Page 26 - Nasa

NASA's Chandra observatory helps dig out black holes previously buried

NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has helped discover hundreds of black holes previously buried, which will help astronomers get a more accurate census of black holes in the universe

NASA's Webb telescope spots its first Earth-like exoplanet: Researchers

Researchers have confirmed an exoplanet, a planet that orbits another star, using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope for the first time

NASA mission spots 2nd Earth-size world within 'habitable zone' of its star

NASA mission has discovered a second Earth-sized, rocky planet within the habitable zone of its star -- the range of distances where liquid water could occur on a planet's surface

Nasa names Indian-American AC Charania as new chief technologist

NASA has named Indo-American aerospace industry expert A.C. Charania as its new chief technologist to serve as principal advisor on technology policy and programs

40 year-old NASA science satellite falls harmlessly from sky off Alaska

After almost 40 years circling Earth, a retired NASA science satellite plunged harmlessly through the atmosphere off the coast of Alaska, NASA reported Monday. The Defense Department confirmed that the satellite - placed in orbit in 1984 by astronaut Sally Ride - reentered late Sunday night over the Bering Sea, a few hundred miles from Alaska. NASA said it's received no reports of injury or damage from falling debris. Late last week, NASA said it expected most of the 5,400-pound (2,450-kilogram) Earth Radiation Budget Satellite to burn up in the atmosphere, but that some pieces might survive. The space agency put the odds of falling debris injuring someone at 1-in-9,400. Space shuttle Challenger carried the satellite into orbit and the first American woman in space set it free. The satellite measured ozone in the atmosphere and studied how Earth absorbed and radiated energy from the sun, before being retired in 2005, well beyond its expected working lifetime.

CES 2023: Citizen's new smartwatch uses Nasa tech, AI to measure fatigue

Citizen has launched new CZ Smartwatch which uses artificial intelligence (AI) and space agency NASA research to measure wearers' fatigue and alertness at Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2023

38-yr-old retired Nasa satellite to fall from sky this weekend, low threat

A 38-year-old retired NASA satellite is about to fall from the sky. NASA said Friday the chance of wreckage falling on anybody is very low. Most of the 5,400-pound (2,450-kilogram) satellite will burn up upon reentry, according to NASA. But some pieces are expected to survive. The space agency put the odds of injury from falling debris at about 1-in-9,400. The science satellite is expected to come down Sunday night, give or take 17 hours, according to the Defense Department. The California-based Aerospace Corp., however is targeting Monday morning, give or take 13 hours, along a track passing over Africa, Asia the Middle East and the westernmost areas of North and South America. The Earth Radiation Budget Satellite, known as ERBS, was launched in 1984 aboard space shuttle Challenger. Although its expected working lifetime was two years, the satellite kept making ozone and other atmospheric measurements until its retirement in 2005. The satellite studied how Earth absorbed and radi

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