NASA Updates Commercial Crew Planning Manifest

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The International Space Station’s U.S. segment and portions of the Russian segment are pictured from the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour during a fly around of the orbiting lab that took place following its undocking from the Harmony module’s space-facing port on Nov. 8, 2021. Prominent at the top in this view, are the Columbus laboratory module, the Harmony module and its space-facing docking port, and the Kibo laboratory module with its external pallet. NASA NASA and its industry partners Boeing and SpaceX are planning for the next set of missions…

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Glenn Hangar Has Long Been the Face of the Center

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4 min read Glenn Hangar Has Long Been the Face of the Center Painters completing work on NASA Glenn Research Center’s new hangar roof design in July 2016. It was the first time that the roof featured an insignia. Credit: NASA/Bridget Caswell The Flight Research Building, or hangar, at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland has not only housed the center’s aircraft and Flight Operations team for decades, but has also served as a visual representation of the center for the public. NASA has taken advantage of the hangar’s size…

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Astronauts test moon camera design for future Artemis missions

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A new camera designed for upcoming crewed missions to the moon has been tested by astronauts in lunar-like environments on Earth. The Handheld Universal Lunar Camera (HULC) was developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA’s Artemis imagery team. Made from off-the-shelf cameras, according to a statement from ESA,  this prototype underwent testing in Lanzarote, Spain, as part of the PANGAEA training program, which prepares astronauts for future missions to the moon.  As part of field science training, an international crew tested the capabilities of the camera in simulated…

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China’s Shenzhou 17 astronauts arrive at Tiangong space station (video)

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China’s newest astronaut crew has arrived at its orbital destination. The three spaceflyers of the Shenzhou 17 mission reached China’s Tiangong space station early Thursday morning (Oct. 26), just 6.5 hours or so after lifting off atop a Long March 2F rocket from the Gobi Desert. The trio soon joined the three Shenzhou 16 astronauts already aboard Tiangong, who greeted the newcomers with hugs as they came through the station’s hatch. The six spaceflyers then lined up to relay a message to Mission Control and the rest of us back…

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NASA wants to fly this nuclear Dragonfly drone on Saturn’s moon Titan. Watch its wind tunnel test (video)

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Testing is now underway on NASA’s Dragonfly rotorcraft, a nuclear-powered, car-sized aerial drone that will look for potential precursors to life on Saturn’s moon, Titan. But before Dragonfly can take to the sky, NASA has to make sure it can withstand the moon’s unique environment. Dragonfly’s main goal is to study the complex chemistry on Titan that may give insights into the origins of life in our solar system. Equipped with cameras, sensors, and samplers, this vehicle will investigate areas of Titan known to contain organic materials, especially those regions…

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Artemis II Water Deluge Test

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NASA / Kim Shiflett NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems conducts a water flow test with the mobile launcher at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center’s in Florida on Oct. 24, 2023. It is the third in a series of tests to verify the overpressure protection and sound suppression system is ready for launch of the Artemis II mission. During liftoff, 400,000 gallons of water will rush onto the pad to help protect NASA’s Space Launch System rocket, Orion spacecraft, mobile launcher, and launch pad from any overpressurization and extreme sound produced during ignition…

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NASA Is Locating Ice on Mars With This New Map

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The blue areas on this map of Mars are regions where NASA missions have detected subsurface water ice (from the equator to 60 degrees north latitude). Scientists can use the map – part of the Subsurface Water Ice Mapping project – to decide where the first astronauts to set foot on the Red Planet should land. NASA/JPL-Caltech/Planetary Science Institute These Mars global maps show the likely distribution of water ice buried within the upper 3 feet (1 meter) of the planet’s surface and represent the latest data from the SWIM…

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NASA, Pacific Disaster Center Increase Landslide Hazard Awareness

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5 min read NASA, Pacific Disaster Center Increase Landslide Hazard Awareness Communities worldwide now have access to a powerful tool to increase their awareness of landslide hazards, thanks to NASA and the Pacific Disaster Center. A humanitarian worker from USAID observes the impacts of a landslide. USAID deployed an elite Disaster Assistance Response Team on Nov. 17, 2020, to lead the U.S. response to Hurricanes Eta and Iota. USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance After years of development and testing, NASA’s Landslide Hazard Assessment for Situational Awareness model (LHASA) has been…

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Commander Callie Continues Moon Mission in NASA’s New Graphic Novel

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“Astronaut Callie Rodriguez continues her space adventures as the first woman to walk on the Moon in NASA’s new graphic novel, “First Woman: Expanding Our Universe.” Fictional astronaut Callie Rodriguez continues exploring space as the first woman to walk on the Moon in a new issue of NASA’s First Woman graphic novel series. Now available digitally in English and Spanish, “First Woman: Expanding Our Universe,” follows Callie and her crewmates as they work together to explore the unknown, make scientific discoveries, and accomplish their mission objectives. This second issue of the…

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AWE Launching to Space Station to Study Atmospheric Waves via Airglow

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4 min read AWE Launching to Space Station to Study Atmospheric Waves via Airglow NASA’s Atmospheric Waves Experiment, or AWE, mission is scheduled to launch to the International Space Station in November 2023, where it will make use of a natural, ethereal glow in Earth’s sky to study waves in our planet’s atmosphere. Built by Utah State University’s Space Dynamics Laboratory in North Logan, Utah, AWE will be mounted on the exterior of the space station. From this perch, AWE will stare down toward Earth, tracking undulations in the air…

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