Space News & Blog Articles
European Researchers' Night 2022
Video: 00:02:37
On Friday 30 September, ESRIN, our establishment in Italy, welcomed members of the public on site as part of European Researchers' Night.
Joining research centres throughout Europe, European Researchers' Night, promoted each year by the European Commission, is targeted at people of all ages who want to know more about science, research, and space exploration.
Atlas 5 rocket rolls launch pad at Cape Canaveral with two SES comsats
EDITOR’S NOTE: Watch a replay of the Atlas 5 rocket’s rollout to the launch pad here.
Beware the Astronomy Habit
Why do you look up? Maybe there was something that initially drew you out to the stars...and maybe now it's a habit of the best kind.
Wanted: firms to connect and guide Moon missions
Are you ready to join ESA’s initiative to support European space companies to create a constellation of lunar satellites that connect and guide missions to the Moon?
Crew dress rehearsal, rocket test-firing complete at SpaceX launch pad
Russian cosmonaut Anna Kikina, NASA astronauts Josh Cassada and Nicole Mann, and Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata inside the crew access arm at pad 39A during a launch day dress rehearsal Sunday. Credit: SpaceX
SpaceX teams and the four crew members set for blastoff this week to the International Space Station completed dress rehearsals Sunday at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, familiarizing the astronauts with their launch day checklist and testing out the Falcon 9 rocket that will carry them into orbit.
The Milky Way is Surrounded by a Vast Graveyard of Dead Stars
Everything dies in the end, even the brightest of stars. In fact, the brightest stars are the ones that live the shortest lives. They consume all the hydrogen they have within a few million years, then explode as brilliant supernovae. Their core remains collapse into a neutron star or black hole. These small, dark objects litter our galaxy, like a cosmic graveyard.
The Bright Core of This Spiral Galaxy Reveals an Actively Feeding Supermassive Black Hole
Hubble Space Telescope observes a lot of galaxies. Some of them are wild-looking while others seem fairly placid. Recently, it looked at NGC 5495, which lies about 300 million light-years away from Earth. You wouldn’t know just by looking at it, but this galaxy has some pretty hot action happening in its core.
Rare diamonds suggest water lurks much deeper in Earth's interior than scientists thought
Clues about water in Earth's deep interior were recently extracted from rare diamonds.
See the moon appear half-lit during its closest first quarter phase tonight (Oct. 2)
Skywatchers can see the moon half illuminated by the sun at the start of October during the closest first quarter moon of 2022.
Missing element for life may be present in ocean of Saturn's moon Enceladus
The underground ocean of Saturn's moon Enceladus may contain significant amounts of phosphorus, which is vital for life as we know it.
SpaceX Crew-5 astronauts arrive at launch site for Oct. 5 liftoff
The crewmembers of SpaceX's Crew-5 astronaut mission for NASA made it to Kennedy Space Center in Florida Saturday (Oct. 1), a few days later than originally planned due to Hurricane Ian.
Look up! See the Orionid meteor shower from Sunday (Oct. 2)
On its yearly journey around the sun Earth is about to pass through a field of debris left by Comet Halley. This will be visible as bright fireballs above Earth peaking in mid-October known as the Orionids.
Earthlike Worlds With Oceans and Continents Could be Orbiting red Dwarfs, Detectable by James Webb
“Go then, there are other worlds than these.” Or so Stephen King said in his famous Dark Tower series. As of yet, none of those worlds are known to be like Earth. But, according to some new simulations by researchers at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ), finding a genuinely Earth-like world might be in the cards by the decade’s end.
Construction Begins on the World’s Largest Steerable Radio Telescope
Radio astronomy has been in flux lately. With the permanent loss of the Arecibo telescope in Puerto Rico, a new global power has taken center stage in humanity’s search for radio signals – China. Recently the Chinese announced the start of work on a new milestone telescope, which will eventually make it the biggest moveable one in the world.
How Does NASA Plan to Keep Samples From Mars Safe From Contamination (and Contaminating) Earth?
NASA’s Mars Sample Return Mission is inching closer and closer. The overall mission architecture just hit a new milestone when Perseverance collected the first sample that will be sent back. But what happens once that sample actually gets here? NASA and its partner, ESA, are still working on that, but recently they released a fact sheet that covers what will happen during the first stage of that process – returning to the ground.
NASA's Dragonfly Helicopter Will be Exploring This Region of Titan
In June 2027, NASA will launch the long-awaited Dragonfly mission toward Saturn’s largest moon, Titan. By 2034, the 450 kg (990-lbs) nuclear-powered quadcopter will touch down at its target landing site (the Selk crater region) and begin searching Titan’s surface and atmosphere to learn more about this curious satellite. In particular, the mission will investigate the moon’s prebiotic chemistry, active methane cycle, and organic environment. These goals underpin Dragonfly’s main objective, which is to search for possible signs of life (aka. “biosignatures”) on Titan.
NASA rules out launch of Artemis 1 moon rocket before mid-November
NASA’s Space Launch System moon rocket rolls into High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building on Sept. 27 to take shelter from Hurricane Ian. Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky
NASA said Friday that officials have ruled out launching the agency’s first giant Space Launch System moon rocket and Orion spacecraft before mid-November, following the rocket’s return to the hangar at Kennedy Space Center for safekeeping from Hurricane Ian.
Preps resume for SpaceX crew launch after Hurricane Ian
From left to right: Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, NASA astronaut Josh Cassada, NASA commander Nicole Mann, and Russian cosmonaut Anna Kikina arrive at Kennedy Space Center on Oct. 1 to prepare for launch to the International Space Station. Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky
The next multinational crew scheduled to ride a SpaceX rocket and capsule to the International Space Station next week arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Saturday as ground teams rolled their Falcon 9 booster and Dragon Endurance spacecraft to the launch pad, resuming work suspended earlier in the week as Hurricane Ian moved across Florida.
Firefly reaches orbit in successful demonstration launch from California
Four kerosene-fueled Reaver engines power Firefly’s Alpha rocket off the launch pad in California on Oct. 1. Credit: Brian Sandoval / Spaceflight Now
Firefly Aerospace said its privately-developed Alpha small satellite launcher achieved “100% mission success” on a test flight from California early Saturday, adding another provider to the growing roster of commercial companies that have successfully fired a rocket into orbit.
Live coverage: Crew-5 astronauts arrive at Kennedy Space Center for launch preps
Live coverage of preparations for the launch of SpaceX’s Crew-5 mission carrying NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, and Russian cosmonaut Anna Kikina on a flight to the International Space Station. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter.
