Contact lenses, spectacles and eye implants are now being made more accurately thanks to research instruments flying on the International Space Station. To source
Tag Archives | space
'Star Wars' Science: Is the Force Contagious?
Luke Skywalker, the hero of the original “Star Wars” trilogy, trains in the ways of the Force with his master, Yoda. In the “Star Wars” universe, a mystical power known as the Force drives the battles between Jedi knights and their dark counterparts, the Sith. Ahead of the release of “Rogue One: A Star Wars […]
US Military Test-Fires SM-6 Weapons in Missile Defense Test
One of two Standard Missile-6 Dual 1 missiles launches from the destroyer USS John Paul Jones during a missile defense test against a medium-range ballistic missile target on Dec. 14, 2016, conducted off the coast of Hawaii. The U.S. Missile Defense Agency and U.S. Navy have launched their latest missile defense test in the Pacific […]
'Passengers' Stars Pratt, Lawrence Grill Real NASA Researcher (Video)
The stars of the science-fiction movie “Passengers ” got to talk to a real NASA scientist and ask some big questions about space. Chris Pratt, Jennifer Lawrence and Michael Sheen talked with Tiffany Kataria, a planetary scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory who studies the atmospheres of planets around other stars, during a press junket […]
Baby 'Spiders' on Mars Expand Across Sand Dunes (Photos)
This image by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows a network of cracks that may be growing into a larger feature dubbed a “spider.” A NASA Mars probe may have snapped rare baby photos of the Red Planet’s bizarre “spiders.” The images, captured by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), show small, erosion-carved cracks in Red Planet […]
Ariane 5’s seventh launch this year
An Ariane 5 lifted off this evening to deliver two telecom satellites, Star One-D1 and JCSat-15, into their planned orbits. To source
This Week in NASA History: First Crewed Saturn V Mission Launches — Dec. 21, 1968
This week in 1968, Apollo 8, the first crewed Saturn V launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Dec. 21, 1968. Here, the S-IC stage is being erected for final assembly of the Saturn V launch vehicle in Kennedy’s Vehicle Assembly Building. To source
This Week in NASA History: First Crewed Apollo Mission Launches — Dec. 21, 1968
This week in 1968, Apollo 8, the first crewed Apollo mission, launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Dec. 21, 1968. Here, the S-IC stage is being erected for final assembly of the Saturn V launch vehicle in Kennedy’s Vehicle Assembly Building. To source
Red Dwarfs: The Most Common and Longest-Lived Stars
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope captures the image of the red dwarf star CHXR 73 and its companion, thought to be a brown dwarf. CHXR 73 is one-third less massive than the sun. The largest population of stars in the galaxy hide in the shadows, too dim to be seen with the naked eye from Earth. […]
Festive Nebulas Make Hubble Telescope's Holidays Bright
Two festive nebulas, known together as NGC 248, shine as one in this colorful photo captured the Hubble Space Telescope and released by NASA on Dec. 20, 2016. The data to make the image was recorded by Hubble in 2015, NASA says. Two stunning nebulas shine as one in this colorful view captured by the […]
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL): Facts & Information
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) was building spacecraft before NASA even existed, and today it’s the space agency’s go-to center for the robotic exploration of worlds beyond Earth. Technicians at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory work on the Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity in May 2011. The rover is upside-down, and its six wheels are off […]
Stacks of shiny stuff
Technology image of the week: these carefully-placed stacks of silicon wafers represent the future of high-energy astronomy To source
Luna 9: 1st Soft Landing on the Moon
The first image from the surface of the moon, taken by the Luna 9 spacecraft. Luna 9 was the first soft landing mission on the moon. The Soviet spacecraft arrived three years before the first humans stepped out on the surface. It was part of a long-range Soviet Union program to photograph and learn more […]