How pioneering pilot Jackie Cochran helped and hurt the Women in Space Program
Before Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space, Jackie Cochran funded the Women in Space Program. The pioneering pilot, who became the first woman to break the sound barrier and played a major role in efforts during World War II, never realized her dream of venturing into space.
Nvidia’s RTX shows how Neil Armstrong would appear if Apollo 11 landed today
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, Nvidia is using the real-time ray tracing capabilities of its RTX graphics to show what the iconic moon images from 1969 would look like if they had been captured today. Nvidia applied the properties of light to remaster the photos.
Life after launch: Inside the massive effort to preserve NASA’s space artifacts
The Apollo 11 mission put a man on the moon, but NASA didn’t necessarily preserve every step of the process. Researchers are trying to rescue the history on Earth and on the moon.
Dark side of the moon: Why lunar landing conspiracies flourish online
Half a century after humans first walked on the moon, there are still people who doubt it happened. Although the internet has connected people around the world to each other and the collective knowledge of humanity, conspiracy theories are not just persisting but thriving on social media.
Today’s Google Doodle celebrates the 50th anniversary of the moon landing
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11’s lunar landing, Google has created an interactive Google Doodle that takes users to the moon. The Google Doodle, made in partnership with NASA, features a short illustrated video narrated by Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins.
NASA thinks 3D-printing spacecraft parts in orbit will help Moon to Mars mission
NASA awarded a $73.7 million contract to Made in Space to demonstrate how a small spacecraft named Archinaut One will manufacture and assemble parts while in low-Earth orbit. NASA believes that the technology will change future space exploration, including its Moon to Mars initiative.
Meet NASA’s climbing robots, able to move through the slipperiest environments
When it comes to exploring far off planets, robots need to be able to tackle all sorts of environmental challenges. NASA has been working on a series of climbing robots to take on different tasks in inhospitable environments, like LEMUR which can climb rock walls using fishhooks in its fingers.
Digital Trends Live: Google Home is listening, Samsung Note 10 images, and more
On this episode of Digital Trends Live, we discuss the biggest trending stories in tech, including reports of Google Home recording 24/7, Samsung Note 10 Plus images leak, getting rock samples from an asteroid, NASA discovers the 4,000th exoplanet, a four-legged dog robot, and more.
NASA video celebrates the discovery of the 4,000th exoplanet
Exoplanets are celestial bodies outside of our solar system, with some potentially able to sustain life. A new NASA video celebrates the discovery of 4,000 exoplanets by powerful space telescopes since 1992. The now-retired Kepler telescope found most of them, but the new TESS satellite is expected to find many more.
SpaceX wins contract to launch NASA’s new X-Ray observatory in 2021
NASA has announced it will be contracting SpaceX to launch its newest X-Ray observatory into space. This is the sixth contract the company has won through NASA's Lunch Service Program, which oversees the launch of rockets carrying satellites for scientific missions by contracting with commercial companies.
Installation of SuperCam Mast Unit on Mars 2020 rover is a towering success
The Mars 2020 rover reached another milestone this week, when technicians installed its mast, the SuperCam Mast Unit. The rover already has its wheels and a robotic arm, and the next step was to add the mast. The rover's camera, laser, and spectrometers installed as part of the mast unit.
Digital Trends Live: Tesla sales records, fixing the Galaxy Fold, and more
On this episode of Digital Trends Live, we discuss the biggest tech stories of the day, including Tesla’s sales records, Samsung (reportedly) fixes the Galaxy Fold, smartglasses keep things in focus, NASA’s new asteroid mission, a thought-controlled robotic hand, and more.
Here’s how you can watch Tuesday’s total solar eclipse over South America
By all accounts, the 2017 total solar eclipse was spectacular. There’s another one on Tuesday, but this time it's not passing over the U.S.. Thankfully, NASA has stepped in to offer a live-stream of the celestial event so you can still enjoy it -- and from the comfort of your own armchair, too.
Watch NASA test the Orion spacecraft’s emergency escape system live
NASA will test the emergency escape system for Orion, the next-generation spacecraft which will hopefully carry humans to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. You can watch the Ascent Abort-2 flight test live from Florida starting a 4 a.m. PT Tuesday morning.
Images of the Whirlpool galaxy show the value of infrared light observations
Have you ever wondered why sometimes telescopes capture light in the visible spectrum, and other times in infrared? NASA has released images of the Whirlpool galaxy, located in the constellation Canes Venatici, which demonstrate the value of collecting data at different wavelengths.
Armed and ready: Mars 2020 rover is fitted with its robotic arm
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory continues to make progress on preparing the Mars 2020 rover for its upcoming mission. Recently the rover had its six wheels fitted so it can traverse the Martian surface, and now it has had its 2.1 meter-long robotic arm installed as well.
Methane mystery: Curiosity detects highest-ever levels of methane on Mars
The strange puzzle of methane on Mars continues. Curiosity has detected the highest yet levels of methane at 21 parts per billion units by volume using its Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) spectrometer. This suggests that transient plumes of methane appear in addition to seasonal changes in levels of gas.
