Opportunity’s final image is a haunting panorama of the Martian surface
The Opportunity mission to Mars may be no more, but the rover's legacy lives on. Now NASA has released the final image captured by Opportunity, and it's a stunning panorama of the Martian surface showing the rover's tracks, the floor of the Perseverance Valley, and the Endeavour crater.
NASA shares an update about its next generation launch system, SLS
NASA is working on a next-generation launch system called Space Launch System, or SLS, hoping to create a transport system to take astronauts of the future to the Moon and beyond. Now NASA has announced its progress towards the first mission for the new system, Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1) in 2020.
Many pioneers in computing were women of color. Here are 5 you should recognize
Women of color have been at the forefront of a number of groundbreaking computing endeavors. The history of computing is filled with the stories of their innovative contributions. In the spirit of Women’s History Month, we highlight the achievements of five of these extraordinary women.
NASA’s historic first all-female spacewalk outside the ISS slated for March 29
NASA is about to make history on March 29 with the first all-female spacewalk outside the International Space Station. Initially planned for last fall, this walk was delayed and scheduled for Women's History Month, which celebrates the contributions of women both in history and modern society.
It can be either death or glory when two galaxies collide
Images collected from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope are shedding light on the conditions that arise when two galaxies collide. Sometimes collisions result in one or both of the galaxies being destroyed, while other collisions result in a peaceful merging of the two. New data suggests why this might be.
SpaceX teams with NASA on its first crewed spacecraft trip to the ISS
In a joint project between NASA and SpaceX, the Crew Dragon spacecraft was successfully launched before dawn today. The craft will be traveling to the International Space Station (ISS) with supplies for the ISS crew and a dummy passenger to test the safety of eventually ferrying real passengers.
NASA lab re-creates the setting for the potential origin of life
New research from NASA has recreated the conditions thought to be where life originated on Earth - deep on the ocean floor 4 billion years ago. The study can provide insight not only into the development of life here, but also where else in the universe life could be found.
New Horizons captures highest-resolution image yet of Ultima Thule
NASA researchers have managed to capture the highest resolution image yet of Ultima Thule, the oldest object ever explored by spacecraft. The new image was taken when the spacecraft was 4,109 miles (6,628 kilometers) from Ultima Thule and a staggering 4.1 billion miles from Earth.
Citizen scientist finds old white dwarf with dust rings, puzzling astronomers
A citizen scientist, astronomy enthusiast Melina Thévenot, working with NASA's Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 project has made a remarkable discovery: the oldest known white dwarf star with multiple dust rings. This discovery calls into question conventional wisdom about how white dwarfs form.
NASA’s Juno craft captures beautiful swirling cloud formations on Jupiter
NASA's Juno spacecraft has captured a gorgeous image of Jupiter during its 18th flyby of the planet. It shows dramatic circling cloud formations which swirl around a jet stream known as Jet N6. The image was created by citizen scientist Kevin M. Gill who used data from the craft's JunoCam imager.
Think it’s cold here? Check out the weather report on Mars
Good news if you're planning a trip to Mars -- you can check a daily weather report on the planet. NASA's Insight lander uses a set of sensors called the Auxiliary Payload Subsystem to monitor temperature, wind, and air pressure and sends this information back to Earth to share on NASA's website.
Curiosity suffered a boot issue but is now back up and roving
The NASA team has been dealing with a small hiccup in the operations of the Curiosity rover since it went into safe mode last week. Now the problem has been fixed and the rover has booted up over 30 times without any further issues, so the rover can get back underway on its mission to explore Mars.
Delivery drones: NASA to test advanced traffic control system for cities
NASA is organizing demonstrations of its advanced drone traffic management system designed for urban settings. The final phase of testing could be a big step forward for drone delivery services with companies such as Amazon keen to incorporate the technology into their shipping operations.
NASA celebrates Earth’s incredible natural beauty with free photo book
NASA has published a new book featuring stunning imagery captured by its satellites. A hardback version is available for $53, but it can be downloaded to ebook readers for free, and enjoyed online. NASA hopes the book will "inspire everyone to explore, understand, and appreciate the planet we call home."
NASA’s space observatory will map the sky with unprecedented detail
NASA is preparing to launch a cutting-edge space observatory to create the most detailed map ever produced of the sky. Doing so will involve surveying hundreds of millions of galaxies -- some of which are so far away that their light takes 10 billion years to reach Earth.
Chandra X-ray telescope uncovers evidence of the universe’s missing matter
Where is all of the matter in the universe? Around a third of the regular matter in the universe is missing. Astronomers believed the missing matter could have formed into huge strands of hot gas, and now NASA's Chandra telescope has uncovered evidence of this gas in the vicinity of a quasar.
Probes exploring Earth’s hazardous radiation belts enter final phase of life
A pair of small robotic spacecraft called the Van Allen probes have been exploring the radiation belts around Earth. Now the probes are moving into the final phase of their exploration, coming closer to Earth to gather more data and to burn up safely in the atmosphere with creating space debris.
