New ‘Starman’ documentary shines light on NASA JPL legend Gentry Lee

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Gentry Lee, the certified Hall of Famer engineer from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and distinguished science fiction author, is getting his time in the spotlight in a new documentary on his life launching at the SXSW 2025 Film Festival in Austin this weekend. Written and directed by award-winning filmmaker Robert Stone, “Starman” is an 85-minute exploration of Lee’s experience working in the arena of interplanetary exploration as the Chief Engineer for the Solar System Exploration Directorate at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, and we’ve got an exclusive clip…

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For NASA astronauts on a 10-day space mission that lasted 9 months, a landing date at last

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Two NASA astronauts who launched on a short mission to the International Space Station last year that turned into a 9-month marathon finally know when they’ll be coming home. The Boeing Starliner astronauts, who launched on the spacecraft’s Crewed Flight Test on June 5, have been living aboard the International Space Station (ISS) ever since after their capsule returned to Earth without them. On Friday (March 7), NASA cleared a relief crew to launch on SpaceX Dragon next week, setting the stage for their long-awaited return to Earth. NASA astronauts…

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FAA investigating SpaceX Starship Flight 8 explosion that disrupted commercial flights

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SpaceX’s latest Starship to attempt to reach space exploded nine minutes after its launch this week, leaving a trail of debris in its wake. Airports in Florida were forced to halt flights as the threat from impacts extended south to the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands. Now the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is again requiring SpaceX to perform a mishap investigation into what led its eighth Starship test flight to end with a loss of the vehicle. The rocket launched toward space Thursday (March 7) from SpaceX’s Starbase facility…

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Scientists discover Earth’s oldest impact crater in Australia

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Geologists have discovered the world’s oldest known impact crater; it sits in the heart of Western Australia’s ancient Pilbara region. An analysis of rock layers in the region suggests a crater at least 62 miles (100 kilometers) wide was carved after a large space rock struck Earth roughly 3.47 billion years ago, when our planet was almost completely covered in water. The discovery pushes back the record for the oldest impact crater on Earth by more than 1 billion years — the previous record holder, the Yarrabubba impact structure, also…

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NASA Earns Best Place to Work in Government for 13th Consecutive Year 

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NASA’s Worm logo is displayed in front of the agency’s headquarters in Washington. Credit: NASA For the 13th straight year, NASA has earned the title of Best Place to Work in the Federal Government – large agency – from the Partnership for Public Service. The ranking reflects employee satisfaction and workplace elements across the agency while executing NASA’s mission to explore the unknown and discover new knowledge for the benefit of humanity.  “NASA’s greatest asset has always been its people – those who rise to the challenge of leading in…

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Cosmic Mapmaker: NASA’s SPHEREx Space Telescope Ready to Launch

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6 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Ahead of launch, NASA’s SPHEREx is enclosed in a payload fairing at Vandenberg Space Force Base on March 2. The observatory is stacked atop the four small satellites that make up the agency’s PUNCH mission. NASA/BAE Systems/Benjamin Fry NASA’s latest space observatory is targeting a March 8 liftoff, and the agency’s PUNCH heliophysics mission is sharing a ride. Here’s what to expect during launch and beyond. In a little over a day, NASA’s SPHEREx space telescope is slated to…

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NASA Receives Some Data Before Intuitive Machines Ends Lunar Mission

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Intuitive Machines’ IM-2 captured an image March 6, 2025, after landing in a crater from the Moon’s South Pole. The lunar lander is on its side about 820 feet from the intended landing site, Mons Mouton. In the center of the image between the two lander legs is the Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment 1 suite, which shows the drill deployed. Credit: Intuitive Machines Shortly after touching down inside a crater on the Moon, carrying NASA technology and science on its IM-2 mission, Intuitive Machines collected some data for the…

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NASA Astronaut Tracy Dyson Speaks to Students

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NASA astronaut Tracy Dyson points to the Expedition 71 patch on her flight suit as she answers a question from students, Wednesday, March 5, 2025, at Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom Public Charter School in Washington. Dyson and fellow crewmates Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps served as part of Expedition 71 aboard the International Space Station.

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NASA Invites Creators to Design Mascot for Artemis Moon Mission

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Credit: NASA NASA is seeking design ideas from global creators for a zero gravity indicator that will fly aboard the agency’s Artemis II test flight. Zero gravity indicators are small, plush items carried aboard spacecraft to provide a visual indication of when the spacecraft and its crew reach space. This opportunity, with a submission deadline of May 27, asks for original designs representing the significance of NASA’s Artemis campaign, the mission, or exploration and discovery, and meet specific requirements for materials and size. “What better way to fly a mission…

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NASA Astronaut to Answer Questions from Students in Oregon

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NASA astronaut Don Pettit inside the Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft. (Credit: NASA) Students from Oregon will have the chance to connect with NASA astronaut Don Pettit as he answers prerecorded science, technology, engineering, and mathematics-related questions from aboard the International Space Station. Watch the 20-minute space-to-Earth call at 2:15 p.m. EDT on Monday, March 10, on NASA+ and learn how to watch NASA content on various platforms, including social media. Oregon Charter Academy, a virtual school serving thousands of kindergarten through 12th grade students statewide, is hosting an event in Wilsonville,…

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