Category: Space
NASA launches Orion crew capsule to test abort system
NASA has conducted a full-stress launch abort test for the Orion capsules designed to carry astronauts to the moon. The capsule was empty for the demo, which officials said appeared to be successful. Barely a minute after lift-off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the abort motor fired, pulling the capsule from the booster about…
NASA restores Mission Control 50 years after Apollo 11
NASA has held a grand reopening of its Mission Control room from the Apollo days after it was meticulously restored to the way it looked 50 years ago. The site at Johnson Space Centre in Houston was last used for space shuttle flights in the 1990s, and has been recreated down to the carpeting, wallpaper,…
NASA to send spacecraft to Saturn’s largest moon Titan
NASA will send a spacecraft to explore the surface of Saturn’s largest moon Titan and search for “the building blocks of life”, the space agency has revealed. The Dragonfly mission, part of NASA’s New Frontiers programme, will launch in 2026 and arrive at Titan in 2034. It marks the first time NASA will fly a…
NASA to open moon rock samples sealed since Apollo missions
NASA is to open some pristine samples of moon rocks and dirt which have been stored for decades after being collected by Apollo astronauts. Hundreds of pounds of moon rocks are locked up at Johnson Space Centre in Houston, and lab workers are preparing to give some of the samples to scientists for study. Nine…
SpaceX launches rocket with 24 satellites
SpaceX has launched its heftiest rocket with 24 research satellites. The rocket is also carrying a deep space atomic clock, a solar sail, clean and green fuel, and even human ashes! Liftoff! pic.twitter.com/EZIbdSY5r2 — SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 25, 2019 The Falcon Heavy rocket blasted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. It was the…
NASA Mars Rover detects methane. Could it be sign of life?
A NASA Mars rover has detected its largest amount of methane yet, which could be an early indication of life on the Red Planet. The gas is commonly associated with living things back on Earth, though it can also be created through interactions between rocks and water. However, the American space agency’s Curiosity Rover is…
NASA captures closest image yet of Bennu asteroid
US space agency NASA has captured its closest and most-detailed image yet of Bennu, a 78 billion kilogram asteroid which makes a close approach to Earth every six years. It is the second time the spacecraft has put itself into orbit around the asteroid, snapping a shot at a distance of 0.4 miles from the…
Sutherland Spaceport site questioned in new study
Doubts have been cast on the suitability of the site chosen as the location for the UK’s first major spaceport. The UK Space Agency announced last year that the A’Mhoine peninsula in the Highlands had been selected as it is the best place in the UK to reach highly sought-after satellite orbits with vertically launched…
NASA makes Star Trek joke after finding ‘dune footprint’ on Mars
NASA scientists tweeted a Star Trek joke after a photo was captured of a “dune footprint” on the surface of Mars that looks similar to the Starfleet insignia from the hit sci-fi TV show. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) took images of a series of the chevron shapes in the Hellas Planitia area of the…
NASA to open up space station to private tourists from 2020
American space agency NASA has announced it is opening the International Space Station up to new commercial opportunities such as space tourism from 2020. Up to two short-duration private astronaut missions per year to the space station will be available through privately funded, dedicated commercial spaceflights, the agency said. Today starts a new day in…
