Artist’s concept of the DART spacecraft, with its LICIACube ride along spacecraft, approaching asteroids Didymos and Dimorphos. Credit: NASA
A NASA spacecraft is aiming to slam into a stadium-size asteroid at more than 14,000 mph Monday in a planetary defense experiment to test a technique that could be used in the future to divert threatening asteroids off a collision course with Earth.
One of the more famous features of Space Age 2.0 is the rise of the commercial space industry, also known as “NewSpace.” While the space agencies of the world plan to send astronauts back to the Moon (this time, to stay), crewed missions to Mars, and robotic missions to every corner of the Solar System, NewSpace companies are offering cost-effective launch services, sending commercial astronauts to space, and commercializing Low Earth Orbit (LEO). There’s also the prospect of space tourism, with companies like Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin, and SpaceX offering suborbital flights, trips to LEO, and beyond!
Way back in 1979, astronomers spotted two nearly identical quasars that seemed close to each other in the sky. These so-called “Twin Quasars” are actually separate images of the same object. Even more intriguing: the light paths that created each image traveled through different parts of the cluster. One path took a little longer than the other. That meant a flicker in one image of the quasar occurred 14 months later in the other. The reason? The cluster’s mass distribution formed a lens that distorted the light and drastically affected the two paths.
Photosynthesis is probably the most important chemical reaction for life on Earth. It is the process plants use to transform sunlight into energy it can use. Through it, plants can produce carbohydrates they can use (and we can eat when we harvest plants), generating oxygen as a by-product. Photosynthesis is why Earth’s atmosphere is about 20% oxygen. No photosynthesis, no life on Earth as we know it.
Veteran astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy of Arizona unveiled this spectacular photo of Jupiter this month on Sept. 17 after capturing his best view yet of the giant planet.
With a number of upcoming Star Wars TV shows heading your way soon, the Force will be with you. Always.
A new life awaits you in the off-world colonies, a chance to begin again in a golden land of opportunity and adventure.
NASA's DART spacecraft is closing in on its appointment with Dimorphos, but the energetic encounter is just the very speartip of global efforts to keep life on Earth safe from asteroid impacts.
NASA's DART mission, which will slam into an asteroid on Sept. 26, is not just a planetary defense exercise; it's also an opportunity to learn how binary asteroids form.
The iconic 20-sided Dungeons and Dragons die soared close to the 'Astral Plane' to advertise a new space campaign for the role-playing game.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated Sept. 25 with satellite sightings and radio signal detections.
The Delta IV Heavy lofted a satellite for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office from Vandenberg Space Force Base today (Sept. 24), the vehicle's last-ever liftoff from California.
This next week will mark a scientifically valuable achievement for NASA’s Juno mission, as the pioneering spacecraft is slated to fly within 358 kilometers (222 miles) of Jupiter’s icy moon Europa on September 29 at 5:36 a.m. EDT (2:36 a.m. PDT) as part of its extended mission to explore the Jupiter system. A flyby this close to Europa’s surface will allow Juno to acquire some of the highest-resolution images ever taken of the icy moon. For context, the last mission to explore Europa in depth was NASA’s Galileo spacecraft, which got within 351 kilometers (218 miles) of the surface on January 3, 2000.
James Webb is currently experiencing problems with its MIRI instrument. The problem is due to increased friction in one of MIRI’s mechanisms in the Medium-Resolution Spectroscopy (MRS) mode. The observatory is otherwise healthy, but the team decided to stop observations using MRS mode until they find a solution.
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The Starlink 4-35 mission will launch SpaceX’s next batch of 54 Starlink broadband satellites. Follow us on Twitter.
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION
Until 1959, humans had only seen one side of the Moon. The Moon is tidally locked with Earth, and so we can only see one side from the Earth’s surface. It took the soviet Luna 3 spacecraft to capture a blurry image for humans to get their first glimpse of the lunar far side. Because of this, many people imagine that the Moon has always been this way. But as a recent study shows, that isn’t quite true.
The growing strength of Tropical Storm Ian has forced NASA to call off its Artemis 1 moon rocket launch on Sept. 27 and prepare to leave the launch pad.
A Falcon 9 rocket topped with 52 Starlink spacecraft is scheduled to launch from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Saturday at 7:32 p.m. EDT (2332 GMT). Watch it live here.
For NASA's DART spacecraft, the drama happens in space, but mission success relies on telescopes back on Earth.
A United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket will launch a U.S. spy satellite on Saturday (Sept. 24), and you can watch it live. Liftoff is scheduled for 5:53 p.m. EDT (2153 GMT).
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