Page 25 - Nasa

Here are five global space exploration missions to watch out for in 2023

With many bold advances and launches due in 2023, we are entering a new phase akin to the "Golden era" of space launches in the 1960s and '70s

A war-torn world: How Russia-Ukraine conflict dictated geopolitics globally

With the invasion turning into a misadventure for Putin in the face of a spirited Nato-backed Ukrainian defence, the world can only hope the 2 nations reach at least a brokered ceasefire deal in 2023

NASA launches first-ever mission SWOT to observe nearly all water on Earth

SWOT will cover the entire Earth's surface between 78 degrees south and 78 degrees north latitude at least once every 21 days

Nasa says its sensors will detect methane produced by landfills globally

Nasa sensors will soon help scientists detect methane emitted by landfills across the globe, according to the US space agency

Nasa's Orion capsule returns from moon, lands in Pacific Ocean off Mexico

NASA's Orion capsule made a blisteringly fast return from the moon Sunday, parachuting into the Pacific off Mexico to conclude a test flight that should clear the way for astronauts on the next lunar flyby. The incoming capsule hit the atmosphere at Mach 32, or 32 times the speed of sound, and endured reentry temperatures of 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit (2,760 degrees Celsius) before splashing down west of Mexico's Baja California near Guadalupe Island. A Navy ship quickly moved in to recover the spacecraft and its silent occupants three test dummies rigged with vibration sensors and radiation monitors. NASA needed a successful splashdown to stay on track for the next Orion flight around the moon, currently targeted for 2024. Four astronauts will make the trip. That will be followed by a two-person lunar landing as early as 2025. Astronauts last landed on the moon 50 years ago Sunday. After touching down on Dec. 11, 1972, Apollo 17's Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt spent three da

Nasa's Orion capsule flies over Apollo landing sites, heads home

NASA's Orion capsule and its test dummies swooped one last time around the moon Monday, flying over a couple Apollo landing sites before heading home. Orion will aim for a Pacific splashdown Sunday off San Diego, setting the stage for astronauts on the next flight in a couple years. The capsule passed within 130 kilometres of the far side of the moon, using the lunar gravity as a slingshot for the 3,80,000-kilometre ride back to Earth. It spent a week in a wide, sweeping lunar orbit. Once emerging from behind the moon and regaining communication with flight controllers in Houston, Orion beamed back photos of a close-up moon and a crescent Earth Earthrise in the distance. Orion now has its sights set on home," said Mission Control commentator Sandra Jones. The capsule also passed over the landing sites of Apollo 12 and 14. But at 1,900 kilometres up, it was too high to make out the descent stages of the lunar landers or anything else left behind by astronauts more than a half-cen

Nasa astronauts successfully install new roll-out solar array on ISS

NASA astronauts Josh Cassada and Frank Rubio have successfully installed Roll-Out Solar Array on the starboard truss structure of the space station

Nasa's uncrewed Orion spacecraft mission breaks Apollo 13's record

The earlier record was set during the Apollo 13 mission at 248,655 miles (400,171 kms) from Earth

NASA's Orion spacecraft successfully enters orbit around the moon

NASA's Orion capsule has entered an orbit stretching tens of thousands of miles around the moon, as it neared the halfway mark of its test flight. The capsule and its three test dummies entered lunar orbit more than a week after launching on the USD4 billion demo that's meant to pave the way for astronauts. It will remain in this broad but stable orbit for nearly a week, completing just half a lap before heading home. As of Friday's engine firing, the capsule was 238,000 miles (380,000 kilometers) from Earth. It's expected to reach a maximum distance of almost 270,000 miles (432,000 kilometers) in a few days. That will set a new distance record for a capsule designed to carry people one day. It is a statistic, but it's symbolic for what it represents, Jim Geffre, an Orion manager, said in a NASA interview earlier in the week. It's about challenging ourselves to go farther, stay longer and push beyond the limits of what we've previously explored. NASA considers this a dress rehearsa

China plans to build its first moon base powered by nuclear energy by 2028

China plans to build its first base on the moon by 2028, ahead of landing astronauts there in subsequent years as the country steps up its challenge to NASA's dominance in space exploration

James Webb telescope reveals exoplanet atmosphere as never seen before

New observations of WASP-39 b reveal a never-before-seen molecule in the atmosphere of a planet sulfur dioxide among other details.The telescope's array of highly sensitive instruments was trained on the atmosphere of a "hot Saturn" -- a planet about as massive as Saturn orbiting a star some 700 light-years away -- known as WASP-39 b. While JWST and other space telescopes, including Hubble and Spitzer, previously have revealed isolated ingredients of this broiling planet's atmosphere, the new readings provide a full menu of atoms, molecules, and even signs of active chemistry and clouds."The clarity of the signals from a number of different molecules in the data is remarkable," says Mercedes Lopez-Morales, an astronomer at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian and one of the scientists who contributed to the new results."We had predicted that we were going to see many of those signals, but still, when I first saw the data, I was in awe," Lopez-Morales adds.The ...

