NASAs

NASA’s Artemis 1 moon mission rocket faces new delays

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NASA’s first Artemis moon mission will have to wait to launch.  The rollout for the agency’s Artemis 1 mission, the first flight of its Artemis program that will ultimately return humans to the moon, has been pushed back. NASA announced Wednesday (Feb. 2) that the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) megarocket and Orion capsule won’t … Read more

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope turns on cameras to look at first star target

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Spacecraft controllers started powering up the four cutting-edge instruments on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope as they prepare for the observatory’s first glimpses of a target star. That star, called HD 84406, is located 241 light-years from Earth and part of the constellation Ursa Major, the Great Bear. The images will not be used for … Read more

How NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope will get ready for its first cosmic observations

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With NASA’s newest space observatory exactly on schedule in its commissioning phase, the science team outlined their plan to make the most of this $10 billion opportunity. The James Webb Space Telescope arrived days ago at its destination at the Earth-sun Lagrange Point 2 (L2), which is about 930,000 miles (1.5 million kilometers) away from our planet.  … Read more

How NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope project chief used Jimmy Buffett quotes to thank mission team

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Turns out that NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope project manager is a self-described “parrot head.” The term is a playful reference to fans of calypso singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett, who project manager Bill Ochs recently quoted when congratulating the Webb Space Telescope team. (For his part, Buffett was said to once call his fans “parrot heads” … Read more

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has reached its final destination. Let’s celebrate the team that got it there (op-ed)

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Dr. Thomas Zurbuchen is associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. He contributed this article to Space.com’s Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. There is a new speck of light in the sky right now, best observable from Earth around midnight. This blurry speck — dim as it may be, small as it may be — represents … Read more

NASA’s Lucy asteroid spacecraft still has a wonky solar array as it flies through space

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Three months after launch, a new NASA asteroid spacecraft is still getting settled into its life beyond Earth. NASA’s Lucy mission launched Oct. 16 with a mission to explore the Trojan asteroids, which orbit the sun ahead of and behind Jupiter. No spacecraft has ever visited the Trojan asteroids, which scientists believe are “fossils” from … Read more

NASA’s ‘Nuclear Option’ May Be Crucial for Getting Humans to Mars

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The pathway to humans on Mars lies through the atom, split. Far from Earth, whether in the void or on another world, power is life. A steady, strong flow of electricity is as crucial for operating computers and engines as it is for assuring access to corporeal necessities such as light and heat, breathable air … Read more

55 years after Apollo 1 fire, NASA’s lessons live on as Orion aims for the moon

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NASA’s last moonbound program for astronauts lifted off under the shadow of a fatal incident on the Apollo 1 spacecraft, 55 years ago today (Jan. 27). Apollo 1 was expected to fly to Earth orbit later in 1967 with astronauts Gus Grissom, Roger Chaffee and Ed White on board. During a test on the launch … Read more

NASA’s Artemis 1 moon mission explained in photos

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(Image credit: NASA via collectSPACE.com) While Artemis 1 will be uncrewed, it plans to carry several mannequin-type devices to test out how the lunar environment will affect humans.  One example is “Commander Moonikin Campos,” named after Apollo 13 engineer Arturo Campos in a NASA contest. Campos will fly in the commander’s seat and wear an … Read more