NASA Is Launching an Asteroid-Sampling Space Probe Today: Watch It Live
The OSIRIS-REx space probe is sitting atop a ULA Atlas V rocket, awaiting its scheduled launch on Sept. 8, 2016. Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission is ready to start its seven-year space journey. If the good weather holds, the spacecraft will launch into space today (Sept. 8) at about 7:05 […]
Next Stop, Bennu! NASA Launches Bold Asteroid-Sampling Mission
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA’s bold mission to bring pieces of an asteroid down to Earth has taken flight. The agency’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station here today (Sept. 8) at 7:05 p.m. EDT (2305 GMT), riding a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket into an evening sky suffused with golden […]
Blastoff! OSIRIS-REx Launches To Asteroid Bennu | Video
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NASA Asteroid-Sampling Probe's Rocket Rolls Out to Launchpad (Photos)
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx asteroid-sampling spacecraft and its Atlas V rocket roll out to the launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Sept. 7, 2016. CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA’s OSIRIS-REx asteroid-sampling spacecraft is now on the launchpad, ready for its planned Thursday (Sept. 8) liftoff. OSIRIS-REx and its United Launch Alliance Atlas V […]
Touching an Asteroid: The Science Behind NASA's OSIRIS-REx Mission
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA’s sending a probe to an asteroid, and when that new spacecraft reaches its destination, it will usher in a new era of understanding of the early solar system, a panel said. The Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft, launching tomorrow (Sept. 8), will explore the asteroid […]
Expedition 48 Crew Returns Home
The Soyuz TMA-20M spacecraft is seen as it lands with Expedition 48 crew members NASA astronaut Jeff Williams, Russian cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin, and Oleg Skripochka of Roscosmos near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016(Kazakh time). Williams, Ovchinin, and Skripochka are returning after 172 days in space. To source
Double Eclipse! Earth and Moon Cross in Front of Sun (Photo)
NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory witnesses the moon and the Earth passing across the face of the sun simultaneously on Sept. 1, 2016. Because Earth’s atmosphere absorbs some of the sun’s light, our planet’s shadow is fuzzy, while the moon’s is sharp and distinct. A NASA satellite captured a far-out view last week when the moon […]
Astronauts and 'Star Trek': How a TV Show Inspired Real Space Travelers
NASA astronaut Terry Virts took this image from the International Space Station in 2015 to honor Leonard Nimoy, who had recently died. The gesture is one of many astronaut connections to “Star Trek.” Terry Virts was halfway through an International Space Station mission when the lifelong Trekkie received some sad news: Leonard Nimoy, who played […]
How NASA Is Making 'Star Trek' Tech a Reality
The Dawn spacecraft used futuristic ion engines to fly between the asteroid Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres. Ion drives are one of many “Star Trek” technologies NASA is pursuing. “Star Trek” technologies are starting to become a reality in our everyday lives; just ask anyone who owns a cellphone or tries a virtual reality […]
Why NASA Picked Space Rock Bennu for Its Asteroid-Sampling Mission
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — What’s so special about Bennu? NASA had literally thousands of potential targets for its asteroid-sampling OSIRIS-REx mission , which is scheduled to launch Thursday (Sept. 8) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station here. But the agency decided on a space rock named Bennu, because the asteroid checks off three important boxes. […]
Could a 'Star Trek'-Like Genesis Device Transform Alien Worlds?
This artist’s concept depicts one possible appearance of the planet Kepler-452b, a near-Earth-size world found in the habitable zone of a star similar to the sun. A new paper proposes a plan to help life get started on planets that are hospitable to life. A theoretical project could help to turn marginally habitable planets into […]
A cosmic oyster’s pearl
Space Science Image of the Week: This image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows NGC 1501, a duo resembling a cosmic oyster and its much-coveted pearl To source
Four steps nearer Mercury
Technology image of the week: all four ion thrusters have been integrated into the BepiColombo mission to the innermost planet To source