Category: Missions
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NASA’s Artemis II Crew Uses Iceland Terrain for Lunar Training
At first glance, it seems like a scene from an excursion on the Moon’s surface…except the people are in hiking gear, not spacesuits.
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9 Phenomena NASA Astronauts Will Encounter at Moon’s South Pole
Out-of-this-world phenomena NASA astronauts will experience at the Moon’s south polar region.
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NASA’s Hubble, Chandra Find Supermassive Black Hole Duo
Like two Sumo wrestlers squaring off, the closest confirmed pair of supermassive black holes have been observed in tight proximity. These are located approximately 300 light-years apart and were detected using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and the Chandra X-ray Observatory.…
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How Students Learn to Fly NASA’s IXPE Spacecraft
The large wall monitor displaying a countdown shows 17 seconds when Amelia “Mia” De Herrera-Schnering tells her teammates “We have AOS,” meaning “acquisition of signal.” “Copy that, thank you,” Alexander Pichler replies. The two are now in contact with NASA’s…
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NASA Sends More Science to Space, More Strides for Future Exploration
Biological and physical investigations aboard the Northrop Grumman Commercial Resupply mission NG-21 included experiments studying the impacts of zero gravity on grass, how packed bed reactors could improve water purification both in space and on Earth, and observations on new…
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Repair Kit for NASA’s NICER Mission Heading to Space Station
Editor’s note: NG CRS-21 launched Aug. 4 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The spacecraft was installed to the International Space Station Aug. 6. NASA will deliver a patch kit for NICER (Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer), an…
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NASA, JAXA Bounce Laser Beam Between Moon’s Surface and Lunar Orbit
NASA’s LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) has twice transmitted a laser pulse to a cookie-sized retroreflector aboard JAXA’s (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) SLIM lander on the Moon and received a return signal. As LRO passed 44 miles above SLIM (Smart Lander…
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NASA’s Fermi Finds New Feature in Brightest Gamma-Ray Burst Yet Seen
In October 2022, astronomers were stunned by what was quickly dubbed the BOAT — the brightest-of-all-time gamma-ray burst (GRB). Now an international science team reports that data from NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope reveals a feature never seen before. “A…
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Behind the Scenes of a NASA ‘Moonwalk’ in the Arizona Desert
NASA astronauts Kate Rubins and Andre Douglas recently performed four moonwalk simulations to help NASA prepare for its Artemis III mission. Due to launch in September 2026, Artemis III will land two, yet-to-be-selected, astronauts at the Moon’s South Pole for…
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NASA Announces New System to Aid Disaster Response
In early May, widespread flooding and landslides occurred in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, leaving thousands of people without food, water, or electricity. In the following days, NASA teams provided data and imagery to help on-the-ground responders…