Mars’ rusty red surface may have given it its famous “Red Planet” status, but it also appears that thousands of white rocks are strangely scattered across the Martian floor. NASA’s Patience The robotic geologist Rover, which has been exploring Jezero Crater since early 2021, surprised scientists when it delivered images of more than 4,000 light-toned,… Read More »
NASA’s next moon buggy is starting to take shape. The agency selected three dedicated teams, led by companies Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost, and Venturi Astrolab, respectively, to develop versions of the rover Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV) that Artemis astronauts will use around the Moon’s south polar region. In 2030. “We look forward to the development… Read More »
Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news about fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. Eclipses inspire awe and bring people together to observe a dazzling celestial event, but these cosmic events also allow scientists to unravel the mysteries of the solar system. During the total solar eclipse on April… Read More »
Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news about fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. Eclipses inspire awe and bring people together to observe a dazzling celestial event, but these cosmic events also allow scientists to unravel the mysteries of the solar system. During the total solar eclipse on April… Read More »
Travis Lange, LSST’s deputy project manager, shined a flashlight at the LSST Camera, which has a 5-foot-wide lens.Jacqueline Ramseyer Orrell/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory Scientists have produced the largest digital camera ever for astronomy, weighing 3 tons and with a 1.5-meter lens. The LSST camera is designed to capture thousands of 3,200-megapixel images of the entire… Read More »
NASA astronauts and weather satellites will watch next week’s solar eclipse from space. SpaceX Crew-8 astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS), along with at least one of the two Russian Soyuz crew members currently on board, will experience a “very unique vantage point” as a total solar eclipse sweeps across Mexico and the U.S.,… Read More »
It may now be revealed that Japan’s future lunar rover proposal is “more than meets the eye.” First announced last June and now shipping, the new scale model of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) Lunar Cruiser not only faithfully reproduces the details of the astronaut transport developed in conjunction with Toyota, but also Optimus… Read More »
Long March-5 Y7 rocket carrying a communications technology experimental satellite launched from Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in southern China’s Hainan Province, February 23, 2024. Credit – Xinhua News Agency via Getty; 2024 Xinhua News Agency R.There are approximately 6,800 miles between humanity’s past and future on the lunar surface. This is the approximate distance between… Read More »
A very young star formed within the dark cloud L1527 (top left), the “Cosmic Rocks” (top right), the Tarantula Nebula (bottom left), and the Chameleon I molecular cloud (bottom right).NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI/Webb ERO Production Team. Image processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI), Alyssa Pagan (STScI), Anton M. Koekemoer (STScI), Mehdi Zamani (ESA/Webb). NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has opened… Read More »
Anil Menon is a former SpaceX medical director, flight surgeon, and a newly appointed NASA astronaut. But his most important (and challenging) job, he said, is being a father to his two young children. Menon encourages parents: If you can be a parent, you can be an astronaut, he said. Anil Menon is one of… Read More »