Spacecraft
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May 24 | News
NASA
has hired Space Exploration Technologies Corp. to deliver cargo to the
International Space Station, but will eventually add astronauts. And the
space agency is hiring other companies, too. Several
firms—at least eight—think they can make money in space and are close
enough to Musk's company to practically surf in his spaceship's
rocket-fueled wake.
May 22 | News
The
SpaceX company made history as its Falcon 9 rocket, carrying 1,000
pounds of space station provisions in its Dragon capsule, rose from its
seaside launch pad and pierced the pre-dawn sky, aiming for a rendezvous
in a few days with the space station. If the mission proceeds as
planned, Dragon will be the first commercial vessel to visit the space
station.
May 10 | News
After
spending nearly five months conducting experiments in one spot, the
NASA rover moved for the first time this week, rolling off the rock
outcrop where it hunkered down for the Martian winter. Engineers will
check its power supply before directing it north to study dust and
bedrock.
May 7 | News
NASA's
Hubble Space Telescope recently imaged the Moon’s crater Tycho, though
not for the purpose of adding to our knowledge of the lunar surface.
Instead, the telescope was being prepped for study the last transit of
the sun by Venus to occur this century. Because the Hubble can’t look at
the sun directly, the Moon will serve as a giant mirror.
May 1 | News
NASA
is readying a fleet of four identical spacecraft, the Magnetospheric
Multiscale (MMS) mission, for a 2014 launch to study space weather. The
effort will require the development of highly sensitive spectrometers
and cameras that operate at unprecedented performance levels.
Apr 27 | News
For
more than a decade, scientists debated whether a maze of valleys near
the Martian equator was sculpted by ice or volcanic processes. Now,
aresearcher reports finding lava flows shaped like coils of rope near
the equator of Mars, the first time such geologic features have been
discovered outside of Earth.
Apr 25 | News
Titan’s
atmosphere has bee likened to a highly productive "factory", cranking
out hydrocarbons that rain down on Titan's icy surface, cloaking it in
soot and, with a brutally cold surface. With the help of data collected
by the Cassini spacecraft, NASA-funded scientists have attempted to
determine how long this complex chemical environment has been operating.
Apr 24 | News
A
group of high-tech tycoons wants to mine nearby asteroids wants to use
commercially built robotic ships to squeeze rocket fuel and valuable
minerals like platinum and gold out of the lifeless rocks that routinely
whiz by Earth. The inaugural step, to be achieved in the next 18 to 24
months, would be launching the first in a series of private telescopes
that would search for rich asteroid targets.
Apr 20 | News
On
December 24, 1968, the astronauts aboard Apollo 8 were conducting an
extensive photographic survey of the moon’s surface. When they paused to
take a navigation sighting, they were shocked to see the Earth “rising”
above the lunar surface. Using modern imagery, NASA’s Lunar
Reconnaissance Orbiter has recreated the moment, shortly before the
first real photograph was taken.
Apr 20 | News
A
critical component of the James Webb Space Telescope is its new
technology. Much of the technology for the Webb had to be conceived,
designed and built specifically to enable it to see farther back in
time. As with many NASA technological advances, some of the innovations
are being used to benefit humankind in many other industries.
