On July 23, 1979, space shuttle Enterprise completed its time as a pathfinder vehicle at Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. Workers towed it back to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). During its four-month stay at KSC, Enterprise validated procedures for the assembly of the space shuttle stack and interfaces [...]

Curiosity Navigation Curiosity Home Mission Overview Where is Curiosity? Mission Updates Science Overview Instruments Highlights Exploration Goals News and Features Multimedia Curiosity Raw Images Images Videos Audio More Resources Mars Missions Mars Sample Return Mars Perseverance Rover Mars Curiosity Rover MAVEN Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Odyssey More Mars Missions The Solar System The Sun [...]

Curiosity Navigation Curiosity Home Mission Overview Where is Curiosity? Mission Updates Science Overview Instruments Highlights Exploration Goals News and Features Multimedia Curiosity Raw Images Images Videos Audio More Resources Mars Missions Mars Sample Return Mars Perseverance Rover Mars Curiosity Rover MAVEN Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Odyssey More Mars Missions The Solar System The Sun [...]

4 Min Read 10 Things for Mars 10 Both Shadow and Substance: The dramatic image of NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity’s shadow was taken on sol 180 (July 26, 2004), by the rover’s front hazard-avoidance camera as the rover moved farther into Endurance Crater in the Meridiani Planum region of Mars. Credits: NASA/JPL Scientists [...]

When designing a new spacecraft or exploration vehicle, there is intense focus on its technical performance. Do its systems perform as expected? What kind of power does it need? Will it safely reach its destination? Equally important, however, is whether that vehicle also works for the humans inside. Can astronauts easily reach critical controls? Do [...]

3 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA astronaut Kate Rubins uses a hammer to get a drive tube into the ground to collect a pristine soil sample during a nighttime simulated moonwalk in the San Francisco Volcanic Field in Northern Arizona on May 16, 2024. Surviving and operating through the [...]

Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft that launched NASA’s Crew Flight Test astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the International Space Station is pictured docked to the Harmony module’s forward port. This long-duration photograph was taken at night from the orbital complex as it soared 258 miles above western China. Leadership from NASA and Boeing will participate [...]

3 Min Read NASA Sponsors New Research on Orbital Debris, Lunar Sustainability From lunar orbit, astronauts pointed cameras out the window of their spacecraft to capture photos of the moon's surface. Credits: NASA As part of NASA’s commitment to foster responsible exploration of the universe for the benefit of humanity, the Office of Technology, [...]

NASA Astronaut Eileen Collins, STS-93 commander, looks through a checklist on the space shuttle Columbia’s middeck in this July 1999 image. Collins was the first female shuttle commander. Collins graduated in 1979 from Air Force Undergraduate Pilot Training at Vance AFB, Oklahoma, where she was a T-38 instructor pilot until 1982. She continued her career [...]

5 Min Read 25 Years On, Chandra Highlights Legacy of NASA Engineering Ingenuity By Rick Smith “The art of aerospace engineering is a matter of seeing around corners,” said NASA thermal analyst Jodi Turk. In the case of NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, marking its 25th anniversary in space this year, some of those corners [...]