NASA to launch SPHEREx mission to investigate the origins of our universe
NASA is launching an ambitious mission to map the entire sky in order to understand the origins of the universe. The Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx) mission will launch in 2023 and is planned to last for two years.
White spots on Ceres are evidence of ancient ice volcanoes erupting
Scientists are pouring over data collected by NASA's Dawn mission to learn about the dwarf planet Ceres and the bright white spots observed at the bottom of impact craters. They believe that these spots are evidence of ice volcanoes which erupted millions of years ago, pushing salt water to the surface.
InSight’s heat probe will dig 16 feet beneath the surface of Mars
Having placed its seismometer onto the Martian surface and covered it with a heat shield, NASA's InSight mission has deployed its second instrument. New images from the lander have confirmed that InSight succeeded in setting the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package instrument onto the surface.
NASA’s MAVEN orbiter has a new job as a communication relay for Mars 2020
NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission has been orbiting Mars and collecting readings from the planet's atmosphere for four years. But now the MAVEN orbiter is taking on a new job as a data relay satellite for the Mars 2020 mission that launches next year.
After a record-setting 15 years, NASA ends Opportunity rover’s tour of Mars
NASA has officially called it quits on its record-setting Mars rover Opportunity, eight months after last hearing from the lander. The space agency had been attempting to make contact with the rover since communications went dark following an intense dust storm in 2018.
After Kepler kicks the bucket, NASA releases its final image
The final images from the Kepler Space Telescope have arrived. After nearly a decade of operation, NASA’s groundbreaking telescope ran out of fuel last year and was placed into permanent sleep mode on October 30. But days earlier, it captured one last image — a full view of the sky.
Kepler planet-hunting telescope goes dark after sending last light image
After a ten year career of discovering exoplanets and gathering the most detailed ever view of a dying star, NASA's Kepler spacecraft has sent its final image back to Earth. This "last light" image draws its remarkable journey to a close and shows both the TRAPPIST-1 system and the GJ 9827 system.
Ultima Thule’s peculiar shape is a puzzle for scientists
Ultima Thule, the farthest object ever explored, has yet more mysteries to reveal. Forget the debates about whether it is looks most like a snowman or more like Star Wars' BB-8 -- NASA scientists have revealed that it is even more oddly shaped than previously thought, with two uneven non-spherical lobes.
NASA makes last ditch attempt to revive dormant Mars rover Opportunity
The Opportunity rover is solar-powered, and last year a dust storm blocked the sun's rays from recharging its batteries. The rover has not responded to contact from Earth over the last seven months, leading the NASA team to believe that it may no longer be able to continue its mission.
Robots can now carry out plutonium production process for space exploration
Plutonium-238 is a crucial component in deep space exploration to the outer reaches of our solar system. The only problem? We've been running low on our stockpiles. Fortunately, researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have found a way to automate part of the production process.
NASA probe visits Ultima Thule, the farthest object humanity has ever reached
NASA's New Horizons probe is reached the farthest region of our solar system on New Year's Day 2019, when it buzzed a distant object known as Ultima Thule located in the Kuiper Belt. It is the most distant object ever explored by a spacecraft, located four billion miles from Earth.
These are the 10 most important tech news stories of 2018
From Facebook scandals to unprecedented space travel, 2018 has been a year of important, turbulent, exciting, worrying, and delightful tech news. In light of that, we count the 10 tech stories that will be influencing the future and impacting the way we use and think about technology.
‘Hippo-shaped’ asteroid to fly close to Earth this Christmas
This Christmas, an unusual visitor will be swinging through our Solar System: an asteroid shaped like a hippo. The 2003 SD220 asteroid will pass close to Earth this weekend, coming as close as 1.8 million miles from our planet. This events marks the asteroid's closest approach in more than 400 years.
Gorgeous images show storms and cloud formations in the atmosphere of Jupiter
NASA's Juno mission arrived at Jupiter in 2016. Since then, the solar-powered spacecraft has been orbiting Jupiter and collecting data. Now, NASA has shared an update on the progress of the mission as it reaches its halfway point, releasing stunning images of the planet as seen from orbit.
Bright ‘hyperactive’ comet should be visible in the sky this weekend
NASA has announced that an unusual green comet, 46P/Wirtanen, will be visible in the night sky this month as it makes its closest approach to Earth in 20 years. It is one of the closet comet flybys of the last 70 years, and it may be possible to see the comet even without a telescope.
Say cheese: InSight lander posts a selfie from the surface of Mars
NASA's InSight mission to Mars has commemorated its arrival by posting a selfie. The selfie is a composite of 11 different images which were taken by one of its instruments, the Instrument Deployment Camera. The individual images were stitched together to show the lander in its full glory.
Parker Solar Probe captures first image from within the atmosphere of the sun
NASA has shared the first image from inside the atmosphere of the sun taken by the Parker Solar Probe. The probe made the closest ever approach to a star, gathering data which scientists have been interpreting and released this week. The probe reached a record-breaking speed of 213,200 miles per hour.