As NASA’s human spaceflight centers are busy preparing the Orion spacecraft and its components for the early Artemis missions around the Moon, a NASA aeronautics-focused center is lending a hand. Technicians at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida meticulously applied more than 180 blocks of ablative material to the heat shield for the Orion spacecraft set to carry astronauts... Continue Reading →

NASA is inviting the public to take part in virtual activities and events ahead of the launch of Northrop Grumman’s 15th commercial resupply services mission (NG CRS-15) for NASA. The Antares rocket carrying Northrop Grumman's Cygnus spacecraft will bring about 8,000 pounds of cargo, science, and supplies to the International Space Station. The mission’s launch... Continue Reading →

The universe is merciless and infinite, and satellites orbiting the earth are witnessing this first hand. Extreme temperature differences between the side of the earth facing towards and away from the sun pose a significant challenge for orbiting satellites, and because repair or maintenance of active satellites is impossible, the satellite, its components and materials... Continue Reading →

Antarctic ice is melting, contributing massive amounts of water to the world's seas and causing them to rise - but that melt is not as linear and consistent as scientists previously thought, a new analysis of 20 years' worth of satellite data indicates. The analysis, built on gravitational field data from a NASA satellite system,... Continue Reading →

NASA is working on various science instruments and technology experiments from the agency that will operate on the Moon once American companies on Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) contracts deliver them to the lunar surface. Through CLPS flights, NASA is buying a complete commercial robotic lunar delivery service and does not provide launch services, own... Continue Reading →

NASA and three international partners have signed a statement of intent to advance a possible robotic Mars ice mapping mission, which could help identify abundant, accessible ice for future candidate landing sites on the Red Planet. The agencies have agreed to establish a joint concept team to assess mission potential, as well as partnership opportunities. ... Continue Reading →

The Apollo 11 landing site, Tranquility Base, as viewed from orbit by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. (NASA/GSFC/ASU) Preserving the historic sites where humans first landed on the moon is now not only a good idea, it is also the law.The United States has enacted its first legislation that requires American companies and other entities working... Continue Reading →

NACA and city officials broke ground at the future site of the NASA Glenn Research Center. From left to right: William Hopkins (former city manager), John Berry (airport manager), Ray Sharp (AERL), Frederick Crawford (Chamber of Commerce), George Brett (Air Corps), [behind] S. Paul Johnston (NACA), Edward Warner (Civil Aeronautics Board), Sydney Kraus (Bureau of... Continue Reading →

Deep Space Station 56, or DSS-56, is a powerful 34-meter-wide (112-foot-wide) antenna that was added to the Deep Space Network’s Madrid Deep Space Communications Complex in Spain in early 2021.Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech A powerful new antenna has been added to the NASA Space Communications and Navigation’s Deep Space Network (DSN), which connects us to the space... Continue Reading →

In January 1986, NASA's Voyager 2 became the first, and so far the only, spacecraft to explore Uranus, the second to last stop on its journey through the outer solar system. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, manages Voyagers 1 and 2, twin spacecraft launched in 1977 to explore the outer planets. Initially planned... Continue Reading →