Nasa Orion spacecraft makes closest flyby of Moon at 130 kms distance

NASA's Orion spacecraft has successfully performed its first Moon flyby as part of the uncrewed Artemis I mission, to pass within 130 kms of the lunar surface

Nasa's Orion capsule buzzes moon, last big step before lunar orbit

NASA's Orion capsule reached the moon Monday, whipping around the back side and passing within 80 miles (128 km) on its way to a record-breaking lunar orbit. The close approach occurred as the crew capsule and its three test dummies were on the far side of the moon. Because of the half-hour communication blackout, flight controllers in Houston did not know if the critical engine firing went well until the capsule emerged from behind the moon, more than 232,000 miles (375,000 km) from Earth. It's the first time a capsule has visited the moon since NASA's Apollo programme 50 years ago, and represented a huge milestone in the $4.1 billion test flight that began last Wednesday. Orion's flight path took it over the landing sites of Apollo 11, 12 and 14 humanity's first three lunar touchdowns. The moon loomed ever larger in the video beamed back earlier in the morning, as the capsule closed the final few thousand miles since blasting off last Wednesday from Florida's Kennedy Space Centre

James Webb Telescope spots Cosmic hourglass; unveils beginning of new star

This view of L1527 provides a window into what our Sun and solar system looked like in their infancy

NASA's Webb Space telescope spots early galaxies hidden from Hubble

NASA's Webb Space Telescope is finding bright, early galaxies that until now were hidden from view, including one that may have formed a mere 350 million (35 crore) years after the cosmic-creating Big Bang. Astronomers said on Thursday that if the results are verified, this newly-discovered throng of stars would beat the most distant galaxy identified by the Hubble Space Telescope, a record-holder that formed 400 million (40 crore) years after the universe began. Launched last December as a successor to Hubble, the Webb telescope is indicating stars may have formed sooner than previously thought -- perhaps within a couple million years of creation. Webb's latest discoveries were detailed in the Astrophysical Journal Letters by an international team led by Rohan Naidu of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. The article elaborates on two exceptionally bright galaxies, the first thought to have formed 350 million years after the Big Bang and the other 450 million (45 crore)

NASA's Artemis mission on way to Moon after launch by giant new rocket

A space capsule hurtled toward the moon on Wednesday for the first time in 50 years, following a thunderous launch of NASA's mightiest rocket in a dress rehearsal for astronaut flights. No one was on board this debut flight, just three test dummies. The capsule is headed for a wide orbit around the moon and then a return to Earth with a Pacific splashdown in about three weeks. After years of delays and billions in cost overruns, the Space Launch System rocket roared skyward, rising from Kennedy Space Center on 8.8 million pounds (4 million kilograms) of thrust and hitting 100 mph (160 kph) within seconds. The Orion capsule was perched on top and, less than two hours into the flight, busted out of Earth's orbit toward the moon. It was pretty overwhelming, said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. We're going out to explore the heavens, and this is the next step." The moonshot follows nearly three months of vexing fuel leaks that kept the rocket bouncing between its hangar and the pad. .

NASA's mightiest moon rocket Artemis 1 blasts off 50 years after Apollo

NASA's new moon rocket blasted off on its debut flight with three test dummies aboard early Wednesday, bringing the US, a big step closer to putting astronauts back on the lunar surface for the first time since the end of the Apollo programme 50 years ago. If all goes well during the three-week, make-or-break shakedown flight, the rocket will propel an empty crew capsule into a wide orbit around the moon, and then the capsule will return to Earth with a splashdown in the Pacific in December. After years of delays and billions in cost overruns, the Space Launch System rocket thundered skyward, rising from Kennedy Space Centre 4 million kilograms of thrust and hitting 160 kph within seconds. The Orion capsule was perched on top, ready to bust out of Earth orbit toward the moon not quite two hours into the flight. The moonshot follows nearly three months of vexing fuel leaks that kept the rocket bouncing between its hangar and the pad. Forced back indoors by Hurricane Ian at the end

NASA fuelling new moon rocket for launch after leaks, hurricanes

NASA began fuelling its new moon rocket on Tuesday for a middle-of-the-night launch, its third try to put an empty capsule around the moon for the first time in 50 years. Fuel leaks plagued the first two attempts in late summer, then a pair of hurricanes caused more delays. While engineers never pinpointed the cause of the escaping hydrogen, they altered the fuelling process to minimise leakage and were confident that all the plumbing in the 322-foot (98-metre) rocket would remain tight and intact. NASA added an hour to the operation to account for the slower fill-up, vital for reducing pressure on the fuel lines and keeping the seals in place. It seemed to work, with no major leakages reported during the early stages. "So far, everything is going very smoothly," said assistant launch director Jeremy Graeber about an hour into fuelling. The rocket was being gassed up with nearly one million gallons (3.7 million litres) of super-cold hydrogen and oxygen. After more than four hours,

Skyroot to signal India's SpaceX moment on Fri with Vikram-S rocket launch

The mission, named 'Prarambh', will be the first launch of a privately developed and operated launch vehicle from the country

NASA: Moon rocket endured hurricane, set for 1st test flight next week

NASA's moon rocket needs only minor repairs after enduring a hurricane at the pad and is on track for its first test flight next week, a top official said on Friday. Right now, there's nothing preventing us" from attempting a launch on Wednesday, said NASA's Jim Free, an associate administrator. The wind never exceeded the rocket's design limits as Hurricane Nicole swept through Kennedy Space Centre on Thursday, according to Free. But he acknowledged if the launch team had known in advance that a hurricane was going to hit, they likely would have kept the rocket indoors. The rocket was moved out to the pad late last week for its USD 4.1 billion demo mission. Gusts reached 100 mph (160 kph) atop the launch tower, but were not nearly as strong farther down at the rocket. Computer models indicate there should be no strength or fatigue issues from the storm, even deep inside the rocket, Free noted. NASA had been aiming for an early Monday launch, but put it on hold for two days becau