A newly discovered object may be a key to unlocking the true nature of a mysterious class of sources that astronomers have found in the early universe in recent years. A “X-ray dot” found by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory could explain what the hundreds or potentially thousands of these objects are. A paper describing the […]
A technology that could propel crewed missions to Mars and robotic spacecraft throughout the solar system was recently put to the test at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. On Feb. 24, for the first time in years and at power levels exceeding any previous test in the United States, a team fired up […]
On every crewed mission, NASA packs pouches of a potentially life-saving liquid in its cargo, known as IV (or intravenous) fluid. A simple mix of sodium chloride and purified water, it can treat up to 30% of medical conditions in flight, resolving things like dehydration, burns, and more. Crewed missions beyond low Earth orbit into […]
Scientists have found that young stellar cousins of our Sun are calming down and dimming more quickly in their X-ray output than previously thought, according to a new study using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. A paper describing the results published Monday in The Astrophysical Journal. Unlike in the new movie “Project Hail Mary,” this quieting […]
NASA’s 32nd annual Human Exploration Rover Challenge, one of the agency’s longest-standing student challenges, culminated April 10-11 with its final excursion event at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center near NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Spanning nine months, the challenge tasks student teams from around the world to design, build, and test […]
NASA has selected Development Seed of Washington to provide research and development services to the Office of Data Science and Informatics (ODSI) at the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The award is a performance-based, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with a maximum potential value of $76 million. A phase-in period begins on May 15, 2026, […]
Twin control rooms at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, are actively supporting real-time mission operations in lunar orbit as part of the agency’s Artemis II mission, helping ensure astronaut safety and mission success as the crew prepares to return to Earth Friday, April 10. The LUCA (Lunar Utilization Control Area) and LESA […]
Spurred by American ingenuity, astronauts on NASA’s Artemis II mission are in flight, preparing for the first crewed lunar flyby in more than 50 years. NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket lifted off from Launch Pad 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 6:35 p.m. EDT Wednesday, sending four astronauts aboard the […]
NASA’s IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer) mission has taken a new observation of a supernova, RCW 86, helping fill in a fuller picture of what other telescopes have observed. When astronomers using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory previously targeted RCW 86, they discovered that a large “cavity” region around the system led the supernova to expand […]
The farther the destination, the more fuel a rocket needs. The more fuel the rocket carries, the heavier the spacecraft. The heavier the spacecraft, the more fuel it requires to launch. Experts at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland are testing technology that could solve this problem. The CryoFILL (Cryogenic Fluid In-Situ Liquefaction for Landers) project could transform the way NASA fuels future space exploration missions, reducing costs and extending the duration of planetary surface operations. “If […]