In the next few weeks, NASA will embark on a significant mission to Europa, the fourth-largest moon of Jupiter. Named Europa Clipper, this spacecraft is designed to search for potential signs of life. While Mars is often the focal point in the quest for life beyond Earth, Europa presents a promising alternative due to its […]
The European Space Agency (ESA) is preparing to launch a unique satellite in 2027, designed specifically to study how satellites break apart upon reentry into Earth’s atmosphere. This mission, named DRACO (Destructive Reentry Assessment Container Object), will be an important step in ESA’s effort to develop technology that limits the creation of space debris. ESA […]
Earth will get a second moon for about two months this year when a small asteroid begins to orbit our planet. The asteroid was discovered in August and is set to become a mini-moon, revolving around Earth in a horseshoe shape from Sept. 29 to Nov. 25. Researchers at the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System, […]
The September Harvest Moon, a partial lunar eclipse, will make its debut in the sky Monday evening and last through Thursday morning. The full moon will peak at 10:35 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, Sept. 17, according to NASA. The is the second of 2024’s four consecutive supermoons, following August’s blue supermoon, a rare phenomenon that […]
Bengaluru: Indian space startup Pixxel has bagged a NASA contract to support Earth science research using the hyperspectral technology. The Bengaluru-based company has become part of NASA’s $476-million commercial smallsat data acquisition programme — a first for an Indian startup after the space sector was opened to private companies in 2020. Co-founder and CEO Awais […]
After an exhaustive review of suspect transistors in NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft, NASA managers have cleared the probe for launch next month as planned on a $5.2 billion mission to find out if a suspected sub-surface ocean on Jupiter’s icy moon Europa is a habitable environment. The transistor issue cropped up in May, raising fears […]
The Federal Aviation Administration has grounded SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets pending an investigation to determine what caused a first-stage booster to crash onto a landing barge early Wednesday after helping launch another batch of Starlink internet satellites. After standing down from the piloted Polaris Dawn launch late Tuesday because of an unfavorable long-range forecast, SpaceX […]
After standing down from the piloted Polaris Dawn launch late Tuesday, SpaceX shifted gears and pressed ahead with plans for back-to-back launches of Starlink internet satellites early Wednesday, one from Florida and the other from California. But the second flight was called off after the first stage used in the Florida launch toppled into the […]
As NASA debates the safety of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft in the wake of multiple helium leaks and thruster issues, the agency is “getting more serious” about a backup plan to bring the ship’s two crew members back to Earth aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon, officials said Wednesday. In that case — and no final decisions […]
