NASA’s OSIRIS-APEX (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security – Apophis Explorer) spacecraft kept its cool again this past fall after passing within 46.5 million miles of the Sun, between the orbits of Mercury and Venus, and surpassing its designed heat tolerances. On Jan. 23 the mission team completed its review of all the data …
A major element of NASA’s Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor is undergoing testing at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Called the instrument enclosure, the angular structure measures 12 feet (3.7 meters) long and is designed to protect the spacecraft’s infrared telescope while also removing heat from it during operations in space. After being built …
Spacewalk preparations continue aboard the International Space Station to remove communications gear and search for microbes next week. The Expedition 72 crew members also worked on a host of advanced science experiments and housecleaning duties throughout the day on Wednesday. Station Commander Suni Williams and Flight Engineer Butch Wilmore are slated to begin their spacewalk …
The four small satellites of NASA’s PUNCH mission arrived Saturday, Jan. 18, at Astrotech Space Operations located at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California for final processing before launch.
Firefly’s Blue Ghost continues its journey to the Moon carrying 10 NASA science and technology instruments. Four days into the mission, the lunar lander completed its first main engine burn. This milestone is the first of several maneuvers that will position the lander in a trajectory towards the Moon. After 25 days orbiting Earth, Blue …
The Expedition 72 crew members began the day preparing for the second spacewalk of 2025 outside the International Space Station, this time to remove communications gear and search for potential microbes. The orbital residents also kept up ongoing research studying advanced space navigation, analyzing microbial DNA, and exploring futuristic piloting techniques. Station Commander Suni Williams …
Two NASA astronauts took a half-a-day off on Friday following a spacewalk the previous day then cleaned up spacesuit gear and held a conference with specialists on the ground. Meanwhile, science continued aboard the International Space Station as the Expedition 72 crew studied space physics and biology. Flight Engineer Nick Hague and Commander Suni Williams …
With the installation of a charged particle detector on Dec. 3, 2024, all 10 of NASA’s Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) science instruments have been fully integrated on the spacecraft.
NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Nick Hague concluded their spacewalk at 2:01 p.m. EST on Jan. 16. It was the fourth spacewalk for Hague and the eighth for Williams, and it was the 273rd spacewalk in support of space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades. Williams and Hague completed their primary objectives, including removing and replacing …
NASA’s SPHEREx spacecraft arrived Tuesday, Jan. 14, at Astrotech Space Operations located inside Vandenberg Space Force Base in California for final processing before launching on its two-year mission. The SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer) observatory is targeted to launch at the end of February on a …
