The Orion spacecraft swung by the Moon on Monday, flying to within 130 km of that world’s surface as it set course for a return to Earth this weekend. In making this “powered flyby burn” to move away from the Moon, Orion’s service module performed its longest main engine firing to date, lasting 3 minutes and 27 seconds. After successfully completing the maneuver, NASA’s mission … Continue reading After lunar flyby, NASA’s Orion spacecraft is set to splash down on Sunday

Researchers have discovered two minerals that have never been seen before on Earth. The discovery was made in Somalia, inside a massive meteorite. It may hold important clues to how asteroids form. LIVE SCIENCE – The two brand new minerals were found inside a single 2.5 ounce (70 gram) slice taken from the 16.5 ton (15 metric tons) El Ali meteorite, which crashed to Earthin 2020. … Continue reading Two minerals never before been seen on Earth found inside 17-ton meteorite

NASA’s Orion spacecraft has successfully completed one of the key maneuvers of its maiden journey: a flyby of the Moon during which it got as close as 81 miles to the lunar surface. This was important for a few reasons, not least because it marked a critical test for the propulsion system. Orion carried out four trajectory correction burns on its way to the Moon, … Continue reading NASA’s Orion crew vehicle successfully completes Moon flyby

Humans could stay on the Moon for lengthy periods during this decade, a Nasa official has told the BBC. Howard Hu, who leads the Orion lunar spacecraft programme for the agency, said habitats would be needed to support scientific missions. He told Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that Wednesday’s launch of the Artemis rocket, which carries Orion, was a “historic day for human space flight”. Orion … Continue reading Artemis: Nasa expects humans to live on Moon this decade

The cosmic chaos caused by a very young star has been captured in the latest enchanting image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. The protostar the image centers around is hidden from view in the neck of a dark, hourglass-shape cloud of gas and dust. The dark line across the middle of the neck is a protoplanetary disc — dense gas and dust that could … Continue reading Cosmic hourglass captured by the James Webb Space Telescope reveals birth of a star

The historic Artemis I mission took flight in the early hours of Wednesday morning after months of anticipation. The milestone event kicked off a journey that will send an uncrewed spacecraft around the moon, paving the way for NASA to return astronauts to the lunar surface for the first time in half a century. The Orion spacecraft’s spectacular first views of Earth were shared more … Continue reading Artemis I mission shares spectacular view of Earth after a historic launch

NASA is once again counting down the hours to the first flight test of its new 32-story-tall Artemis rocket, the one the agency hopes will carry astronauts back to the moon in just a few years. The space agency has been struggling to get the multi-billion-dollar rocket off the ground so that it can send a capsule — without a crew on board — around … Continue reading NASA’s Artemis moon rocket is hours from launch. Will it finally fly?

Solar Orbiter has spotted a ‘tube’ of cooler atmospheric gases snaking its way through the Sun’s magnetic field. The observation provides an intriguing new addition to the zoo of features revealed by the ESA-led Solar Orbiter mission, especially since the snake was a precursor to a much larger eruption. The snake was seen on 5 September 2022, as Solar Orbiter was approaching the Sun for … Continue reading Solar snake spotted slithering across Sun’s surface

On Tuesday November 8th, a total lunar eclipse that will turn the moon an eerie blood-red hue. It won’t happen again until the year 2025. NBC NEWS – The eclipse will occur Tuesday, with the moon set to turn blood red as it slips into Earth’s shadow. The celestial show will be visible to viewers in North and Central America, Asia, Australia, the Pacific Islands and … Continue reading Return of the ‘blood moon’: A total lunar eclipse will be visible around the world on Tuesday

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) this week captured an image of the sun in ultraviolet light featuring three dark patches that look like a smiling face — a face that could signal a solar storm with problems for Earth. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center issued a minor geomagnetic storm watch effective for Saturday. While geomagnetic storms can create beautiful aurora … Continue reading The sun was ‘smiling’ in a NASA photo. It might be a warning for Earth.

Astronomers have spotted three near-Earth asteroids that were lurking undetected within the glare of the sun. One of the asteroids is the largest potentially hazardous object posing a risk to Earth to be discovered in the last eight years. The asteroids belong to a group found within the orbits of Earth and Venus, but they’re incredibly difficult to observe because the brightness of the sun … Continue reading ‘Planet killer’ asteroid spotted hiding in the sun’s glare

SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy — a towering, three-pronged vehicle that is the most powerful operational rocket in the world — returned to the skies on Tuesday for the first time since mid-2019. The rocket launched at 9:41 a.m. ET from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, hauling satellites to space for the US military in a secretive mission dubbed USSF-44. The Falcon Heavy debuted in 2018 … Continue reading SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket, world’s most powerful rocket, launches after three-year hiatus