NASA to Launch Three Rockets from Alaska in Single Aurora Experiment

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4 min read NASA to Launch Three Rockets from Alaska in Single Aurora Experiment Three NASA-funded rockets are set to launch from Poker Flat Research Range in Fairbanks, Alaska, in an experiment that seeks to reveal how auroral substorms affect the behavior and composition of Earth’s far upper atmosphere.  The experiment’s outcome could upend a long-held theory about the aurora’s interaction with the thermosphere. It may also improve space weather forecasting, critical as the world becomes increasingly reliant on satellite-based devices such as GPS units in everyday life. Colorful ribbons…

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NASA Reveals Semifinalists of Power to Explore Challenge

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Explore This Section RPS Home About About RPS About the Program About Plutonium-238 Safety and Reliability For Mission Planners Contact RPS Systems Overview Power Systems Thermal Systems Dynamic Radioisotope Power Missions Overview Timeline News Resources STEM Power to Explore Contest FAQ 4 min read NASA Reveals Semifinalists of Power to Explore Challenge A word cloud showing “superpowers” of the 45 semifinalists. NASA/David Lam NASA selected 45 student essays as semifinalists of its 2024-2025 Power to Explore Challenge, a national competition for K-12 students featuring the enabling power of radioisotopes. Contestants…

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NASA Astronauts to Answer Questions from Students in New York

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NASA astronaut and Pilot for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 mission Nichole Ayers is pictured training inside a mockup of a Dragon cockpit at the company’s facilities in Hawthorne, California. Credit: SpaceX Students from Richmond Hill, New York,will have the chance to connect with NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers as they answer prerecorded science, technology, engineering, and mathematics-related questions from aboard the International Space Station. Watch the 20-minute space-to-Earth call at 12 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, March 26, on NASA+ and learn how to watch NASA content on various platforms,…

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NASA’s Artemis II Orion Service Module Buttoned Up for Launch

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Technicians with NASA and Lockheed Martin fitted three spacecraft adapter jettison fairing panels onto the service module of the agency’s Orion’s spacecraft. The operation completed on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, inside the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The European-built service module is the powerhouse that will propel the spacecraft to the Moon. Its four solar array wings which were installed to its exterior in early March. The latest addition of fairing panels on Orion’s service module will protect the solar array…

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NASA to Cover Northrop Grumman’s 21st Cargo Space Station Departure

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Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft is pictured in the grips of the Canadarm2 robotic arm shortly after its capture Credit: NASA After delivering more than 8,200 pounds of supplies, scientific investigations, commercial products, hardware, and other cargo to the orbiting laboratory for NASA and its international partners, Northrop Grumman’s uncrewed Cygnus spacecraft is scheduled to depart the International Space Station on Friday, March 28. Watch NASA’s live coverage of undocking and departure at 6:30 a.m. EDT on NASA+. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social…

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3D Printing: Saving Weight and Space at Launch

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4 Min Read 3D Printing: Saving Weight and Space at Launch The first metal part 3D printed in space. Credits: ESA Science in Space March 2025 Additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, is regularly used on the ground to quickly produce a variety of devices. Adapting this process for space could let crew members create tools and parts for maintenance and repair of equipment on the spot, rather than trying to bring along every item that might be needed. The ability to manufacture things in space is especially important…

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Sols 4484-4485: Remote Sensing on a Monday

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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 4 min read Sols 4484-4485: Remote Sensing on a Monday NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image using its Left Navigation Camera on March 17, 2025 — sol 4483, or Martian day 4,483 of the Mars Science Laboratory…

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NASA Selects 14 Finalist Teams for the 2025 RASC-AL Competition

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This year’s RASC-AL competition invited undergraduate and graduate students from across the nation to develop new, innovative concepts to improve our ability to operate on the Moon, Mars, and beyond.ASA NASA Fourteen university teams have been selected as finalists for NASA’s 2025 Revolutionary Aerospace Systems – Academic Linkage (RASC-AL) Competition. This year’s competition invited undergraduate and graduate students from across the nation to develop new, innovative concepts to improve our ability to operate on the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Finalists will present their proposed concepts to a panel of NASA…

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Which is better for astrophotography? Sony, Canon or Nikon?

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It can be a complex decision to choose the right camera brand for astrophotography. With new technology and an ever-increasing rate of camera development, the major photographic brands that we see regularly popping up, like Canon, Nikon, and Sony, each bring district strengths to the table. Telling these strengths apart and knowing what to pay attention to can sometimes be difficult. In astrophotography, key factors like low-light performance, high ISO capabilities, noise reduction, and any included specific astro-centric features are paramount. If you are in the market for a camera,…

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When space meets sea, Crew-9 Dragon meets dolphins: Space photo of the day

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A pod of bottlenose dolphins circled and surfaced nearby SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Freedom after it splashed down off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida on Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (Image credit: NASA/Keegan Barber) As it turns out, more than humans were interested in the return of SpaceX’s Crew-9 astronauts after an extended mission on board the International Space Station. An unexpected welcome committee arrived soon after the Crew Dragon “Freedom” splashed down on Tuesday, March 18. What is it? SpaceX support team members work around and on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft…

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