its presence in our own solar system, scientists have expected to see it in other star systems — but haven’t had sensitive enough instruments to provide definitive proof until now.

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Mysterious white streak spotted over US skies during surprise aurora storm. What was it? (photos)

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The night sky offered lucky skywatchers an unexpected double feature on May 17 — a surprise geomagnetic storm and a mysterious white plume slicing through the auroras. The moderate (G2 class) geomagnetic storm came as quite a surprise, kicking off early Friday (May 16) after Earth caught the glancing blow of a coronal mass ejection (CME). The CME was launched during a colossal filament eruption on May 12 from the sun’s northern hemisphere. Initially expected to miss Earth, the “bird-wing” ejecta was wider than predicted, with some of the material…

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All about the abandoned Apollo capsule in ‘The Last of Us’ (Season 2, Episode 6)

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Whether you are a fan of space exploration history or of the game on which the series is based, “The Last of Us” has just delivered a real blast from the past. In the penultimate episode of the second season, which premiered Sunday night (May 18) on HBO Max, the story briefly visits the Wyoming Museum of Science and History. Warning: If you have not yet watched Season 2, Episode 6 of “The Last of Us,” you may want to stop reading here, as there are minor spoilers ahead. If…

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Venus Aerospace debuts potentially revolutionary rocket engine with landmark 1st flight (video)

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Houston-based startup Venus Aerospace has completed the first-ever test flight of a rotating detonation rocket engine (RDRE) in the United States. The launch took place on Wednesday (May 14) from Spaceport America in New Mexico. A small rocket equipped with Venus’ RDRE lifted off at 9:37 a.m. EDT (1337 GMT; 7:37 a.m. local time in New Mexico). The milestone marked the first successful test of such an engine from U.S. soil and took Venus a “step closer to making high-speed flight accessible, affordable and sustainable,” the company said in a…

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National Air and Space Museum to reveal more renovated galleries on July 28

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From John Glenn’s Friendship 7 to Blue Origin’s New Shepard, space capsules and more are set to return to or debut on display with the opening of five “reimagined” galleries at the National Air and Space Museum this summer. As part of a still on-going, seven-year renovation of the museum’s flagship building in Washington, the Smithsonian has announced that it is ready to premiere more of its exhibitions following the reveal of eight of its halls on the building’s west end in 2022. The next launch, scheduled for July 28,…

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Canon RF 24mm f/1.4L VCM lens review

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Key specs Type: Prime lens Focal length: 24mm Maximum aperture: f/1.4 Lens mount: Canon RF Weight: 18.17 oz / 515 g Dimensions: 3.01×3.90 in / 76.5×99.3 mm Filter thread: 67mm Release date: October 2024 Prime lenses are coveted for their image quality and fast maximum apertures, and although the Canon RF 24mm f/1.4L VCM relies heavily on in-camera or in-software lens corrections, depending on the file type you are capturing, image quality is still what you’d expect from an L-Series lens. Throw in the excellent build quality and weather sealing,…

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Amateur astrophotographer catches a cosmic sunflower in bloom

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Ronald Brecher captured this stunning view of the ‘Sunflower Galaxy’ in April 2025. (Image credit: Ronald Brecher) Astrophotographer Ronald Brecher has captured a gorgeous view of the ‘Sunflower Galaxy’ (Messier 63) from his backyard observatory near the city of Guelph in southwestern Ontario, Canada. Brecher’s deep-sky portrait reveals incredible detail in the arms of the spiral galaxy, the patterning and structure of which bear a striking resemblance to the head of a cosmic sunflower. M63 can be seen shining with the radiation cast out by a multitude of giant newly-birthed…

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This Week In Space podcast: Episode 161 — The TWiS Comedy Hour!

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The TWiS Comedy Hour! – With Starship, Voyager, Artemis, and more! – YouTube Watch On On Episode 161 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik catch up on headlines … and space dad jokes! We’re going to update you on the ever-slimming NASA budget, the latest news on the Voyager spacecraft, what’s up with the SLS, Orion capsule, and Artemis programs? SpaceX’s 9th Starship test flight, AliBaba in orbit, and the end of the universe. And more space jokes than ever for you to choke on. Download…

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