EMIT, a mission developed at JPL to measure the composition of minerals that become airborne dust, is among the investigations launching to the space station next month.
The 25th SpaceX cargo resupply services mission (SpaceX CRS-25) carrying scientific research and technology demonstrations to the International Space Station is scheduled for launch June 9 from NASA’s Kennedy Space…
The 3D real-time visualization tool lets users track NASA satellites as well as the vital Earth science data they provide. Recent upgrades make for an even more fascinating experience.
NASA’s real-time 3D visualization tool Eyes on the Earth got a recent upgrade…
Designed to improve navigation for robotic explorers and the operation of GPS satellites, the technology demonstration reports a significant milestone.
Spacecraft that venture beyond our Moon rely on communication with ground stations on Earth to figure out where…
NASA’s Curiosity Rover Captures a Martian Day, From Dawn to Dusk
December 29, 2023
When NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover isn’t on the move, it works pretty well as a sundial, as seen in two black-and-white videos recorded on Nov. 8, the 4,002nd Martian day, or sol, of the mission. The rover captured its own shadow shifting across the surface of Mars using its black-and-white Hazard-Avoidance Cameras, or Hazcams.
Instructions to record the videos were part of the last set of…
NASA’s Juno spacecraft will on Saturday, Dec. 30, make the closest flyby of Jupiter’s moon Io that any spacecraft has made in over 20 years. Coming within roughly 930 miles (1,500 kilometers) from the surface of the most volcanic world in our solar system, the pass is…
NASA’s Perseverance Rover Deciphers Ancient History of Martian Lake
December 22, 2023
Marking its 1,000th Martian day on the Red Planet, NASA’s Perseverance rover recently completed its exploration of the ancient river delta that holds evidence of a lake that filled Jezero Crater billions of years ago. The six-wheeled scientist has to date collected a total…
NASA’s NEOWISE Celebrates 10 Years, Plans End of Mission
December 22, 2023
NASA’s NEOWISE has had a busy decade. Since its reactivated mission began on Dec. 13, 2013, the space telescope has discovered a once-in-a-lifetime comet, observed more than 3,000 near-Earth objects, bolstered international planetary defense strategies, and supported another NASA mission’s rendezvous with a distant asteroid. And that’s just a partial list of accomplishments.
But all good…
Scientists have known that the giant plume of ice grains and water vapor spewing from Saturn’s moon Enceladus is rich with organic compounds, some of which are important for life as we know it. Now, scientists analyzing data from NASA’s Cassini mission are taking the…
NASA’s Tech Demo Streams First Video From Deep Space via Laser
December 22, 2023
NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications experiment beamed an ultra-high definition streaming video on Dec. 11 from a record-setting 19 million miles away (31 million kilometers, or about 80 times the Earth-Moon distance). The milestone is part of a NASA technology…
As the Arctic Warms, Its Waters Are Emitting Carbon
December 22, 2023
When it comes to influencing climate change, the world’s smallest ocean punches above its weight. It’s been estimated that the cold waters of the Arctic absorb as much as 180 million metric tons of carbon per year – more than three times what New York City emits annually – making it one of Earth’s critical carbon sinks. But recent findings show that thawing permafrost and carbon-rich…
