Tag: Missions

NASA astronaut snaps spooky photo of SpaceX Dragon capsule from ISS

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A SpaceX Dragon capsule looks a little ghostly in a new image taken from the space station. NASA astronaut Don Pettit snapped a picture of the Crew Dragon Freedom after the Crew-9 mission, SpaceX‘s ninth operational astronaut effort for the agency, docked at the International Space Station (ISS) on Sept. 29. The black-and-white image shows the belly of the Dragon, including windows with filters on board to lessen the bright sun. “I like how the sun shines through the stitching, personifying the composition,” Pettit wrote Oct. 24 on X, formerly…

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Apollo 11 moonwalker Buzz Aldrin endorses Trump for president

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One of the United States’ most famous space explorers is backing Donald Trump for president. Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second person ever to walk on the moon, endorsed Trump in a statement today (Oct. 30), less than a week before the Nov. 5 presidential election. “Over the years, I have seen our government’s approach to space wax and wane, a fluctuating dynamic that has disappointed me from time to time,” the former moonwalker wrote in the statement, which was released by Buzz Aldrin Ventures LLC. “But under the…

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NASA’s Perseverance rover gets stunning view of big Mars crater from slippery slope (video, photos)

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NASA’s Perseverance rover took a break from its Mars mountaineering expedition recently to survey its old stomping grounds. The car-sized Perseverance landed on the floor of the 28-mile-wide (45-kilometer-wide) Jezero Crater in February 2021 to hunt for signs of past Mars life and collect dozens of samples for future return to Earth. Perseverance has finished its work in Jezero’s flats and is now scaling the crater’s western rim, on its way to explore new and disparate Mars landscapes. Late last month, however, the rover paused to take in the grand…

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Station Science Top News: Oct. 25, 2024

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Better Monitoring of the Air Astronauts Breathe Ten weeks of operations showed that a second version of the Spacecraft Atmosphere Monitor is sensitive enough to determine variations in the composition of cabin air inside the International Space Station. Volatile organic compounds and particulates in cabin air could pose a health risk for crew members, and this device increases the speed and accuracy of assessing such risk. Spacecraft Atmosphere Monitor is a miniaturized gas chromatograph mass spectrometer used to analyze the air inside the space station and ensure that it is safe for the…

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NASA Welcomes Chile as Newest Artemis Accords Signatory

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From left to right, Chilean Ambassador to the United States Juan Gabriel Valdés, Chilean Minister of Science, Technology, Knowledge, and Innovation Aisén Etcheverry Escudero, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, and United States Department of State Acting Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Jennifer R. Littlejohn pose for a photo after the signing of the Artemis Accords, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. The Republic of Chile is the 47th country to sign the Artemis Accords, which…

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James Webb Space Telescope finds 1st ‘failed star’ candidates beyond the Milky Way

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At this point, astronomers are used to the James Webb Space Telescope pushing the boundaries of astronomy — so it is little surprise that the $10 billion telescope has surpassed itself again.  The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) — with a little help from the Hubble Space Telescope — may have found a family of so-called “failed star” brown dwarfs in the Milky Way’s satellite galaxy, the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). If this is the case, it will be the first time astronomers have spotted such bodies beyond the limits…

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NASA Science on Health, Safety to Launch on 31st SpaceX Resupply Mission

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5 min read NASA Science on Health, Safety to Launch on 31st SpaceX Resupply Mission New science experiments for NASA are set to launch aboard the agency’s SpaceX 31st commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station. The six investigations aim to contribute to cutting-edge discoveries by NASA scientists and research teams. The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft will liftoff aboard the company’s Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Science experiments aboard the spacecraft include a test to study smothering fires in space,…

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Station Science Top News: Oct. 18, 2024

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Microgravity had no immediate effect on a person’s ability to perceive the height of an object, indicating that astronauts can safely perform tasks that rely on accurate and precise height judgments soon after arrival in space. We use the height and width of objects around us to complete tasks such as reaching for objects and deciding whether we can fit through an opening. VECTION, an investigation from the Canadian Space Agency, examined the effect of microgravity on an astronaut’s visual perception and how that ability may adapt during flight or upon return to…

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A 21st-century moon suit: Axiom Space’s lunar spacesuit sports 4G comms, Prada looks and Oakley visors for Artemis astronauts

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MILAN — If you’re going to team up with Prada for a 21st-century moon suit, it only makes sense to unveil it in one of the fashion capitals of the world. Axiom Space and Prada revealed the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) spacesuit in a press conference held at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) here today (Oct. 16). AxEMU will be used for NASA’s Artemis 3 mission, which is currently scheduled to launch in late 2026. It has been specially designed for the lunar south pole, which will be a…

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Station Science Top News: Oct. 11, 2024

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Researchers verified that 3D micro-computed tomography scans can map the orientation of plant roots in space and used the method to demonstrate that carrots grown in actual and simulated microgravity both had random root orientation. These findings suggest that simulated microgravity offers a reliable and more affordable tool for studying plant adaptation to spaceflight. MULTI-TROP evaluated the role of gravity and other factors on plant growth. Plant roots grow downward in response to gravity on Earth, but in random directions in microgravity, which is a challenge for developing plant growth facilities for space. Results…

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