Kennedy Space Center FL (SPX) Dec 10, 2021
NASA's Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) mission launched at 1 a.m. EST Thursday on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A joint effort with the Italian Space Agency, the IXPE observatory is NASA's first mission dedicated to measuring the polarization of X-rays from the most extreme and mysterious objects in the universe - supernova remnants, superm

Paris (AFP) Dec 10, 2021
Peering into deep space and billions of years back in time, the James Webb telescope promises to offer the clearest glimpse yet of the Universe's cosmic dawn, when the earliest galaxies began to form. The largest and most powerful telescope ever to be launched into space, which will take over from Hubble, will "directly observe a part of space and time never seen before", says NASA. Th

Paris (AFP) Dec 10, 2021
There is only one Earth... that we know of. But outside our own solar system, other stars give warmth and light to planets and, possibly, life. Soon to offer a better look at these so-called exoplanets is NASA's new James Webb telescope, which is set to launch this month and become the largest and most powerful observatory in orbit. One of its major missions is to look for conditions

Paris (AFP) Dec 10, 2021
It's been three decades in the making: the largest and most powerful telescope ever to be launched into space is finally ready to take up its orbit and beam back new clues to the origins of the Universe and Earth-like planets beyond our solar system. NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, named for a former director of the American space agency, follows in the footsteps of the legendary Hubble -

Orlando FL (UPI) Dec 10, 2021
Tears most likely will flow at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., when the extremely successful Mars helicopter Ingenuity sends its last transmission and goes quiet on the Red Planet, according to those who have observed similar closures. While the end of any space mission can be emotional simply because of a sudden change in routines and departure of colleagues, Ingenui

Washington DC (SPX) Dec 10, 2021
Lower atmospheric processes, such as convection, dust storms and gravity waves, are vital to understanding how Mars lost its water, writes Erdal Yigit in a Perspective. It's widely thought that most of Mars' water was slowly lost to space as hydrogen over several billion years. According to standard models, water molecules, broken apart by sunlight in the lower Martian atmosphere, form fre

Greenbelt MD (SPX) Dec 10, 2021
Although the chance of an asteroid impacting Earth is small, even a relatively small asteroid of about 500 feet (about 150 meters) across carries enough energy to cause widespread damage around the impact site. NASA leads efforts in the U.S. and worldwide both to detect and track potentially hazardous asteroids and to study technologies to mitigate or avoid impacts on Earth. If an asteroid

Pasadena CA (JPL) Dec 10, 2021
Curiosity is currently located within "Maria Gordon notch," which is a rather tight canyon surrounded by high rock walls located at the transition onto the Greenheugh Pediment. Her views are currently magnificent - steep walls surround Curiosity and cast some rather dramatic shadows onto the workspace. However, despite the beautiful views, today was a sobering lesson in the complexities of

Luxembourg (SPX) Dec 10, 2021
Kleos Space S.A, a space-powered Radio Frequency Reconnaissance data-as-a- service (DaaS) company, confirms its Patrol Mission (KSF2) satellites are on track to launch onboard the Transporter-3 SpaceX mission in January 2022, successfully passing the final technical milestone with satellite builder Innovative Solutions In Space (ISISPACE). The Patrol Mission satellites are travelling

Columbia IL (SPX) Dec 10, 2021
Smallsat mission integrator NanoAvionics US has received a mission contract by Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), one of the largest science and technology institutions in the world. The 12U (1U equals 10 + 10 + 10 cm3) spacecraft, about the size of a microwave oven, will host the Mini Astrophysical MeV Background Observatory (MAMBO) mission. The goal of MAMBO is to make the best-eve