Page 14 - Nasa

Europa Clipper: New NASA mission to explore this icy world is a go

NASA's Europa Clipper mission passed a mission planning milestone, known as Key Decision Point E, on Monday, implying the mission is approved for launch around Thursday, Oct. 10

Is large asteroid Apophis a threat? Isro, Nasa gear up for 2029 encounter

Initially discovered in 2004, Apophis surpasses the size of India's largest aircraft carrier, the INS Vikramaditya, and the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, the world's largest cricket stadium

Nasa spacecraft to study Jupiter moon's ocean cleared for October launch

NASA on Monday approved next month's launch to Jupiter's moon Europa after reviewing the spacecraft's ability to withstand the intense radiation there. Questions about the reliability of the transistors on the Europa Clipper spacecraft arose earlier this year after similar problems cropped up elsewhere. With the tight launch window looming, NASA rushed to conduct tests to verify that the electronic parts could survive the $5 billion mission to determine whether the suspected ocean beneath Europa's icy crust might be suitable for life. Liftoff remains scheduled for Oct. 10 aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. NASA has three weeks to launch the spacecraft before standing down for more than a year to await another proper planetary alignment; the spacecraft needs to swing past Mars and then Earth for gravity assists. Project manager Jordan Evans said the transistors located in circuits across the entire spacecraft are expected to degrade when Europa Clipper is exposed to the worst of

Pixxel becomes first Indian space startup to grab order from Nasa

Pixxel becomes part of the Nasa's $476 million Commercial SmallSat Data Acquisition Program

Starliner creates trouble as latest setback for Boeing's space business

SpaceX has since carried out seven of those missions and will bring home the astronauts Starliner left behind, while Boeing has yet to complete one

Boeing to fly empty capsule back to Earth soon, 2 astronauts to stay behind

Boeing encountered serious flaws with Starliner long before its June 5 liftoff on the long-delayed astronaut demo

Nasa unravels the mystery behind 'strange noises' on space station

Over the weekend, astronaut Butch Wilmore reported a 'strange' pulsing sound from the Starliner craft

140-feet airplane-sized asteroid to pass by Earth today, NASA issues alert

As two asteroids make their closest approach to Earth on Sept 2, space watchers will be hooked to the sky to witness the spectacle

Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore report strange noise in Boeing's Starliner

The Nasa astronauts reported a pulsating sound coming from the faulty Starliner spacecraft just days ahead of its scheduled unmanned departure from the ISS for its return to Earth

Sunita Williams assures mother of safe return amid extended space mission

Originally planned as a week-long mission, Sunita Williams' stay has been extended by several months due to repeated helium leaks and other technical challenges

Boeing's uncrewed Starliner capsule could return by late next week: Nasa

Last week, the space agency said its two astronauts who flew to the International Space Station (ISS) in the Starliner in June will return to Earth in a SpaceX vehicle early next year

Nasa's Perseverance rover on Mars begins steep climb to rim of crater

NASA's Perseverance rover is tackling a steep new challenge on Mars. The six-wheeled rover has spent the last 3 1/2 years roaming around the bottom of a crater. On Tuesday, it began climbing to the top. The rover will go up 1,000 feet (305 meters) to the rim of Jezero Crater to dig up rock samples. Since landing on the red planet in 2021, Perseverance has collected 22 rock core samples from the floor of the crater, which was once filled with water. The rover's samples may help scientists piece together what the planet's climate looked like billions of years ago and learn whether any ancient Martian life lurked. NASA is exploring ways to bring the rock samples to Earth. The bedrock at the rim of the crater might yield clues as to how rocky planets like Mars and Earth came to be, said Steven Lee with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. But the road ahead won't be easy. Perseverance will scale rocky terrain and slopes of up to 23 degrees on the months-long ...

India's first civilian space tourist Thotakura meets Vice-President Dhankar

Gopichand Thotakura made history by becoming the second Indian citizen to travel to space, and first space tourist

New Boeing CEO faces hard choices after Nasa snubs Starliner for SpaceX

Starliner is one of several fixed-price contracts dragging on the profits in Boeing's defense and space division, which posted a $762 million operating loss during the first six months of 2024

'Horrified': Boeing worker after Nasa asks SpaceX to bring back astronauts

Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who were scheduled to complete an eight-day mission aboard the ISS in June, now face a six-month wait for a SpaceX Crew Dragon to safely return them to Earth

Elon Musk's Polaris Dawn: All you need to know about SpaceX space mission

The company finished rehearsals and a static fire test for the Falcon-9 rocket, set to launch four astronauts on August 27 from Nasa's Kennedy Space Centre

Nasa's decision to not use Boeing capsule to rescue astronauts adds to woes

NASA's announcement on Saturday that it won't use a troubled Boeing capsule to return two stranded astronauts to Earth is a yet another setback for the struggling company, although the financial damage is likely to be less than the reputational harm. Once a symbol of American engineering and technological prowess, Boeing has seen its reputation battered since two 737 Max airliners crashed in 2018 and 2019, killing 346 people. The safety of its products came under renewed scrutiny after a panel blew out of a Max during a flight this January. And now NASA has decided that it is safer to keep the astronauts in space until February rather than risk using the Boeing Starliner capsule that delivered them to the international space station. The capsule has been plagued by problems with its propulsion system. NASA administrator Bill Nelson said the decision to send the Boeing capsule back to Earth empty "is a result of a commitment to safety. Boeing had insisted Starliner was safe based on

Veteran Navy pilots, now astronauts, to stay for more time at space station

The two astronauts who will spend extra time at the International Space Station are Navy test pilots who have ridden out long missions before. Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have been holed up at the space station with seven others since the beginning of June, awaiting a verdict on how and when they would return to Earth. NASA decided Saturday they won't be flying back in their troubled Boeing capsule, but will wait for a ride with SpaceX in late February, pushing their mission to more than eight months. Their original itinerary on the test flight was eight days. Butch Wilmore Wilmore, 61, grew up in Mount Juliet, Tennessee, playing football for his high school team and later Tennessee Technological University. He joined the Navy, becoming a test pilot and racking up more than 8,000 hours of flying time and 663 aircraft carrier landings. He flew combat missions during the first Gulf War in 1991 and was serving as a flight test instructor when NASA chose him as an ...

Nasa selects Musk's SpaceX to rescue astronauts marooned in space

Boeing's spacecraft will return without people on board, the US space agency said during a Saturday news conference announcing its decision

NASA to decide on Aug 24 if Boeing's new capsule safe to fly 2 astronauts

NASA said Thursday it will decide this weekend whether Boeing's new capsule is safe enough to return two astronauts from the International Space Station, where they've been waiting since June. Administrator Bill Nelson and other top officials will meet Saturday. An announcement is expected from Houston once the meeting ends. Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams launched aboard Boeing's Starliner on June 5. The test flight quickly encountered thruster failures and helium leaks so serious that NASA kept the capsule parked at the station as engineers debated what to do. SpaceX could retrieve the astronauts, but that would keep them up there until next February. They were supposed to return after a week or so at the station. If NASA decides SpaceX is the way to go, Starliner would return to Earth empty in September. Engineers are evaluating a new computer model for the Starliner thrusters and how they might perform as the capsule descends out of orbit for a touchdown in the U.S.