4 min read Sols 4168-4170 Reaching the “Pinnacle” of Gediz Vallis Ridge (Pinnacle Ridge) This image was taken by Left Navigation Camera onboard NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity on Sol 4166 (2024-04-25 17:52:03 UTC).NASA/JPL-Caltech Earth planning date: Friday, April 26, 2024 Today we had a typically challenging Friday for planning. We are parked at the base [...]

Large amounts of data collected by today’s sensitive science instruments present a data-handling challenge to small rocket and balloon mission computing systems. “Just generally, science payloads are getting larger and more complex,” said astrophysicist Alan Kogut, of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “You’re always pushing the limit of what can be done, [...]

In honor of Asian-American and Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we recognize astronauts with Asian roots who have flown to the International Space Station and contributed to its assembly, operations and research activities. Other pioneers preceded them into space. The first person of Asian origin to reach space, Phạm Tuân of Vietnam spent eight [...]

3 min read May’s Night Sky Notes: Stargazing for Beginners by Kat Troche of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific Millions were able to experience the solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, inspiring folks to become amateur astronomers – hooray! Now that you’ve been ‘bitten by the bug’, and you’ve decided to join your [...]

Briou Bouregois is a mechanical test operations engineer at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, where he enjoys working on a variety of projects to support NASA’s efforts of leading the way in space exploration for humanity. Work at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, takes one site engineer back [...]

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson addresses a Diplomatic Corps during a U.S. Department of State Open House, Monday, April 29, 2024, at the NASA Headquarters Mary W. Jackson Building in Washington. NASA/Bill Ingalls This event was part of Space Diplomacy Week, focused on deepening bilateral relationships, specifically how international partnerships are strengthened by space exploration. [...]

Astrogram banner Advanced Composite Solar Sail System Successfully Launches On April 23, the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System CubeSat mission launched successfully aboard an Electron rocket launched by Rocket Lab and carried Ames’ payload from Māhia, New Zealand. The CubeSat was subsequently delivered to a Sun-synchronous orbit around Earth. Ames has pioneered the use of CubeSats [...]

3 min read Sols 4171-4172: Scoot Over! This image was taken by Right Navigation Camera onboard NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity on Sol 4169 (2024-04-28 19:56:23 UTC). NASA/JPL-Caltech Earth planning date: Monday, April 29, 2024 On this two sol-planning day, the Curiosity science team logged in and found ourselves face to face with ‘Pinnacle Ridge’ [...]

4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA is set to begin launch operations mid-May for the 2024 Sweden Long-Duration Scientific Balloon Campaign. Four stadium-sized, scientific balloons carrying science missions and technology demonstrations are scheduled to lift off from Swedish Space Corporation’s Esrange Space Center, situated north of the Arctic Circle [...]