NASA
Pasadena (United States) (AFP) - US space scientists on Thursday unveiled the interplanetary probe NASA plans to send to one of Jupiter's icy moons as part of humanity's hunt for extra-terrestrial life. The Clipper spacecraft is due to blast off in October bound for Europa, one of dozens of moons orbiting the Solar System's biggest planet, and the nearest spot in our celestial neighborhood that could offer a perch for life. "One of the fundamental questions that NASA wants to understand is, are we alone in the cosmos?" Bob Pappalardo, the mission's project scientist told AFP. "If we were to fi...
AFP
Sandusky (United States) (AFP) - Sierra Space's shuttle-like Dream Chaser has been put through its paces at a powerful NASA vibration facility that mimics conditions during launch and atmospheric reentry, officials said Thursday ahead of its planned first flight to the ISS this year. The first spaceplane of a planned line, Tenacity, was completed at the company's factory in Louisville, Colorado in November and then shipped to NASA's Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio. There, it was exposed to the Mechanical Vibration Facility, the world's most powerful spacecraft shaker system, NAS...
AFP
Houston (AFP) - A sample collected from the 4.5-billion-year-old asteroid Bennu contains abundant water and carbon, NASA revealed on Wednesday, offering more evidence for the theory that life on Earth was seeded from outer space. The discovery follows a seven-year-round-trip to the distant rock as part of the OSIRIS-REx mission, which dropped off its precious payload in the Utah desert last month for painstaking scientific analysis. "This is the biggest carbon-rich asteroid sample ever returned to Earth," NASA administrator Bill Nelson said at a press event at the Johnson Space Center in Houst...
AFP
Washington (AFP) - NASA on Thursday officially joined the search for UFOs -- but reflecting the stigma attached to the field, the US space agency kept secret for hours the identity of the person heading a new program tracking mystery flying objects. The official's appointment is the result of a year-long NASA fact-finding report into what it calls "unidentified anomalous phenomena," or UAP. "At NASA, it's in our DNA to explore -- and to ask why things are the way they are," agency chief Bill Nelson said. An independent team of 16 researchers concluded in the report that the search for UAPs "de...
AFP
Washington (AFP) - NASA is set to release on Thursday the findings of a long-awaited study on unexplained flying objects in Earth's skies. The US space agency announced last year it was reviewing evidence regarding unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAPs -- which has replaced the term "UFO" in official parlance. The subject has long fascinated the public but was shunned by mainstream science. An independent team of 16 researchers shared their preliminary observations in May, finding that existing data and eyewitness reports are insufficient to draw firm conclusions, while calling for more sy...
AFP
Kennedy Space Center (United States) (AFP) - NASA and SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft blasted off on Saturday carrying four astronauts to the International Space Station. The Crew-7 mission is commanded by American Jasmin Moghbeli and includes Andreas Mogensen of Denmark, Satoshi Furukawa of Japan and Konstantin Borisov of Russia. The Dragon spacecraft carried by a Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 3:27 am (0727 GMT) from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, in front of around 10,000 people gathered to watch the launch. "We have liftoff!" NASA said on X, formerly known as Twitt...
AFP
Kennedy Space Center (United States) (AFP) - NASA and SpaceX are preparing to launch a crew of four to the International Space Station on Friday. Dubbed Crew-7, the mission will be commanded by American Jasmin Moghbeli and includes Andreas Mogensen of Denmark, Satoshi Furukawa of Japan and Konstantin Borisov of Russia. Lift-off is targeted for 3:50am (0750 GMT) from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with a backup opportunity at 3:27 am on Saturday. It will be the first space mission for both Moghbeli and Borisov. "This is something I've wanted to do for as long as ...
AFP
Kennedy Space Center (United States) (AFP) - NASA's Artemis 3 mission, set to return humans to the Moon in 2025, might not involve a crewed landing after all, an official said Tuesday. Jim Free, the space agency's associate administrator for the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, told reporters in a briefing that certain key elements would have to be in place -- notably the landing system that is being developed by SpaceX. Should that not be ready on time, "We may end up flying a different mission," he said. Under the Artemis program, NASA is planning a series of missions of...
AFP
Washington (AFP) - Boeing on Monday said its Starliner spaceship will now be ready to carry out its first crewed flight by March -- though the actual launch date will depend on space calendar constraints. The troubled program has experienced numerous postponements but was finally meant to send astronauts to the International Space Station on July 21. During testing, however, Boeing engineers identified new issues relating to a faulty parachute system and wire harness tape used extensively through the capsule that was found to be flammable under some conditions. "Right now, based on the current...
AFP
Washington (AFP) - Jets of red gas bursting into the cosmos, and a glowing cave of dust: NASA marked a year of discovery by the James Webb Space Telescope Wednesday with a spectacular new image of Sun-like stars being born. The picture is of the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex, the nearest stellar nursery to Earth, whose proximity at 390 light-years allows for a crisp close-up by the most powerful orbital observatory ever built. "In just one year, the James Webb Space Telescope has transformed humanity's view of the cosmos, peering into dust clouds and seeing light from faraway corners of the univ...
AFP
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