Have you ever wondered when we will be able to travel to distant stars as easily as in science fiction stories? NASA Glenn’sMarc Millis, who has taken a break from Project Management for NASA’s Breakthrough Propulsion Physics (BPP) Project to return to conducting research, offers this assessment of the prospects for achieving the propulsion breakthroughs that would enable such far-future visions of interstellar travel.
NASA/JPL-Caltech For the first time ever, scientists have been able to measure the precise spin rate of a ‘supermassive black hole’. The findings will provide some clue as to how some of the most mysterious objects in our universe began to form. The black hole is located in the NGC 1365 galaxy, located 56 million [...]
On Feb. 11, 2010, NASA launched an unprecedented solar observatory into space. The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) flew up on an Atlas V rocket, carrying instruments that scientists hoped would revolutionize observations of the sun. If all went according to plan, SDO would provide incredibly high-resolution data of the entire solar disk almost as quickly [...]
On Feb. 11, 2010, NASA launched an unprecedented solar observatory into space. The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) flew up on an Atlas V rocket, carrying instruments that scientists hoped would revolutionize observations of the sun. If all went according to plan, SDO would provide incredibly high-resolution data of the entire solar disk almost as quickly as once a second.
“NASA is playing God, its making its own weather” – Jeremy Clarkson, heads to Mississippi where NASA test their Space Shuttle solid rocket boosters, consuming half a million gallons of fuel. During this test NASA manage to create artificial clouds.
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 rocket streaks away from Space Launch Complex 41 into the night sky over Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, carrying NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-K, TDRS-K, to orbit. Credit: NASA/Glenn Benson. The TDRS system provides a critical communications link to Earth for the International Space [...]
On Feb. 15th an asteroid about half the size of a football field will fly past Earth closer than many man-made satellites. Since regular sky surveys began in the 1990s, astronomers have never seen an object so big come so close to our planet. http://science.nasa.gov/
Three days prior to its planned impact on a lunar mountain, mission controllers activated the camera aboard one of NASA’s GRAIL twins to take some final photos from lunar orbit.
Agena Target Vehicle, also referred to as Thus, part of the Gemini 12 mission in November 1966 Alan Shepard is prepared for flight on the Mercury-Redstone 3 mission in May 1961. Shepard was the first American in space An Apollo 12 crew member using a video camera on the moon in November 1969 An early [...]
Station Spinal Ultrasounds Seeking Why Astronauts Grow Taller in Space 01.02.13 Did you ever wish you could be just a teensy bit taller? Well, if you spend a few months in space, you could get your wish — temporarily. It is a commonly known fact that astronauts living aboard the International Space Station grow up to 3 [...]
01.03.13 NASA-funded researchers analyzing a small meteorite that may be the first discovered from the Martian surface or crust have found it contains 10 times more water than other Martian meteorites from unknown origins. This new class of meteorite was found in 2011 in the Sahara Desert. Designated Northwest Africa (NWA) 7034, and nicknamed “Black [...]
We may never have our flying cars, but the future is here. From creating fully functioning artificial leaves to hacking the human brain, science made a lot of breakthroughs this year.
Hubble astronomers have looked at one of the most distant and brightest quasars in the universe and are surprised by what they did not see: the underlying host galaxy of stars feeding the quasar. The best explanation is that the galaxy is shrouded in so much dust that the stars are completely hidden everywhere. Astronomers [...]
It seems that Curiosity, a Martian rover, managed to find evidence that proves that there used to be a lot of water on the Red Planet. The discovery means that that there could be life on Mars as well. The images obtained with the help of telemetry show a river channel or streams among rocks. [...]
