Archive | Solar system

NASA’s first asteroid sampling mission launched into space at 7:05 p.m. EDT Thursday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, beginning a journey that could revolutionize our understanding of the early solar system. To source

NASA is preparing to launch its first mission to return a sample of an asteroid to Earth. The mission will help scientists investigate how planets formed and how life began, as well as improve our understanding of asteroids that could impact Earth. To source

Using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have conducted the first search for atmospheres around temperate, Earth-sized planets beyond our solar system and found indications that increase the chances of habitability on two exoplanets. To source

Media are invited to participate in a panel discussion with planetary scientists during the third annual Exploration Science Forum, July 20-22, 2016, hosted by NASA’s Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI) at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California. To source

After an almost five-year journey to the solar system’s largest planet, NASA’s Juno spacecraft successfully entered Jupiter’s orbit during a 35-minute engine burn. Confirmation that the burn had completed was received on Earth at 8:53 p.m. PDT (11:53 p.m. EDT) Monday, July 4. To source

On July 4, NASA will fly a solar-powered spacecraft the size of a basketball court within 2,900 miles (4,667 kilometers) of the cloud tops of our solar system’s largest planet. To source

The public is invited to a free talk called “The Juno Mission to Jupiter,” presented by John (Jack) Connerney, at the Mary Pickford Theater (3rd Floor, James Madison Building, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.) on Thursday, June 23, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. EDT. To source

The multipurpose Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) mission arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Wednesday, June 8. The upcoming International Space Station (ISS) payload was transported from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, aboard a climate-controlled, air-suspension truck. To source

NASA and the Astrophysics and Planetology Research Institute (IRAP), located in Toulouse, France, have signed an Affiliate Member statement with NASA’s Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI), which supports lunar and planetary science research to advance human exploration of the solar system through scientific discovery. To source

Using data from NASA’s Great Observatories, astronomers have found the best evidence yet for cosmic seeds in the early universe that should grow into supermassive black holes. To source

NASA’s first spacecraft designed to return a piece of an asteroid to Earth arrived Friday at Kennedy Space Center to begin final preparations for a September launch. To source

NASA’s Kepler mission has verified 1,284 new planets – the single largest finding of planets to date. To source

NASA is inviting media and viewers around the world to see a relatively rare celestial event, with coverage of the Monday, May 9 transit of the sun by the planet Mercury. Media may view the event at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. To source