FAA requires investigation of anomaly on SpaceX’s Crew-9 astronaut launch

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The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is requiring an investigation of the anomaly a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket experienced during the Crew-9 astronaut launch on Sept. 28. That liftoff successfully sent a Crew Dragon capsule carrying NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov toward the International Space Station. However, the Falcon 9‘s upper stage suffered an issue after deploying the capsule, SpaceX revealed on Sept. 29. The issue was an “off-nominal deorbit burn,” which resulted in the upper stage landing in the ocean outside of its target disposal…

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China unveils spacesuit for moonwalking astronauts (video)

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China has strutted out its moon-landing spacesuit, unveiling its design in a ceremony Saturday (Sept. 28) in southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality. A technician put the spacesuit — which China aims to start using on crewed moon missions by 2030 — through its paces, showcasing various movements and gestures, including climbing the rungs of a ladder.  The overall design of the moon-landing suit is inspired by traditional Chinese armor, underscoring the suit’s rugged and resolute appearance. It also features ribbons, which have always been an important element in the design of Chinese…

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NASA Announces Selections for Lunar Comms, Network Studies

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NASA has selected Intuitive Machines of Houston and Aalyria Technologies Inc. of Livermore, California, to perform capability studies with the goal of advancing space communications and exploration technologies. These studies will allow NASA to gain insights into industry capabilities and innovations to facilitate NASA partnerships with commercial communications and navigation providers. The awards, under the Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships-2 (Next STEP-2) Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) Appendix Q, are firm fixed-price milestone-based contracts. Intuitive Machines is awarded $647,600 — Study Area No. 1, Lunar User Terminals and Network Orchestration…

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Astrophysicist Gioia Rau Explores Cosmic ‘Time Machines’

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To shape NASA’s path of exploration forward, Dr. Gioia Rau unravels stars and worlds beyond our solar system. Name: Dr. Gioia RauTitle: AstrophysicistOrganization: Exoplanets and Stellar Astrophysics Laboratory, Astrophysics Division, Science Mission Directorate (Code 667) Dr. Gioia Rau is an astrophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. Photo courtesy of Gioia Rau What do you do and what is most interesting about your role here at Goddard? I’m an astrophysicist who studies both evolved stars, stars that about to die, and exoplanets, planets outside our solar system.…

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Communications Strategist Thalia Patrinos

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“This is why [Aubrey Gemignani] and I started Faces of NASA: We wanted to make that connection. It’s not just rockets, astronauts, and telescopes. Hundreds of thousands of people come together to make these missions possible, and that’s the part that’s really interesting for me.” – Thalia Patrinos, Communications Strategist, PCI Productions, NASA Headquarters

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Three-time Spacewalker Josh Cassada to Retire from NASA

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Oct. 1, 2024 NASA astronaut Josh Cassada holds a roll-out solar array as he rides the Canadarm2 robotic arm during a spacewalk in support of the Expedition 68 mission aboard the International Space Station on Dec. 3, 2022. Credit: NASA Three-time Spacewalker Josh Cassada to Retire from NASA NASA astronaut Josh Cassada retired Oct. 1, after 11 years of service to the agency across multiple programs, including 157 days in space and three spacewalks. Cassada also is a retired United States Navy captain and naval aviator with more than two…

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NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 Concludes Space Station Scientific Mission

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6 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA astronauts Michael Barratt, Matthew Dominick, and Jeanette Epps and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin are returning to Earth after months aboard the International Space Station conducting scientific experiments and technology demonstrations for the agency’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission. The four launched on March 3 aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Here’s a look at some scientific milestones accomplished during their mission: Revealing resistant microorganisms NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps extracts DNA for the Genomic Enumeration…

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The Milky Way’s 2 biggest satellite galaxies are oddly lonely, study finds

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The Milky Way’s system of small, orbiting satellite galaxies is quite unusual, a new 12-year study of other galaxies in the local universe has found.  The Satellites Around Galactic Analogs (SAGA) survey is being conducted by a small group of astronomers to learn how the Milky Way and its little retinue of dwarf satellite galaxies compares to other galaxy systems. “The Milky Way’s satellite population is a unique combination of small satellites containing only older stars, and its two largest satellites, which are actively forming new stars,” says Marla Geha,…

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NASA Continues Advancing STEM for Students Through New Partnership

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2 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) President and CEO of the Hispanic Heritage Foundation Jose Antonio Tijerino, left, and NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, sign a Space Act Agreement between the HHF and NASA to collaborate and expand STEM opportunities for Latino K-12 and university students and reduce barriers to agency activities and opportunities, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, at the NASA Headquarters Mary W. Jackson Building in Washington. NASA/Bill Ingalls During an event at NASA Headquarters in Washington Monday, the agency and the Hispanic Heritage…

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Heart tissues beat half as strongly on the ISS as they do on Earth

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What effects does spaceflight have on an astronaut’s heart? This is exactly the question that prompted scientists from Johns Hopkins University to send 48 bioengineered heart tissue samples to the International Space Station, where they were monitored for 30 days and compared to identical samples on Earth. The team examined how low gravity impacts things like the cells’ strength of contraction, known as twitch forces, and any irregular beating patterns.  The results were concerning — the scientists found that heart cells “really don’t fare well in space,” beating with about…

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