Pasadena CA (JPL) Sep 17, 2021
NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter provided a 3D view of a rock-covered mound during its 13th flight on Sept. 4. The plan for this reconnaissance mission into the "South Seitah" region of Mars' Jezero Crater was to capture images of this geologic target - nicknamed "Faillefeu" (after a medieval abbey in the French Alps) by the agency's Perseverance rover team - and to obtain the color pictures fro

Wenchang, China (XNA) Sep 17, 2021
The combination of the Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft and a Long March-7 Y4 carrier rocket has been transferred to the launching area of the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said Thursday. The CMSA said the Tianzhou-3 cargo spacecraft will be launched in the near future at an appropriate time. The facilities and equipment at the Wenchang Spacecraft L

Washington (AFP) Sept 19, 2021
Four SpaceX tourists returned to Earth safely on Saturday after spending three days in space, successfully concluding the first orbital mission in history with no professional astronauts on board. The SpaceX Dragon capsule, whose heat shield allowed it to withstand descent, was slowed down by four large parachutes before splashing into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida at 7:06 pm (

Greenbelt MD (SPX) Sep 20, 2021
Scientists found evidence that a region of northern Mars called Arabia Terra experienced thousands of "super eruptions," the biggest volcanic eruptions known, over a 500-million-year period. Some volcanoes can produce eruptions so powerful they release oceans of dust and toxic gases into the air, blocking out sunlight and changing a planet's climate for decades. By studying the topography

Pasadena CA (JPL) Sep 20, 2021
The Johnson Space Center scientist was tasked with helping guide the way for mission's first cored Mars rock sample. The evening of Aug. 1 felt a lot like a birthday to NASA planetary scientist Justin Simon. On that night, Simon attended a virtual watch party for researchers preparing to use NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover to conduct the first detailed study of a candidate rock target

Huntsville AL (SPX) Sep 20, 2021
Dynetics, a wholly owned subsidiary of Leidos, has been selected to help NASA enable a steady pace of crewed trips to the Moon's surface as part of the Artemis program's Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP-2) Appendix N. As one of five companies selected for a firm fixed-price, milestone-based contract, Dynetics will receive an initial award of $40.8 million over

Pasadena CA (JPL) Sep 20, 2021
Two interactive web experiences let you explore the Martian surface, as seen by cameras aboard the rover and orbiters flying overhead. It's the next best thing to being on Mars: Two online interactive experiences let you check out Jezero Crater - the landing site and exploration locale for NASA's Perseverance rover - without leaving our planet. One new experience, called "Explore wit

Pasadena CA (JPL) Sep 17, 2021
In the months since we flew for the first time, we have learned a great deal about operating a helicopter on Mars. We have explored Ingenuity's strengths and limitations in detail, leveraging the former and working around the latter to operationalize it as a highly capable reconnaissance platform. With the benefit of the knowledge acquired, conducting flights on Mars has in most ways becom

London, UK (SPX) Sep 20, 2021
The satellite, named Lunar Pathfinder, will be vital for the planned return missions to the Moon. Built by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) and supported by 11.6 million pounds in UK Space Agency funding via the European Space Agency (ESA), the satellite will also allow greater freedom for rovers operating on the far side of the Moon, allowing them to manoeuvre out of sight of their lander