Chandra Scouts Nearest Star System for Possible Hazards
In humanity’s search for life outside our solar system, one of the best places scientists have considered is Alpha Centauri, a system containing the three nearest stars beyond our Sun. A new, long-term study of this system by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory provides encouraging news about a key aspect of planetary habitability.
NASA Astronaut and Crewmates Board the International Space Station
Astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor of NASA, Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency, and Sergey Prokopyev of the Russian space agency Roscosmos boarded the International Space Station June 8. They will spend more than five months conducting about 250 science investigations in fields such as biology, Earth science, human research, physical sciences and technology development.
Another Step Toward Exploration Mission-1
Preparations for Exploration Mission -1 continue at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. All of the recent modifications to the crawler-transporter 2 and Pad 39B are operational and ready to support the launch of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft.
Has Life Ever Existed on Mars? NASA Discovers Ancient Organics on Mars
NASA’s Curiosity Rover has found new evidence preserved in rocks on Mars that suggests the planet could have supported ancient life, as well as new evidence in the Martian atmosphere that relates to the search for current life on the Red Planet. While not necessarily evidence of life itself, these findings are a good sign for future missions exploring the planet’s surface and subsurface.
For more information or to learn about other happenings at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, visit NASA Marshall. For past issues of the ICYMI newsletter, click here.