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

Kourou, French Guiana (ESA) Sep 17, 2021
Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana is performing the first combined test in preparation for the inaugural flight of Ariane 6, Europe's new generation launch vehicle. This test confirms the operations and electrical and mechanical equipment required for integration of the upper part of the launch vehicle. The procedures are carried out in conditions representative of a launch campaign. A m

Moscow (Sputnik) Sep 17, 2021
A new record for the maximum number of people present in low Earth orbit at the same time was set on 16 September, as 14 individuals were there. This breaks the previous record set in March 1995, when 13 astronauts were in space. Currently, there are seven people on the International Space Station (ISS): Russian cosmonauts Oleg Novitsky and Pyotr Dubrov, US astronauts Mark Wande Hai,