Digital Trends Live: Jony Ive leaves Apple, Galaxy Note 10+ images, and more
On this episode of Digital Trends Live, we discuss the biggest trending stories in tech, including Jony Ive leaving Apple, preparing for Amazon Prime Day, new images of the Galaxy Note 10+, Apple Music surpasses 60 million subs, NASA drone heading to one of Saturn’s moons, and more.
NASA’s eight-rotor Dragonfly drone is heading to Saturn’s largest moon
NASA is sending a drone to Titan, Saturn's largest moon, in an ambitious mission that could unlock the mystery of how life began on Earth. Launching in 2026, the dual-quadcopter will reach Titan eight years later, whereupon it’ll spend several years gathering data from locations of interest.
Marsy McMarsface? NASA gives students the chance to name its next Mars rover
Could there be a bigger brag than the fact that you named the next Mars rover? That’s exactly what NASA is promising K-12 students in the U.S. by launching a new contest that will allow some lucky kid to be the one to name one of humanity’s greatest technological achievements to date.
Digital Trends Live: iOS 13 beta, SpaceX loses a booster, solar cars, and more
On this episode of Digital Trends Live, hosts Greg Nibler and Adrien Warner discuss the trending stories in tech, including the release of iOS 13 beta, SpaceX launches Falcon Heavy but loses booster, Chevy’s in-car pizza-ordering app, NASA’s atomic clock, solar panel covered cars, and more.
The U.K.’s biggest (and only) asteroid mining company has designs on our skies
The Asteroid Mining Corporation, the U.K.'s only company dedicated to the dream of mining resources from asteroids in space, plans to launch a prospecting satellite in 2021. Is its founder going to be among the first people to strike gold in space, or is it a doomed venture?
NASA hacked: 500 MB of mission data stolen through a Raspberry Pi computer
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory was hacked last year by an attacker who used a Raspberry Pi computer to gain access to its systems. The hacker took advantage of the network's weaknesses to steal 500 MB of data from one of its major mission systems, while remaining undetected for 10 months.
Ready to roll: Mars 2020 rover fitted with wheels ahead of mission next year
The Mars 2020 rover is getting ready for its trip to the red planet next year. The latest step in readying the rover is installing its wheels and suspension system, which engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) have been doing this month.
NASA’s Mars 2020 rover will pave the way for manned missions to Mars
Survival on Mars will be a massive challenge for humanity. Due to its thin atmosphere, there are high variations in temperature, no breathable oxygen or water, high levels of radiation, and severe dust storms. But NASA is charging ahead with plans to eventually put humans on Mars all the same.
Mars lander simulator lets you take Opportunity rover for one last spin
It was a sad moment earlier this year when NASA officially called it quits on its 15-year-old, record-setting Mars rover Opportunity. Thankfully, a new update for a Mars rover simulator lets you take the deceased Opportunity for one more ride around the Martian landscape.
James Webb telescope undergoes vacuum testing, finally moving toward launch
The long-delayed James Webb telescope is moving toward completion. The telescope passed a round of testing ahead of its planned launch in 2021. The spacecraft which will launch the telescope into space went through vacuum testing, in which the craft is exposed to a simulation of the space environment.
This beautiful map of the sky traces key sources of X-rays as seen from the ISS
NASA has released a beautiful image showing the mapping data gathered by the Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer instrument aboard the ISS since the instrument was launched in June 2017. It traces the X-ray sources which NICER captures during its night time passes.
How to move a mole: NASA scientists design rescue operation for Mars lander
NASA's InSight lander is facing challenges. Earlier this year it deployed its drilling instrument, the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package, but a part of the instrument called the mole got stuck while drilling several months ago. Now scientists have a plan to save the mole.
NASA’s Mars Helicopter is ready to take to the red skies
NASA's Mars Helicopter passed its latest barrage of tests and is almost ready for its trip to the Red Planet, where it will travel alongside the Mars 2020 rover when the mission launches next year. The tests included simulating the cold, thin Martian atmosphere and testing the delivery system.
If you want to visit the ISS, you’d better start saving. And working out, too
The International Space Station (ISS) will soon begin accepting space tourists. But not just anyone will be allowed on board -- there will be a strict set of training requirements for potential astronauts, NASA told Digital Trends.
Spitzer captures childhood, middle age, and maturity of stars in one image
NASA's Spitzer telescope has captured a stunning images of a pair of nebulas containing the star clusters Cepheus B and Cepheus C. The image includes a dense region of dust and gas which acts as a stellar nursery, a nebula which is shaped by winds of maturing stars, and fully mature star clusters.
NASA nabs $125 million in funding to develop nuclear rocket propulsion
NASA has been awarded a sum of $125 million to develop nuclear thermal propulsion systems for its future spacecraft. The award to develop the technology was given as part of a total $22.3 billion of funding for NASA as approved by the House Appropriations Committee this month.
NASA pushes ahead with Moon 2024 mission despite funding uncertainties
The ambitious, even perhaps overly ambitious, plan for NASA to send astronauts back to the moon by 2024 is underway, with new developments coming this week. But the project remains troubled due to uncertainty about how much funding will actually be available