Week in images: 22-26 August 2022
Space News & Blog Articles
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Sunrise for the Moon
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The Orion spacecraft with integrated European Service Module sit atop the Space Launch System, imaged at sunrise at historic Launchpad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA.
NASA's asteroid-deflecting test mission is just 1 month away from impact
A robotic spacecraft will crash into the asteroid Dimorphos in an attempt to alter its trajectory.
NASA's Artemis 1 moon rocket spotted from space (satellite photos)
A satellite has given us stunning bird's-eye views of NASA's towering Artemis 1 moon rocket, just a few days before the huge vehicle leaves Earth.
VP Kamala Harris to attend Artemis 1 moon launch (exclusive)
The chair of the National Space Council will be on site for the scheduled Artemis 1 liftoff to the moon Aug. 29 and will deliver a speech at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
Alexa, what is Artemis 1? Epic NASA mission carrying voice assistant tech to the moon
Riding aboard the Orion spacecraft during the Artemis 1 mission will be an Alexa-enabled assistant named Callisto designed to change how astronauts interact with their spacecraft and ground crews.
'Star factory' at Milky Way's heart seen for the first time
The central region of the Milky Way is densely packed with stars and difficult to observe. New findings reveal how stars in this area formed and then drifted apart as star birth traveled outwards.
Artemis 1: 10 wild facts about the NASA mission to the moon
The Artemis 1 mission will use mannequins, cubesats and even Amazon's Alexa to complete a deep space journey lasting more than a month, testing all systems to their limits.
World clock: What is it and how does it work?
The world's timekeepers balance ultra-precise atomic clocks with the irregular spin of our planet to come up with the world clock.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, Aug. 26 – Sept. 3
Scorpius lies down after dark and the Moon walks across it. Jupiter shines high in the southeast by midnight just about as big and bright as it can ever get. Saturn reaches a good observing height an hour or two earlier.
ESA astronaut rad-detectors on Artemis
Image: ESA astronaut rad-detectors on Artemis
SpaceX Starlink satellites to beam service straight to smartphones
SpaceX's Starlink satellite network will start beaming service straight to smartphones next year, if all goes according to plan.
NASA, Boeing target February for first crew flight on Starliner spacecraft
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft approaches the International Space Station for docking May 20 on the unpiloted Orbital Flight Test-2 mission. Credit: NASA
NASA and Boeing have penciled a launch date in February for the first piloted test flight of the Starliner commercial crew capsule, allowing time to implement fixes on the spacecraft after an unpiloted demo to the International Space Station earlier this year.
Orion crew module hatch closed for Artemis 1 test flight
NASA’s Orion spacecraft on top of the Space Launch System moon rocket. The crew access arm and white room connecting to the Orion spacecraft’s hatch are visible near the top of the picture. Credit: Stephen Clark / Spaceflight Now
The Orion crew module hatch was closed for flight Thursday morning after technicians at pad 39B completed final closeouts and outfitting inside the spacecraft before launch next week on the unpiloted Artemis 1 test flight around the moon.
Here is Where Astronauts Might Land on the Moon
In just four days, the inaugural mission of the Artemis Program will lift off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida! Dubbed Artemis I, this mission will see the Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft achieve flight together for the first time. The mission will last between 39 and 42 days and consist of the uncrewed Orion flying beyond the Moon, farther than any spaceship has ever traveled, and then looping back around the Moon to return home. This flight, and the crewed Artemis II that will follow, are essentially the dress rehearsal for the long-awaited return to the Moon.
Boeing Starliner's 1st astronaut flight for NASA delayed to February 2023
The Boeing Starliner team needs another five weeks or so to address issues that cropped up on a May test flight.
Carbon Monoxide is Plentiful in Nebulae, but Then Disappears When Planets Form. Now we Know Where it Goes!
Protoplanetary disks—those nurseries around young stars where planets form—are filled with gas and dust. In particular, many show a lot of carbon monoxide gas. It’s a handy “tracer” to estimate the mass of a cloud, its composition, and even its temperature. It’s also easy to observe. However, astronomers think there should be more of it than they’re observing in many disks. And that prompted a question: where’s the rest of it?
NASA astronauts buzz Artemis 1 SLS rocket in incredible jet flyby (photos)
NASA astronauts shared a series of images showing them performing a flyby of the Artemis 1 Space Launch System rocket as it sits on the launch pad.
See the old moon and Venus conjunction tonight
A close encounter, or conjunction, between August's waning crescent moon and Venus occurs tonight when the two objects share the same right ascension.
James Webb Space Telescope sniffs out carbon dioxide around an alien world
The James Webb Space Telescope has detected carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of an exoplanet, ushering in a new era of research of worlds outside our solar system.
