NASA Astronaut Nick Hague Boosts Human Health Research in Space

NeRD

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 commander Nick Hague is pictured in his flight suit during training at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California. Hague will perform human health and performance research on the International Space Station as part of his mission. SpaceX NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will soon dock with the International Space Station as part of the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission, a venture which will enhance scientific research and bolster the knowledge about how people can live and work in space. During the planned five-month mission, Hague’s…

Read More

Liftoff! NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 Launches to International Space Station

NeRD

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company’s Dragon spacecraft is launched on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station with NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov onboard, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission is the ninth crew rotation mission of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. Hague and Gorbunov launched at 1:17 p.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex 40…

Read More

SpaceX launches Crew-9 astronauts from upgraded Florida pad to return Boeing Starliner crew home

NeRD

A unique SpaceX mission is underway. A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex-40 (SLC-40) at Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station today (Sept. 28) at 1:17 p.m. EDT (1717 GMT), kicking off the Crew-9 astronaut mission to the International Space Station (ISS) for NASA.  “That was a sweet ride,” NASA astronaut Nick Hague, Crew-9’s commander, radioed SpaceX’s launch control after reaching orbit with crewmate Alexandr Gorbunov of Russia. The astronauts are will arrive at the ISS on Sunday, Sept. 29. You can follow the mission with our…

Read More

This Week In Space podcast: Episode 130 —Dogs on Mars, Snakes on the Moon

NeRD

Dogs on Mars, Snakes on the Moon – Mars Sample Return and VIPER – YouTube Watch On On Episode 130 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik talk with Dr. Jim Bell about the Mars Sample Return program and VIPER mission to the moon. NASA’s planetary exploration program is in trouble. The Mars Sample Return program is verging on cancellation, and the VIPER mission to the moon already has been. Both are critical precursors to human exploration of these places, as Dr. Jim Bell of Arizona State…

Read More

SpaceX, NASA ‘go’ for 1st astronaut launch to ISS from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station pad

NeRD

NASA cleared its next astronaut flight to the International Space Station for launch on Friday (Sept. 27), a weekend liftoff that will help return two Boeing Starliner astronauts home and break in a new launch pad for SpaceX.  A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft will launch two Crew-9 astronauts, NASA veteran Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexandr Gorbunov, to the ISS from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Saturday, Sept. 28. Liftoff is set for 1:17 p.m. EDT (1517 GMT).  “We’re proceeding toward launch and go…

Read More

Watch spectacular Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS rise during the early hours of Sept. 28 with this free livestream

NeRD

Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS at perihelion: online observation – 28 Sept. 2024 – YouTube Watch On Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS has been making quite a name for itself these past few weeks, providing a dazzling spectacle for early morning risers wishing to catch a glimpse of the “dirty snowball” as it streaks through the predawn sky.  On Sept. 27, the comet will reach its perihelion — the closest distance to the sun. At 1:55 p.m. EDT (1755 GMT) the comet will be about 36.4 million miles (58.6 million kilometers) away…

Read More

Lego Ideas submissions Lunar Landscape, Space Projection Telescope and Voyager 1’s Pale Blue Dot need to be made into real sets

NeRD

Space continues to be a popular theme for budding Lego designers, and three new Lego Ideas submissions have rocketed onto our wish list. Will they get your vote? Earlier this year, we looked at three space-themed Lego Ideas submissions: The Martian, NASA’s Space Launch System and a Kerbal Space Program Modular Ship System. While the Kerbal Space Program and SLS sets managed to garner enough votes to get in front of a Lego panel, unfortunately neither of them were approved to be made. There’s still hope for The Martian, however,…

Read More

The Science of the Perfect Cup for Coffee 

NeRD

2 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Research into phase-change material (PCM) options for NASA helped one of the researchers find the ideal material to use in a mug that maintains the ideal temperature of a hot beverage for hours. ThermAvant International now offers mugs and tumblers. Credit: ThermAvant International LLC Dr. Hongbin Ma was tired of drinking coffee that had gone cold. Fortunately, Ma, the CEO of ThermAvant Technologies LLC in Columbia, Missouri, was working on a NASA-funded study of phase-change materials, which are used…

Read More

The Stanley Cup Comes to Kennedy

NeRD

NASA/Cory S Huston The Stanley Cup, won in 2024 by the Florida Panthers, made a visit to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Sept. 17, 2024, as part of its championship tour. The VAB currently houses components of the agency’s Artemis II mission, the first crewed mission on NASA’s path to establishing a long-term presence at the Moon for science and exploration through Artemis. Artemis II will send four astronauts around the Moon, testing NASA’s foundational human deep space exploration capabilities, the SLS rocket, and Orion spacecraft.…

Read More

Chief Engineer Dr. Donald Mendoza

NeRD

“From my earliest childhood, flight had always captivated me. I lived out in the boonies and the farmlands, so I didn’t have neighbors to go and play with. If I wasn’t working, I was left to my own devices, and often, I would just be captivated by the wildlife and in particular, the birds of prey that I would see. “To me, they represented a freedom of some kind or another. These birds and the view they have — they can take in so much. So, from that point on,…

Read More