Space News & Blog Articles

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Artemis 1: 10 strange things that are flying on epic NASA moon mission

From yeast cells to a Snoopy plush doll to Amazon Alexa tech, here are some of the strangest things on board the Artemis 1 mission.

The Leonid meteor shower peaks tonight (Nov. 17)

The Leonid meteor shower, created when the Earth passes through dust left behind by the Comet Tempel-Tuttle, peaks on Thurs to Fri, Nov. 17 to Nov. 18.

A new look for the ESA astronaut patch

In October 2022, an updated ESA astronaut patch celebrated the joining of ESA’s newest Associate Member, Slovakia. The new patch adds the Slovakian flag to a design that has evolved over the decades to represent ESA’s growing space family.

Einstein Industries Ventures joins ESA Investor Network

ESA’s Investor Network continues to grow, with Einstein Industries Ventures as its latest member via the signature of a collaboration agreement.

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Europe is Building a Communications Network Around the Moon

GPS and the world’s other global positioning systems all have one very limiting disadvantage: they’re global to only one world. There is no equivalent to the precise geolocation features these systems offer for any other body in our solar system. Recently, there has been an increased focus on Lunar missions, but no way for anything on the Lunar surface to know precisely where it is. Enter the European Space Agency and their Moonlight initiative, which was showcased in a recent video on their YouTube channel.

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NASA’s MAVEN Witnessed Auroras as Multiple Solar Storms Crashed into Mars

After orbiting Mars for eight long years, NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft observed an extraordinary duo of auroras around the Red Planet that resulted from solar storms emanating from the Sun only a few days earlier on August 27. This observation is extraordinary since Mars lacks a global magnetic field so the solar flares must have been very powerful for MAVEN to detect them.

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Artemis 1 Sends Back Snapshots of Earth as It Speeds Toward the Moon

As it heads for the moon, NASA’s Orion space capsule is sending back snapshots of Earth that evoke the “blue marble” pictures taken by Apollo astronauts five decades earlier.

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NASA calls on “red crew” to fix leak near mostly fueled Artemis moon rocket

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson (left) meets with members of the “red crew” after they repaired a hydrogen leak at the Artemis 1 moon rocket’s launch pad. The red crew members, from left to right, were Billy Cairns, cryogenic engineering technician; Chad Garrett, safety engineer; and Trent Annis, cryogenic engineering technician. Credit: NASA/Sam Lott

NASA’s Space Launch System moon rocket relied on advanced guidance algorithms, powerful cryogenic engines, and millions of lines of software code to get it off the ground for the first time Wednesday. But “there are also times when you’ve just got to put a wrench on a nut,” NASA’s Artemis ground systems program manager said.

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NASA's Artemis 1 moon mission will carry science across the solar system

NASA's chief scientist said the Artemis 1 launch of Wednesday (Nov. 16) will swiftly change science across the solar system, with studies in radiation and sustainability also helping Earthlings.

Spot NASA's Artemis 1 Orion on its way to the moon in a free livestream tonight (Nov. 16)

NASA's Artemis 1 Orion spacecraft is headed to the moon and you have a chance to see the spacecraft in a telescope online tonight (Nov. 16).

Artemis 1 launch success makes NASA's SLS the most powerful rocket ever to fly

With Wednesday morning's (Nov. 16) Artemis 1 launch, NASA's Space Launch System became the most powerful rocket ever to fly a successful mission.

The Future of Mars Exploration Belongs to Helicopters

Even though there’s no firm date for a Mars sample return mission, the Perseverance rover is busy collecting rock samples and caching them for retrieval. We’ve known of the future Mars sample return mission for a while now, and as time goes on, we’re learning more details.

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Fiery James Webb Space Telescope image shows the early days of star formation

The James Webb Space Telescope has spotted a blazing cosmic hourglass filled with vibrant colors and hiding a fledgling star, or protostar, at its heart.

Mapping the Interiors of Meteorites to Learn how Earth got its Water

Earth is a strange world. A warm, rocky planet covered with oceans of liquid water. This strangeness is central to life on Earth, but it has been a longstanding puzzle for astronomers. Just why is our planet wet while other terrestrial worlds are dry? Where did all of Earth’s water come from?

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Greenland’s ice Loss is Worse Than We Thought

Climate change is the single greatest threat facing our planet today. Thanks to excess carbon emissions that have been growing steadily since the mid-20th century, average temperatures continue to rise worldwide. This leads to feedback mechanisms, such as rising sea levels, extreme weather, drought, wildfires, and glacial melting. This includes the Arctic Ice Pack, the East Antarctic glacier, and the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS), which are rapidly melting and increasing global sea levels.

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NASA triumphs in successful debut launch of huge SLS moon rocket

NASA’s Space Launch System moon rocket lifts off with 8.8 million pounds of thrust from two powerful solid rocket boosters and four core stage engines. Credit: Michael Cain / Spaceflight Now / Coldlife Photography

NASA’s huge Space Launch System moon rocket finally took off from Florida early Wednesday after a decade in development, sending an unpiloted Orion crew capsule toward lunar orbit on a 25-day test flight to lay a path for astronauts to return to the moon for the first time since 1972.

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James Webb Space Telescope tweaks observing plans to avoid micrometeoroids

After taking a few hits, NASA's newest space telescope will adjust its observation strategy to avoid its mirror being struck by tiny space rocks.

Artemis 1's Orion capsule sends Earth 1st image of home on the way to the moon

Artemis 1 has sent home its first stunning image from what will be a 25-day mission through deep space.

Spacesuited Snoopy doll floats in zero-g on moon-bound Artemis 1 mission

Snoopy, "the world-famous astronaut," has made it to space again. The white-spotted dog, who became "the first beagle on the moon" in the Peanuts comic strips, is now aboard NASA's Artemis 1 mission.

ABL Space Systems now targeting Thursday for 1st-ever launch after glitch

ABL Space Systems will attempt to reach orbit for the first time with its RS1 rocket on Thursday (Nov. 17). The three-hour launch window opens at 5 p.m. EST.

What Would Asteroid Mining do to the World's Economy?

About a decade ago, the prospect of “asteroid mining” saw a massive surge in interest. This was due largely to the rise of the commercial space sector and the belief that harvesting resources from space would soon become a reality. What had been the stuff of science fiction and futurist predictions was now being talked about seriously in the business sector, with many claiming that the future of resource exploitation and manufacturing lay in space. Since then, there’s been a bit of a cooling off as these hopes failed to materialize in the expected timeframe.

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