On September 26th, the clickbait-able happened: NASA smashed a spacecraft going 14,000 mph into an asteroid larger than the Washington Monument. This was intentional, the years-long result of careful planning, engineering, and worldwide collaboration that constituted the Double Asteroid Redirection Test. What was surprising to scientists was just how spectacular DART’s impact with its target […]
Space
Posted inNews, Science, Space
Juno mission snags first close-up of Europa in 22 years
On January 3, 2000, NASA’s Galileo spacecraft passed just 218 miles over the surface of Europa, and gave us our last close-up data of Jupiter’s frozen moon for 22 years. Galileo’s overall tour of the Jovian moons had offered plenty of food for thought: A magnetic field for Ganymede! Volcanic activity on Io! And on […]
Posted inSpace
WATCH: NASA livestream of DART probe collision with asteroid begins 9/26 at 6pm EDT
At 7:14pm Eastern Daylight Time, NASA’s DART probe will impact the asteroid Dimorphos in the first attempt to deflect an asteroid from its path. The mission is a dry run for future attempts to deflect asteroids threatening Earth. Livestream begins at 6:00 pm on Monday September 26. Watch a stream of still images from the […]
Posted inScience, Space
When it comes to asteroid danger, gravity’s not so attractive
Sorry, astrology haters. The rumors are true: humans are being pulled at by the gravity of all planets at all times. There is not a drop of evidence for these minuscule gravitational tugs as tools of personality formation nor as predictors of luck. Still, we are not the free-floaters we imagine ourselves to be, but […]
Posted inSpace
NASA’s DART: Humanity steps up to protect the planet
NASA is crashing a spacecraft on purpose to test technology that could save the planet from a killer asteroid.
Posted inScience, Space
A dry run to save the planet: NASA DART probe closing in on asteroid impact
NASA’s DART spacecraft will crash into an asteroid on September 26, the first real-life test of planetary defense techniques.
Posted inScience, Space
NASA scrubs planned Artemis I launch after engine issue
Just 40 minutes prior to launch, NASA was forced to scrub the launch of Artemis, its unmanned space capsule. The capsule would have been launched to orbit the moon, with NASA planning to eventually create a permanent presence there. The launch was scrubbed after NASA could not find a quick fix for one of the […]
Posted inNews, Science, Space, Tech
NASA scrubs Artemis 1 launch due to engine bleed issues
On August 29, engine bleed issues called a halt to a key Artemis 1, the deep space mission prepped for launch from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center. The Artemis 1 Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System (SLS) rocket would have entered a 42-day unmanned mission to test deep space exploration capacities: a critical test run before […]
Posted inSpace
NASA shoots for the Moon with Artemis launch
UPDATE: Artemis 1, the first stage of a mission to return people to the surface of the Moon, was originally scheduled to launch on Monday August 29 at 8:33am EDT. That launch has been pushed back due to a failed engine bleed 40 minutes prior to launch. The next available window for launch is September […]
Posted inSpace
OnlySky LIVE: Astrophysicist Dr. Sanjana Curtis looks back at 45 days of Webb telescope
Friday, August 26 @ 7 pm ET • TikTok: @sanjanacurtis Join us live on TikTok for a conversation with Dr. Sanjana Curtis, a science communicator, advocate for underrepresented communities in science, and Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Chicago. We’ll be discussing and answering your questions about the […]