Baltimore MD (SPX) Jan 26, 2023
In an observational feat of high precision, scientists used a new technique with NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to capture the shadows of starlight cast by the thin rings of Chariklo. Chariklo is an icy, small body, but the largest of the known Centaur population, located more than 2 billion miles away beyond the orbit of Saturn. Chariklo is only 160 miles (250 kilometers) or ~51 times smalle

Chongqing, China (XNA) Jan 26, 2023
China plans to use its new China Compound Eye facility in Chongqing to observe asteroids and Earth-like planets hundreds of millions of kilometers away as part of its planetary defense work. The Chongqing Innovation Center under the Beijing Institute of Technology, which designed and built the China Compound Eye, recently released its first 3D radar map of an area of moon craters taken by the hi

Wallops Island VA (SPX) Jan 26, 2023
A revolutionary NASA flight safety system has enabled a new era of space transportation with the successful flight of Rocket Lab USA's Electron rocket Jan. 24, from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. This mission, the first Electron launch from the United States, was enabled by NASA's work in developing the NASA Autonomous Flight Termination Unit (NAFTU), a critical piece of fligh

Houston (AFP) Jan 26, 2023
Emirati astronaut Sultan al-Neyadi said Wednesday that he will not be required to fast during Ramadan while on his upcoming space mission. The 41-year-old will become the first Arab astronaut to spend six months in space when he blasts off for the International Space Station (ISS) next month aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Neyadi, NASA's Stephen Bowen and Warren Hoburg and Russia's Andr

Munich, Germany (SPX) Jan 26, 2023
European launch service company Isar Aerospace, and U.S.-based Spaceflight Inc., the leading global launch services provider, announced they have signed a multi-launch services agreement. Under the agreement, Spaceflight secured one dedicated launch in 2026 to a sun-synchronous orbit taking off from Andoya, Norway and an option to add an additional dedicated launch to occur in 2025. "We've

San Antonio TX (SPX) Jan 26, 2023
NASA's Lucy spacecraft will add another asteroid encounter to its 4-billion-mile journey. On Nov. 1, 2023, the Southwest Research Institute-led Lucy mission will get a close-up view of a small main belt asteroid to conduct an engineering test of the spacecraft's innovative asteroid-tracking navigation system. The Lucy mission was already on course to break records by its planned visit of n

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 26, 2023
Perseverance and the team recently celebrated one Martian year (668 sols or 687 Earth days) on the Red Planet while continuing to offload sample tubes at the "Three Forks" depot location. The celebration also marked the end of the prime mission at Jezero as the team transitions into the extended mission phase and sets their sights on the delta top. It has been a fitting celebration and end

Huntsville AL (SPX) Jan 26, 2023
As NASA takes its first steps toward establishing a long-term presence on the Moon's surface, a team of propulsion development engineers at NASA have developed and tested NASA's first full-scale rotating detonation rocket engine, or RDRE, an advanced rocket engine design that could significantly change how future propulsion systems are built. The RDRE differs from a traditional rocket engi

Pasadena CA (JPL) Jan 26, 2023
On Thursday, Jan. 26, a small near-Earth asteroid will have a very close encounter with our planet. Designated 2023 BU, the asteroid will zoom over the southern tip of South America at about 4:27 p.m. PST (7:27 p.m. EST) only 2,200 miles (3,600 kilometers) above the planet's surface and well within the orbit of geosynchronous satellites. There is no risk of the asteroid impacting Earth. Bu