NASA’s VIPER – short for the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover – sits assembled inside the cleanroom at the agency’s Johnson Space Center.Credit: NASA Following a comprehensive internal review, NASA announced Wednesday its intent to discontinue development of its VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) project. NASA stated cost increases, delays to the launch date, [...]
The Milky Way appears in the vastness of space behind the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft docked to the space station’s Harmony module. On Wednesday, space plants and free-flying robotics dominated the science schedule aboard the International Space Station. Orbital plumbing, cargo packing, and an emergency drill rounded out the day for the nine crew members [...]
Digital content creators are invited to register to attend the launch of the ninth SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket that will carry astronauts to the International Space Station for a science expedition mission. This mission is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Launch of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission is targeted for no [...]
The crew of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station poses for a photo during training in Hawthorne, California.Credit: SpaceX Media accreditation now is open for the launch of NASA’s ninth rotational mission of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft that will carry astronauts to the International Space Station for a [...]
23 Min Read The Next Full Moon is the Buck or Thunder Moon Mule deer buck, Yellowstone National Park The Next Full Moon is the Buck or Thunder Moon; the Hay or Mead Moon; Guru Purnima; Asalha Puja (aka Dharma Day or Esala Poya); and the start of Vassa. The next full Moon will [...]
3 min read Science Activation’s PLACES Team Facilitates Second Professional Learning Institute The NASA Science Activation Program’s Place-Based Learning to Advance Connections, Education, and Stewardship (PLACES) team successfully led their second Professional Learning (PL) Summer Institute (SI) at Northern Arizona University (NAU) in Flagstaff, Arizona from June 11-13, 2024. The team led a group [...]
2 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) An image of a Zhaabondwaan, Anishnaabe traditional teaching lodge in Ontario, Canada, 2023. NASA has been selected by the International Astronautical Federation to receive its 2024 “3G” Diversity Award, which recognizes organizations for their contributions to fostering geographic, generational, and gender diversity in the [...]
Photo of the Day When Vulcan, the Roman god of fire, swings his blacksmith's hammer, the sky is lit on fire. A recent eruption of Chile's Villarrica volcano shows the delicate interplay between this fire -- actually glowing steam and ash from melted rock -- and the light from distant stars in our Milky [...]
4 min read Discovery Alert: With Six New Worlds, 5,500 Discovery Milestone Passed! NASA’s Exoplanet Archive confirmed four new worlds, bringing the total past 5,500. On Aug. 24, 2023, more than three decades after the first confirmation of planets beyond our own solar system, scientists announced the discovery of six new exoplanets, stretching that [...]
The Cygnus space freighter and its two cymbal-shaped solar arrays is pictured attached to the Canadarm2 robotic arm before its release from the space station’s on July 12, 2024. Space agriculture and human research operations were the prime science activities aboard the International Space Station on Tuesday. The four NASA astronauts and three Roscosmos cosmonauts [...]
