Assembly is underway for Gateway’s Power and Propulsion Element, the module that will power the lunar space station’s journey to and around the Moon as part of NASA’s Artemis campaign. NASA’s Artemis IV astronauts will be the first to inhabit the Gateway lunar space station, opening the door to greater exploration of the Moon and … Read more
The mystique of Mars has been studied for centuries. The fourth planet from the Sun is reminiscent of a rich, red desert and features a rugged surface challenging to traverse. While several robotic missions have landed on Mars, NASA has only explored 1% of its surface. Ahead of future human and robotic missions to the … Read more
For the first time, a NASA-funded researcher will fly with their experiment on a commercial suborbital rocket. The technology is one of two NASA-supported experiments, also known as payloads, funded by the agency’s Flight Opportunities program that will launch aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard suborbital rocket system on a flight test no earlier than Thursday, … Read more
Locations designed as a maintenance work area and an exercise area on the International Space Station are commonly used by crew members for stowage and body maintenance activities, respectively. These differences between intended and actual use demonstrate that systematic observation of material culture can help researchers identify how astronauts adapt to life in microgravity and support better … Read more
“A genuine space success story,” is how Experiments Manager William Kerslake described NASA’s second Space Electric Rocket Test (SERT II), the first long-duration operation of ion thrusters in space. SERT II provided researchers with data for years beyond its expected lifetime and was a rare example of an entire mission – including the launch, propulsion … Read more
NASA selected 45 student essays as semifinalists of its 2024 Power to Explore Challenge, a national competition for K-12 students featuring the enabling power of radioisotopes. NASA selected 45 student essays as semifinalists of its 2024 Power to Explore Challenge, a national competition for K-12 students featuring the enabling power of radioisotopes. Contestants were challenged … Read more
Goddard’s GIANT optical navigation software helped guide the OSIRIS-REx mission to the Asteroid Bennu. Today its developers continue to add functionality and streamline useability for future missions. As NASA scientists study the returned fragments of asteroid Bennu, the team that helped navigate the mission on its journey refines their technology for potential use in future … Read more
Lidar technology improvements will help NASA scientists and explorers with remote sensing and surveying, mapping, 3D-image scanning, hazard detection and avoidance, and navigation. Like a sonar using light instead of sound, lidar technology increasingly helps NASA scientists and explorers with remote sensing and surveying, mapping, 3D-image scanning, hazard detection and avoidance, and navigation. Cutting edge … Read more