This 360-degree mosaic from the “Airey Hill” location inside Jezero Crater was generated using 993 individual images taken by the Perseverance Mars rover’s Mastcam-Z from Nov. 3-6. The rover remained parked at Airey Hill for several weeks during solar conjunction. NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS Now at 1,000 days on Mars, the mission has traversed an ancient river and lake system, collecting valuable samples along the way. Marking its 1,000th Martian day on the Red Planet, NASA’s Perseverance rover recently completed its exploration of the ancient river delta that holds evidence of a lake…
Read MoreNASA’s Voyager 1 probe in interstellar space can’t phone home (again) due to glitch
NASA’s Voyager 1 probe is currently unable to transmit any scientific or systems data back to Earth. The 46-year-old spacecraft is capable of receiving commands, but a problem seems to have arisen with the probe’s computers. Voyager 1’s flight data system (FDS), which collects onboard engineering information and data from the spacecraft’s scientific instruments, is no longer communicating as expected with the probe’s telecommunications unit (TMU), according to a NASA blog post on Dec. 12. When functioning properly, the FDS compiles the spacecraft’s info into a data package, which is…
Read MoreWebb Sheds Light on an Exploded Star
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s new view of Cassiopeia A (Cas A) in near-infrared light is giving astronomers hints at the dynamical processes occurring within the supernova remnant. Tiny clumps represented in bright pink and orange make up the supernova’s inner shell, and are comprised of sulfur, oxygen, argon, and neon from the star itself. A large, striated blob at the bottom right corner of the image, nicknamed Baby Cas A, is one of the few light echoes visible NIRCam’s field of view. In this image, red, green, and blue…
Read MoreBreaking Records, Returning Asteroid Samples Among NASA’s Big 2023
In 2023, as NASA pushed the limits of exploration for the benefit of humanity, the agency celebrated astronaut Frank Rubio becoming the first American astronaut to spend more than one year in space; delivered samples from an asteroid to Earth; sent a spacecraft to study a metal-rich asteroid for the first time; launched multiple initiatives to share climate data; advanced developments in sustainable aircraft; all while continuing preparations to send the first Artemis astronauts to the Moon. “This year, NASA continued to make the impossible, possible while sharing our story…
Read MoreRelive Artemis 1 Orion’s fiery return from the moon in this amazing video
Has it already been a year? On Dec. 11, 2022, NASA’s uncrewed Orion capsule returned safely to Earth, bringing a successful end to the landmark Artemis 1 moon mission. That homecoming was a fiery and dramatic one, as video from Orion shows: The capsule recorded its harrowing plunge through Earth’s atmosphere, which left a trail of fire in the sky. NASA highlighted this amazing footage on Monday (Dec. 11), posting a one-minute clip of it on X (formerly known as Twitter) and linking to the full 25-minute Orion reentry video.…
Read MoreNASA’s Commercial Partners Continue Progress on New Space Stations
Three NASA-funded commercial space station partners are on track for the design and development of their orbital destinations and the transition of agency’s low Earth orbit needs from the International Space Station. “We are ending the year on a high note with multiple important milestones being completed by our partners,” said Angela Hart, manager of the Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development Program at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston. “Over the past few months, we have been able to dig into the details of the specific hardware and processes of…
Read MoreSpaceX scrubs Falcon Heavy’s X-37B space plane launch due to ground issue
We’ll have to wait at least one more day to see SpaceX’s powerful Falcon Heavy rocket take to the skies again. The brawny Falcon Heavy had been scheduled to launch the U.S. Space Force‘s robotic X-37B space plane from Florida on Monday night (Dec. 11), a liftoff known as USSF-52. But about 30 minutes before the planned 8:24 p.m. EST (0124 GMT) liftoff time, SpaceX announced a scrub. “Standing down from tonight’s Falcon Heavy launch due to a ground side issue; vehicle and payload remain healthy. Team is resetting for…
Read MoreAstronaut shows off vintage Nobel Prize in space — and talks ‘quantum dots’ ISS experiment (video)
Nobel Prize-winning work is flying in space as we speak. The International Space Station (ISS) is hosting a quantum experiment based on a discovery made by new Nobel laureate Moungi Bawendi, a French-born American/Tunisian chemist. Bawendi, who won the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, called the ISS on Monday (Dec. 11) alongside fellow physics Nobel laureate Ferenc Krausz. Bawendi told students beforehand that science is a process of experiments that create unpredictable and yet interesting results. “Everything you discover is a little bit new,” he said. “You might have an…
Read MoreFour-time Space Veteran Jeff Williams to Retire from NASA
Commander Jeff Williams poses for a photo in the Quest Airlock (A/L) with all of his mission patches. The patches are, from left, STS-101, Soyuz TMA-8, Expedition 13, Soyuz TMA-16, Expedition 21, Expedition 22, Soyuz TMA-20M, Expedition 47, and Expedition 48. Credit NASA Dec. 11, 2023 RELEASE: J23-007 NASA astronaut and retired U.S. Army Col. Jeffrey Williams, who played a key role in the design, construction, and operation of the International Space Station, is retiring on Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024, after more than 27 years of service at the agency.…
Read More‘Star Trek: Insurrection’ at 25: When Picard and the Enterprise crew found the Fountain of Youth
Often unceremoniously relegated to the lower-gauged tiers of “Star Trek” feature films, “Star Trek: Insurrection” deserves a respectful place at the table this holiday season as the Jonathan Frakes-directed installment in the sci-fi franchise celebrates its milestone 25th anniversary. Released by Paramount Pictures on Dec. 11, 1998, “Insurrection” was the third film to showcase “The Next Generation” cast and came just two years after the unqualified critical and commercial success of “Star Trek: First Contact,” which is still considered one of the best entries in Hollywood’s long association with Gene…
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