Before Apollo astronauts set foot upon the Moon, much remained unknown about the lunar surface. While most scientists believed the Moon had a solid surface that would support astronauts and their landing craft, a few believed a deep layer of dust covered it that would swallow any visitors. Until 1964, no closeup photographs of the … Read more
With two months to go before flight, the Apollo 13 prime crew of James Lovell, Thomas Mattingly, Fred Haise, and backups John Young, John Swigert, and Charles Duke continued to train for the 10-day mission planned to land in the Fra Mauro highlands region of the Moon. Engineers continued to prepare the Saturn V rocket … Read more
Media are invited to visit NASA’s simulated Mars habitat on Monday, March 10, at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. The simulation will help prepare humanity for future missions to the Red Planet. This is the second of three missions as part of NASA’s CHAPEA (Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog), set to begin … Read more
One semester as a NASA Pathways intern was enough to inspire Portia Keyes to sign up for a Russian language class at college. After interning in the Johnson Space Center’s Office of Procurement, Keyes hoped to someday use her new language skills in support of the International Space Station Program. Now, 12 years later, Keyes … Read more
Modeling properties of thunderstorm discharges Researchers report detailed physical properties of different types of corona discharges, including single- and multi-pulse blue discharges linked to powerful but short-lived electrical bursts near the tops of clouds. These details provide a reference for further investigation into the physical mechanisms behind these discharges and their role in the initiation … Read more
For more than a decade, Tristan McKnight has been a driving force behind some of NASA’s most iconic events, orchestrating the behind-the-scenes magic that brings each historic moment to life while sharing the agency’s advancements with the public. As a multimedia producer on the audiovisual team at Johnson Space Center in Houston, McKnight produces and … Read more
A key element of the Gateway lunar space station has entered the cleanroom for final installations after completing environmental stress tests. When NASA’s Artemis IV astronauts journey to the Moon, they will make the inaugural visit to Gateway, humanity’s first space station in lunar orbit. Shown here, technicians carefully guide HALO (Habitation and Logistics Outpost)—a … Read more
The latest edition of NASA’s Spinoff publication, which highlights the successful transfer of agency technology to the commercial sector, is now available online. For nearly 25 years, NASA has supported crew working in low Earth orbit to learn about the space environment and perform research to advance deep space exploration. Astronauts aboard the International Space … Read more
Media accreditation is open for the launch of NASA’s 10th rotational mission of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft, carrying astronauts to the International Space Station for a science expedition. The agency’s SpaceX Crew-10 mission is targeting launch on Wednesday, March 12, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. … Read more
Measuring water loss from space This study showed that the International Space Station’s ECOSTRESS instrument estimates of evapotranspiration (transfer of water to the atmosphere from Earth’s surface and plants) are comparable to ground-based reference values. This finding suggests space measurements could provide guidance for improved water management on large scales. Worsening droughts due to climate … Read more