Components of a NASA technology that could one day help crew and cargo enter harsh planetary environments, like that of Mars, are taking an extended trip to space courtesy of the United States Space Force. On Aug. 21, several pieces of webbing material, known as Zylon, which comprise the straps of the HIAD (Hypersonic Inflatable … Read more
In the vacuum of space, where temperatures can plunge to minus 455 degrees Fahrenheit, it might seem like keeping things cold would be easy. But the reality is more complex for preserving ultra-cold fluid propellants – or fuel – that can easily overheat from onboard systems, solar radiation, and spacecraft exhaust. The solution is a … Read more
One year ago today, the future of space communications arrived at Earth as a beam of light from a NASA spacecraft nearly 10 million miles away. That’s 40 times farther than our Moon. That’s like using a laser pointer to track a moving dime from a mile away. That’s pretty precise. That laser — transmitted … Read more
By Daniel Boyette Jeremy Kenny squinted his eyes as he looked toward the brilliant light. Then came the deafening sound waves that vibrated his body. This was the moment he’d dreamed about since childhood. It was Nov. 16, 2009, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and Kenny and his wife were watching space shuttle … Read more
As part of NASA’s Artemis campaign to return humans to the Moon for the benefit of all, the agency is working with SpaceX to develop the company’s Starship human landing system (HLS), which will land astronauts near the Moon’s South Pole during the Artemis III and Artemis IV missions. On March 14, SpaceX launched the … Read more
Capable of receiving both radio frequency and optical signals, the DSN’s hybrid antenna has tracked and decoded the downlink laser from DSOC, aboard NASA’s Psyche mission. An experimental antenna has received both radio frequency and near-infrared laser signals from NASA’s Psyche spacecraft as it travels through deep space. This shows it’s possible for the giant … Read more
Slated to launch on Oct. 12 with the Psyche mission, DSOC will demonstrate technologies enabling the agency to transmit higher data rates from deep space. NASA’s pioneering Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) experiment will be the first demonstration of laser, or optical, communications from as far away as Mars. Launching with NASA’s Psyche mission to … Read more