Washington DC (SPX) Jul 27, 2023
NASA has selected 11 U.S. companies to develop technologies that could support long-term exploration on the Moon and in space for the benefit of all. The technologies range from lunar surface power systems to tools for in-space 3D printing, which will expand industry capabilities for a sustained human presence on the Moon through Artemis, as well as other NASA, government, and commercial mission

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In the month after its launch on 1 July, Euclid has travelled 1.5 million kilometres from Earth towards the Sun-Earth Lagrange point L2, meaning it has ‘arrived’ at its destination orbit.

This animation showcases the orbits of Euclid (green), the James Webb Space Telescope (blue), and the Gaia mission (yellow) around this unique position in space. The positions of the spacecraft in this animation don’t correspond to their current positions in space.

Located about 1.5 million kilometres from Earth in the opposite direction from the Sun, L2 is about four times further away than our Moon. Several other space missions

Week in images: 24-28 July 2023

Discover our week through the lens

Image: The Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission takes us over the Río de la Plata estuary between Argentina and Uruguay.

Hanover, NH (SPX) Jul 28, 2023
Trillions of miles from Earth, the violent and erratic shedding of a young planet's atmosphere could provide a rare glimpse into the tumultuous early life that besets most of the planets in our galaxy. A new study led by PhD candidate Keighley Rockcliffe, Guarini, and Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy Elisabeth Newton found that a Neptune-sized gas planet known as AU Mic b exhib

Columbus OH (SPX) Jul 28, 2023
As the next generation of giant, high-powered observatories begin to come online, a new study suggests that their instruments may offer scientists an unparalleled opportunity to discern what weather may be like on far-away exoplanets. Dubbed the extremely large telescopes (ELTs), these observatories, which include the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT), and

Berkeley CA (SPX) Jul 28, 2023
With its sensitive infrared cameras and high-resolution spectrometer, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is revealing new secrets of Jupiter's Galilean satellites, in particular Ganymede, the largest moon, and Io, the most volcanically active. In two separate publications, astronomers who are part of JWST's Early Release Science program report the first detection of hydrogen peroxide on

Houston TX (SPX) Jul 28, 2023
Intuitive Machines, Inc. (Nasdaq: LUNR, LUNRW) reports that NASA's Space Technology and Mission Directorate (STMD) has awarded a $15 million Tipping Point initiative award to the Zeno Power-led team, including Intuitive Machines. The award is for the development of a Radioisotope Power System (RPS) that may enable lunar assets to survive and operate during the lunar night and in permanently shad

Pasadena CA (JPL) Jul 28, 2023
Earth planning date: Tuesday July 25, 2023: The rover engineers yet again did a fantastic job navigating Curiosity through this tricky terrain of fractured blocks and sand. Our parking spot is on the rim of one of the larger craters within a cluster of craters that we have been driving towards for the last few weeks. A number of people on our science team advocated for visiting these craters to

Pasadena CA (JPL) Jul 28, 2023
Earth planning date: Wednesday July 26, 2023: As in many recent MSL plans, power limited what we could fit into today's 2-sol plan. Why is power so limited? As expected, MSL's plutonium power source continues to slowly decay, so it takes longer to recharge the batteries than it used to. But the engineering team has done a great job over the years finding ways to conserve power, and the power lim