The Future of Space: Top Issues Facing President-Elect Donald Trump
epublican president-elect Donald Trump delivers his acceptance speech during his election night event at the New York Hilton Midtown in the early morning hours of November 9, 2016 in New York City. With the presidential election over, the focus in Washington, D.C., can finally turn back to policy and legislation. Most of the conversations between […]
Watch Methane Clouds Swirl In Saturn Moon Titan's Skies (Video)
NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has captured time-lapse video of methane clouds scudding through the skies of Titan, Saturn’s largest moon. Several sets of clouds are visible in the video, which was compiled using images Cassini snapped 20 minutes apart over the course of 11 hours on Oct. 29 and Oct. 30, 2016. [Latest Saturn Photos from […]
Leonid Meteor Shower 2017: When, Where & How to See It
This spectacular image compiles 33 Leonid meteors captured overnight from Nov. 18 to Nov. 19, 2001. In mid-November, spectacular “shooting stars” will streak through the night sky as the Leonid meteor shower hits Earth once again. This annual meteor shower is responsible for some of the most intense meteor storms in history. Sometimes, meteors fall […]
Innovation a Priority for New NASA Science Chief
NASA’s new associate administrator for science sees smallsats as one way to incorporate innovation into his directorate’s programs. WASHINGTON — The new head of NASA’s science directorate says he wants to incorporate more innovation into its various missions, but acknowledges that there are limited opportunities to do so in the near future with current missions. […]
Election Day 2016
Thanks to a bill passed by Texas legislators that put in place technical voting procedure for astronauts, they have the ability to vote from space through specially designed absentee ballots. To preserve the integrity of the secret vote, the ballot is encrypted and only accessible by the astronaut and the county clerk responsible for casting […]
Australian Telescope Joins $100 Million Search for Alien Life
The Parkes radio telescope in Australia is the third telescope to begin searching for signs of intelligent alien life as part of the $100 million Breakthrough Listen project. A $100 million search for intelligent alien life just added a big arrow to its quiver. Breakthrough Listen has begun using the Parkes radio telescope in Australia […]
Flying the fantastic four
This month, a single Ariane 5 rocket is set to propel four Galileo satellites into orbit for the navigation constellation’s first-ever quadruple launch. Mission controllers are training intensively for the complex space delivery. To source
8 Galaxies With Unusual Names
By Mindy Weisberger, Live Science Senior Writer | November 8, 2016 08:46am ET Credit: NASA and ESA “Loopy” Galaxy What’s in a name? When it comes to catchy monikers, most galaxies come up short. But perhaps that isn’t so surprising. With an estimated 100 billion to 200 billion galaxies in the known universe, it’s no […]
Next Job for X-37B Military Space Plane: Astronaut Ambulance?
Artist’s illustration of the U.S. Air Force’s X-37B space plane in orbit. The United States Air Force’s mysterious X-37B space plane would make a nice medical-evacuation vehicle for the International Space Station (ISS), some researchers say. The orbiting lab hasn’t had a suitable astronaut ambulance since the retirement of NASA’s space shuttle fleet back in […]
NASA to Launch 'Swarms' of Small, Earth-Observing Satellites
NASA plans to launch a suite of tiny, next-generation satellites into Earth’s orbit to study weather patterns and climate change. These missions will conduct important scientific research while also advancing the technology needed to launch smaller, cheaper satellites, NASA said. The space agency hosted a teleconference today (Nov. 7) from its headquarters in Washington, D.C., […]
The US Military's Secretive X-37B Space Plane: 6 Surprising Facts
By Mike Wall, Space.com Senior Writer | May 7, 2017 12:50pm ET Credit: NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Introduction The U.S. Air Force’s X-37B space plane has been zipping around Earth since May 2015 while it performs a number of hush-hush activities. The current mission is the fourth for the robotic X-37B, which is also […]
Voting from Space: How Astronauts Do It
NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough is off the planet at the moment, but he still had his say in this year’s presidential election. Kimbrough, commander of the current Expedition 50 aboard the International Space Station (ISS), was able to vote from orbit thanks to procedures put in place by Texas legislators in 1997. (Most NASA astronauts […]
ExoMars: Searching for Life on Mars
Artist’s illustration of the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter at Mars. ExoMars is a multi-part European-led program to explore Mars, both on the surface and from above. The program has two phases in the works. The components of the first phase, the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) and Schiaparelli (a landing demonstrator), both arrived at Mars in […]