Tag: Space Exploration

Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong’s gold Omega moonwatch sells for record $2.2M at auction

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A new record has been set for the most paid at auction for an astronaut’s timepiece. The 18-karat gold Omega Speedmaster that was presented to Neil Armstrong four months after he became the first person to walk on the moon in 1969, sold for a hammer price of $1.7 million on Thursday (April 17). With the auction house’s fees included, the total price for the chronograph was $2,187,500 — $280,546.25 more than the previous record set in 2022 by a nearly-identical gold Speedmaster gifted to Mercury, Gemini and Apollo astronaut…

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NASA developing 1st-ever space-based quantum sensor for gravity measurements

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Scientists are developing an advanced quantum sensor for low Earth orbit that can detect the tiniest tremors in Earth’s gravity. These barely perceptible shifts — caused by moving water, tectonic activity or shifting rock — offer clues about what lies beneath the planet’s surface. The new device could allow the mapping of underground features like aquifers and mineral deposits — crucial data for navigation, resource management and national security, its developers say. You may like “We could determine the mass of the Himalayas using atoms,” Jason Hyon, chief technologist for…

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Haircut on high: Getting a trim in space | Space picture of the day for April 17, 2025

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NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers gave Takuya Onishi, her JAXA crewmate, a haircut on board the International Space Station on April 13, 2025. (Image credit: JAXA/Takuya Onishi) What is it? A month into his second long-duration stay aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 73 commander Takuya Onishi received a haircut from his crewmate Nichole Ayers. Onishi shared this photo on social media, commenting on how this haircut by a NASA astronaut was different from his experience with a Russian cosmonaut during his first stay on the station in 2016. “A different…

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US and UK militaries pick Rocket Lab’s HASTE launcher to help test hypersonic tech

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Rocket Lab is becoming an even bigger player in the world of hypersonic technology. The militaries of the United States and the United Kingdom have both picked the California-based company as a potential partner for their multibillion-dollar programs dedicated to building hypersonic technology. Rocket Lab can now compete for contracts via the two programs, offering the services of its HASTE suborbital rocket as a hypersonic testbed. You may like “The ability to contribute toward the collective security of the United States and the United Kingdom across both of these important…

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Rocket repurposed from intercontinental ballistic missile launches secret US spy satellites to orbit from California

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For the first time in nearly a decade and a half, a Minotaur has streaked through Californian skies. A Minotaur IV rocket lifted off from the Golden State’s Vandenberg Space Force Base today (April 16) at 3:33 p.m. EDT (1633 GMT; 12:33 p.m. local California time), kicking off the NROL-174 mission for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). It was the first launch of a Minotaur from the site since 2011, the NRO said via X. The NROL-174 mission patch. (Image credit: NRO) The Minotaur rocket family, built by aerospace…

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James Webb Space Telescope sees a celestial Venn diagram around a dying star

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A stunning new image from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is allowing astronomers to examine the complex and turbulent final stages of a dying star’s life. The snapshot above showcases NGC 1514, a planetary nebula that resides roughly 1,500 light-years from Earth in the constellation Taurus. Despite the term, however, NGC 1514 has nothing to do with planets. Instead, at its heart, there are two stars. These stars appear as a single point of light in the James Webb Space Telescope‘s view, and this point of light is encircled…

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Gayle King just conquered her fears with Blue Origin’s all-female space launch. Here’s how she did it.

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Having the opportunity to overcome Earth’s gravity well and launch into space can be a spiritual and revelatory experience for those lucky enough to hitch a private ride on a rocket, as pop star Katy Perryand her historic all-female crew did on their Blue Origin trip from West Texas today (April 14). Joining Perry on the 10.5-minute suborbital NS-31 mission, which lifted off from Blue Origin’s Launch Site One, were CBS journalist Gayle King, philanthropist and author Lauren Sánchez, ex-NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, research scientist Amanda Nguyen and film…

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100th person to fly only a suborbital spaceflight | Space picture of the day for April 14, 2025

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Entrepreneur and former NASA aerospace engineer Aisha Bowe reaches out her arms in celebration after stepping out of the Blue Origin New Shepard capsule that flew her and five other women to space and back on April 14, 2025. (Image credit: Blue Origin) On April 14, 2025, Blue Origin launched its 11th human spaceflight, the company’s first to include only women aboard. Based on the seat assignments provided by the company, one of the six newly qualified astronauts has now become the 100th person in history to fly only a…

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3 big hunks of space junk crash to Earth every day — and it’s only going to get worse

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At least three old satellites or rocket bodies fall back to Earth every day, a new report reveals. And experts warn that the number of objects returning from space is set to increase, a possible concern for the health of Earth’s atmosphere and for the safety of humans on the ground. The Space Environment Report, released by the European Space Agency (ESA) on April 1, found that some 1,200 “intact objects” reentered the atmosphere in 2024, in addition to countless space debris fragments. Despite this incessant rain of junk battering…

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SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches 27 Starlink satellites to orbit on record-breaking 27th flight (photos)

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SpaceX continues to push the boundaries of rocket reuse. A Falcon 9 rocket topped with 27 of the company’s Starlink internet satellites lifted off at midnight (0400 GMT) on Monday (April 14) from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. It was the 27th launch for the rocket’s first stage, breaking a reflight record that this same booster set two months ago. Sixteen of its liftoffs have been Starlink flights, SpaceX wrote in a mission description. You may like Booster 1067 missions The booster came back to Earth safely for the…

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