Successful deep space maneuver for NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft
New tracking data confirms that NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft aced its first Deep Space Maneuver (DSM-1) on Dec. 28, 2016. The engine burn sets up the spacecraft for an Earth gravity assist this fall as...
View ArticleMicro spacecraft investigates cometary water mystery
In September 2015, a team of astronomers from the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, University of Michigan, Kyoto Sangyo University, Rikkyo University and the University of Tokyo successfully...
View ArticleWhy it's time for Australia to launch its own space agency
Any nation that hopes to have a space program needs to be able to keep an eye on its orbiting assets at all times. This means that Australia has become a key link in the global chain of ground-based...
View ArticleLasers could give space research its 'broadband' moment
Thought your Internet speeds were slow? Try being a space scientist for a day.
View ArticleNASA selects proposals for first-ever space technology research institutes
NASA has selected proposals for the creation of two multi-disciplinary, university-led research institutes that will focus on the development of technologies critical to extending human presence deeper...
View ArticleTrump's budget would cut NASA asteroid mission, earth science
Under US President Donald Trump's proposed budget, NASA's funding would stay largely intact but the space agency would abandon plans to lasso an asteroid, along with four Earth and climate missions.
View ArticleNASA selects CubeSat, SmallSat mission concept studies
NASA has selected ten studies under the Planetary Science Deep Space SmallSat Studies (PSDS3) program, to develop mission concepts using small satellites to investigate Venus, Earth's moon, asteroids,...
View ArticleNASA test fires new engine controlling 'brain' for first SLS megarocket mission
Engineers carried out a critical hot fire engine test firing with the first new engine controlling 'brain' that will command the shuttle-era liquid fueled engines powering the inaugural mission of...
View ArticleStudy examines effects of spaceflight on immune system
Getting sick isn't fun for anyone, but it could be especially taxing for crew members aboard the International Space Station. Protecting crew health is important as NASA prepares for long duration,...
View ArticleNap time for New Horizons: Spacecraft enters hibernation
NASA's New Horizons spacecraft has eased into a long summer's nap, entering a hibernation phase on April 7 that will last until early September.
View ArticleImage: Listening for Cassini
ESA's sensitive tracking antennas at New Norcia, Western Australia, and Malargüe, Argentina (seen here in 2012), are being called in to help gather crucial science data during Cassini's last months in...
View ArticleMouse sperm survives in space, but could human babies?
Freeze-dried mouse sperm that spent nine months in space has been used to produce healthy rodent offspring back on Earth, Japanese researchers said this week.
View ArticleNeutron stars could be our GPS for deep space travel
NASA's Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer, or NICER, is an X-ray telescope launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in early June 2017. Installed on the International Space Station, by mid-July it...
View ArticleNASA FDL developing new approaches to asteroid, comet and solar threats using AI
What do astrophysicist Steven Hawking, Queen guitarist Brian May and the country of Luxembourg have in common? They're all key figures in Asteroid Day - a UN sanctioned day of education to raise...
View ArticleLockheed Martin to build full-scale prototype of NASA cislunar habitat
Refurbishing a shuttle-era cargo container used to transfer cargo to the International Space Station, Lockheed Martin is prototyping a deep space habitat for NASA at Kennedy Space Center. This...
View ArticleTwo Voyagers taught us how to listen to space
As NASA's twin Voyager spacecraft were changing our understanding of the solar system, they also spurred a leap in spacecraft communications.
View ArticleFrom the edge of the solar system, Voyager probes are still talking to...
This month marks 40 years since NASA launched the two Voyager space probes on their mission to explore the outer planets of our solar system, and Australia has been helping the US space agency keep...
View ArticleHibernation over, New Horizons continues its Kuiper Belt cruise
A long summer break ended for NASA's New Horizons on Sept. 11, as the spacecraft "woke" itself on schedule from a five-month hibernation period.
View ArticleImage: Orion parachutes measure up in high pressure test
Orion's three main orange and white parachutes help a representative model of the spacecraft descend through sky above Arizona, where NASA engineers tested the parachute system on Sept. 13, 2017, at...
View ArticleReturning humanity to the Moon
In the first act of lunar exploration, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were major characters. In setting its sights on the moon, ESA hopes to bring many more actors to this off-world stage.
View ArticleNASA's asteroid chaser swings by Earth on way to space rock
NASA's asteroid-chasing spacecraft swung by Earth on Friday on its way to a space rock.
View ArticleRobot spelunkers go for a dip
NASA has changed the perspective of science, building satellites to study Earth's surface. Deep below that surface, where it's harder for satellites to see, is another story—but robotic technology...
View ArticleNASA tests thruster bound for metal world
As NASA looks to explore deeper into our solar system, one of the key areas of interest is studying worlds that can help researchers better understand our solar system and the universe around us. One...
View ArticleNew antenna in Alaska expands spacecraft communications capabilities
NASA's newest communications antenna became operational today following a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Alaska Satellite Facility in Fairbanks. The antenna will increase the agency's communications...
View ArticleLying in bed for the sake of science
Twelve volunteers will arrive this week at the German Space Agency's (DLR) Institute of Aerospace Medicine's :envihab facility to lie in bed for a month in the name of science. NASA's Human Research...
View ArticleAustralia's getting a space agency—now what?
With an Australian space agency on everyone's mind, we chatted to the European Space Agency's Director General about how we got here, what's next and why space agencies matter.
View ArticleImage: Studying the genetics of organisms in space
At NASA's Kennedy Space Center, organisms in a Petri plate are exposed to blue excitation lighting in a Spectrum prototype unit. Scientists and engineers working on the Spectrum project are developing...
View ArticleSpaceX's Elon Musk to launch his own car into deep space
SpaceX confirmed Wednesday its CEO Elon Musk plans to blast his cherry red electric car off toward the Red Planet when the company's Falcon Heavy rocket launches for the first time next month.
View ArticleReport: NASA should develop US strategy for international space station...
Although NASA has made progress toward the overall space exploration science priorities recommended in a 2011 decadal survey by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, the space...
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