Spacecraft & Probes
Here’s What NASA’s Rover Saw in the Midst of the Martian Storm
A massive Martian storm swallowed NASA’s Opportunity rover. NASA published some images revealing how stark the situation is. Well, NASA’s Opportunity rover is having a rough time on Mars. A dust storm, large enough to cover North America and Russia is engulfing the red planet. “The storm is one of the most...
Massive Mars Storm Hits NASA’s Opportunity Rover
Intense massive Mars storm has forced NASA to suspend the Opportunity rover’s science work. The agency has to wait now as the storms don’t go away so fast. Scientists predict that the storm could last months. The Martian dust storm was first spotted from space by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, NASA...
NASA Rover Finds Ancient Organic Matter on Mars
Two studies shed light on the theory that Mars may have once been an inhabited world. Curiosity rover just found organic matter in the Martian soil. NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity has identified a variety of organic molecules on 3 billion-year-old mudstone in the Gale crater. The rover has also detected methane...
NASA’s Cubesats Head For Mars
Along with the InSight robotic lander, NASA also launched two CubeSats called MarCO-A and MarCO-B to planet Mars last month. So, after a successful trajectory correction maneuver, CubeSats are now heading towards the red planet. The InSight spacecraft has also completed the process on 22 May. The pair of CubeSats that...
NASA’s Dawn Probe Prepares for its Closest Encounter Ever with Dwarf Planet Ceres
NASA’s Dawn probe is currently orbiting the dwarf planet Ceres. In early June, it will enter lowest ever orbit around Ceres. This month, Dawn will get to its final orbit around Ceres. It will enter an elliptical path that will take the probe 10 times closer to the surface than it’s ever been. The probe will orbit less than...
NASA Camera Melted During Rocket Launch but Photos Survived
A DSLR camera melted on Tuesday, May 22, during SpaceX’s latest Falcon 9 rocket launch. The camera belongs to NASA photographer Bill Ingalls. On May 22 Ingalls traveled to California to photograph the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch two spacecraft into orbit from Vandenberg Air Force Base northwest of Santa Barbara. The...
Rosetta Explains Origins of Sunrise Jets on Comet 67P
Astronomers are studying data collected by the Rosetta probe. Therefore, better understanding the factors responsible for the formation of sunrise jets on Comet 67P. The sunrise jets are unique dust and gas jets. Comets emit them. The Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Germany is leading a study, also...
On This Day May 20, 1978 NASA Launches Pioneer Venus 1
Pioneer Venus mission consisted of two spacecraft, the orbiter, and the multiprobe which launched separately to study Venus. The Pioneer Venus 1 (also known as the Pioneer Venus orbiter) was the first of two spacecraft. NASA launched it on May 20, 1978, from the Kennedy Space Center aboard an Atlas-Centaur rocket. The...
NASA’s New Planet-Hunter Captures 1st Image
NASA’s TESS planet-hunter zoomed within about 5,000 miles (8,000 kilometers) of the moon yesterday (May 17). And it snapped its new test image. The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) launched just last month on a mission to find alien worlds circling stars close to the sun. Yesterday the new...
New Beautiful Photo of Saturn’s Three Moons
Even though Cassini has finished its mission, NASA is still releasing new photos. So, this one shows Saturn’s beautiful rings and amazing three moons. NASA’s legendary Cassini spacecraft finished its mission on 15 September 2017, plunging into Saturn’s atmosphere. However, NASA is still releasing spectacular...