Tag: Missions

NASA to Talk Science, Tech Aboard Next Intuitive Machines Moon Flight

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As part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign, Intuitive Machines’ second delivery to the Moon will carry NASA technology demonstrations and science investigations on their Nova-C class lunar lander. Credit: Intuitive Machines NASA will host a media teleconference at 1 p.m. EST Friday, Feb. 7, to discuss the agency’s science and technology flying aboard Intuitive Machines’ second flight to the Moon. The mission is part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign to establish a long-term lunar presence.  Audio of the…

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NASA’s new SPHEREx space telescope to launch in February — it can do what the JWST can’t

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In late February, if all goes to plan, a new character will enter NASA’s space telescope epic. It’s an eggshell white, conical probe named SPHEREx, which (get ready for a mouthful) stands for Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer. And, because it works with infrared light, SPHEREx is meant to reveal things even the trailblazing James Webb Space Telescope cannot. “Taking a snapshot with JWST is like taking a picture of a person,” Shawn Domagal-Goldman, acting director of the Astrophysics Division at NASA…

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NASA astronaut Suni Williams sets new record on 5.5-hour spacewalk outside ISS (video)

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Two NASA astronauts working outside of the International Space Station on Thursday (Jan. 30) were able to finally remove a faulty radio communications unit, succeeding where two previous spacewalks had been unsuccessful. The extended work needed to free the radio frequency group (RFG) by Sunita “Suni” Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore came at a cost, though, as the two ran out of time to accomplish all of the tasks planned for Thursday’s EVA (extravehicular activity). Williams and Wilmore, who launched together on Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft and are serving together on…

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NASA Invites Media to Discuss PUNCH Mission to Study Solar Wind

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Caption: Illustration of the four PUNCH spacecraft in low Earth orbit. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab NASA will hold a media teleconference at 2 p.m. EST on Tuesday, Feb. 4, to share information about the agency’s upcoming PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) mission, which is targeted to launch no earlier than Thursday, Feb. 27. The agency’s PUNCH mission is a constellation of four small satellites. When they arrive in low Earth orbit, the satellites will make global, 3D observations of the Sun’s outer…

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US military practices rescuing astronauts from the sea (photos)

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A U.S. military joint task force did some training recently off the Florida coast to help with astronaut splashdowns. “Space travel is expected to increase, so the search and rescue alert is going to increase, and we will be ready to answer that call,” Maj. Ryan Schieber, lead planner for Human Space Flight Support (HSFS) in the U.S. Air Force’s 315th Operations Support Squadron, said in a statement. So, as the U.S. sees an uptick in crewed spaceflight operations, the military wants to make sure it can support astronaut retrieval…

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NASA Invites Media to Second Intuitive Machines Launch to Moon

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Caption: As part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign, Intuitive Machines’ second delivery to the Moon will carry NASA technology demonstrations and science investigations on their Nova-C class lunar lander. Credit: Intuitive Machines For the second time, Intuitive Machines will launch a lunar lander to deliver NASA technology demonstrations and science investigations to the Moon for the benefit of all. Media accreditation is open for the IM-2 launch, part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign to establish a long-term presence…

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NASA Space Tech’s Favorite Place to Travel in 2025: The Moon!

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4 Min Read NASA Space Tech’s Favorite Place to Travel in 2025: The Moon! The first image from space of Firefly's Blue Ghost mission 1 lunar lander as it begins its 45-day transit period to the Moon. Credits: Firefly Aerospace NASA Space Technology has big travel plans for 2025, starting with a trip to the near side of the Moon! Among ten groundbreaking NASA science and technology demonstrations, two technologies are on a ride to survey lunar regolith – also known as “Moon dust” – to better understand surface interactions…

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Station Science Top News: Jan. 17, 2025

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Insights into metal alloy solidification Researchers report details of phase and structure in the solidification of metal alloys on the International Space Station, including formation of microstructures. Because these microstructures determine a material’s mechanical properties, this work could support improvements in techniques for producing coatings and additive manufacturing or 3D printing processes. METCOMP, an ESA (European Space Agency) investigation, studied solidification in microgravity using transparent organic mixtures as stand-ins for metal alloys. Conducting the research in microgravity removed the influence of convection and other effects of gravity. Results help scientists…

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Hubble Telescope spies newborn stars in famous Orion Nebula (photo)

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Two young stars shine bright in the dusty depths of the Orion Nebula in a new Hubble Space Telescope image. Located about 1,300 light-years from Earth, these young stars, also known as protostars, reside in a hotbed for star formation: the Orion Nebula, which is the nearest massive star-forming region to Earth and is home to hundreds of newborn stars. The recent photo from the Hubble Space Telescope captures two of these protostars, called HOPS 150 and HOPS 153, both of which take their names from the Herschel Orion Protostar…

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Space Force to march in Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration, a 1st for the new military branch

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On Monday (Jan. 20), the U.S. Space Force will participate in a presidential inauguration for the first time. Representing the military branch will be 45 Guardians, the official name for U.S. Space Force personnel, who work in a wide range of careers across the country. The 45 Guardians, who are volunteers, recently arrived at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, a large military installation in Washington, D.C., where they’ve been practicing drills for Monday’s inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump. They’ve come together with the Space Force Honor Guard, which was founded 17 months…

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