Tag: space exploration
A New Era of Moon Exploration Is Upon Us
On February 22nd, a robotic lander named Odysseus touched down on the sun-washed highlands near the south pole of the moon. It was the first time since the Apollo 17 mission, fifty-two years ago, that an American spacecraft had gracefully landed on the lunar surface. And yet NASA hadn’t designed or built Odysseus; it was renting space onboard. Intuitive Machines, a relatively small aerospace firm based in Houston, was responsible for the lander, which launched atop a SpaceX rocket. The
NASA’s moon crew meet their Orion spacecraft for first time
The four astronauts embarking on a mission to the moon next year have had their first good look at the Orion capsule that will take them there.
NASA astronauts Christina Koch, Victor Glover, and Reid Wiseman, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, got up close and personal with the Orion spacecraft during a visit to the Kennedy Space Center from where the moon-bound Artemis II mission is currently scheduled to launch in November 2024.
SpaceX images flaunt the awesome power of Starship rocket
SpaceX has shared a set of dramatic images captured during a recent static fire test of its Super Heavy vehicle, the most powerful rocket ever built.
They show off the astonishing strength of the rocket’s 33 Raptor engines that will blast the Super Heavy skyward on its second test flight following a failed effort to reach orbit in April.
The first-stage Super Heavy and upper-stage Starship spacecraft are collectively known as the Starship, and SpaceX plans
NASA’s Mars helicopter glimpses Perseverance rover from sky
NASA’s Mars helicopter, Ingenuity, captured an aerial image of the Perseverance rover during its latest flight at the end of last week.
The aircraft and rover arrived together on the red planet in February 2021, and since then both have been operating inside the Jezero Crater, a dried-up lake that scientists believe could contain evidence of ancient life.
In an image shared by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which is overseeing the current Mars mission, we can just spot
Starliner spacecraft won’t fly first crew until next year
Boeing’s Starliner CST-100 spacecraft won’t be going on its first crewed test flight to the International Space Station (ISS) until March 2024 at the earliest.
The news was announced at a press conference on Monday offering an update on the Starliner program, which has suffered numerous issues and delays since its failed maiden flight in December 2019.
“Based on the current plans, we’re anticipating
This 360-degree video shows Ariane 5 rocket’s final launch
Arianespace’s Ariane 5 rocket lifted off for the final time last month, bringing to a close 27 years of reliable service.
The European Space Agency (ESA), which oversaw the mission, has just released a 360-degree video of the launch from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana, allowing space fans to strap on a pair of VR goggles to see the 164-foot-tall (50-meter) rocket blast skyward from just a few meters away.
The camera was clamped firmly to a steel cable
Watch SpaceX test fire the world’s most powerful rocket
SpaceX has performed a static fire test of its Super Heavy booster ahead of its second test flight.
SpaceX live streamed Sunday’s event, with the footage now available via the video player embedded at the top of this page. The company also tweeted a clip showing the test from a different angle.
The test took place at SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas, and fired up all 33 of the Super Heavy’s Raptor engines.
The Super Heavy creates around
Curiosity rover battles up a 23-degree slope on Mars
The Curiosity rover is slowly making its way up Mount Sharp, a 3-mile-tall mountain on Mars. Mountains are useful to study as their steep slopes can reveal layers of material laid down over time, like a geological time capsule. But just like heaving up a mountain is a challenge for humans, it can be tricky for rovers too. Curiosity recently took on a particularly steep and slippery slope, marking its most challenging climb to date.
How difficult terrain is for
NASA reveals new date for Crew-7 mission to space station
NASA and SpaceX are now targeting Monday, August 21, for the launch of the Crew-7 mission to the International Space Station (ISS).
The agency had been hoping to launch on August 17, but recent changes to the schedule of several other NASA missions departing from the Kennedy Space
NASA accidentally loses contact with legendary Voyager 2
NASA has lost contact with the legendary Voyager 2 spacecraft after “inadvertently” sending it a command that caused the antenna to point 2 degrees away from Earth.
The error means that Voyager 2, which launched in 1977 and is currently around 12.4 billion miles (19.9 billion kilometers) from Earth, is unable to receive commands or transmit data back to mission controllers.
“This change has interrupted communication between Voyager 2 and the