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NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory led the development and delivery of Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI). From our cosmic backyard in the solar system to distant galaxies near the dawn of time, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has delivered on its promise of revealing the universe like never before in its first year of science operations. To …

Webb Celebrates First Year of Science With Close-up on Birth of Sun-like Stars Read More »

NASA’s Curiosity rover has discovered the first evidence that Mars once had a climate which alternated between wet and dry seasons similar to Earth, a study said on Wednesday, suggesting the red planet may have once had the right conditions to support life. Though the surface of Mars is now an arid desert, billions of …

Mars once had wet-dry climate conducive to supporting life: Study Read More »

On August 12, 2023, NASA’s STEREO-A spacecraft passes between the sun and Earth, marking the first Earth flyby of the nearly 17-year-old mission. The visit home brings a special chance for the spacecraft to collaborate with NASA missions near Earth and reveal new insights into our closest star. The twin STEREO (Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory) …

After 17 years, NASA’s STEREO-A spacecraft makes its first Earth flyby Read More »

The universe is humming with gravitational radiation—a very low-frequency rumble that rhythmically stretches and compresses spacetime and the matter embedded in it. That is the conclusion of several groups of researchers from around the world who simultaneously published a slew of journal articles in June describing more than 15 years of observations of millisecond pulsars …

After 15 years, pulsar timing yields evidence of cosmic background gravitational waves Read More »

An 18-year-old Aberdeen University student and her mother will travel to space later this week after winning a place on Virgin Galactic’s second commercial flight in a prize draw. Anastatia Mayers and her mum Keisha Schahaff will be the first mother and daughter to go to space. The pair will take off from New Mexico …

Mother and daughter first to go to space together Read More »

Scientists have made the most precise measurements ever of Mars’s rotation, for the first time detecting how the planet wobbles due to the “sloshing” of its molten metal core. The findings, detailed in a recent Nature paper, rely on data from NASA’s InSight Mars lander, which operated for four years before running out of power …

NASA InSight study finds Mars is spinning faster Read More »

The Euclid space telescope, launched July 1 on a mission to shed more light on elusive dark matter and dark energy, has reached its destination orbit and on Monday its European operators revealed its first test images. The star-filled snapshots were taken during the space telescope‘s commissioning—a phase during which its powerful instruments are finely …

First test images from Euclid space telescope unveiled Read More »

A new image of the galaxy cluster known as “El Gordo” is revealing distant and dusty objects never seen before, and providing a bounty of fresh science. The infrared image, taken by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, displays a variety of unusual, distorted background galaxies that were only hinted at in previous Hubble Space Telescope …

Webb spotlights gravitational arcs in ‘El Gordo’ galaxy cluster Read More »

Among the cargo headed to the International Space Station is an upgrade for NASA’s quantum physics facility, the Cold Atom Lab. A Northrop Grumman Cygnus resupply spacecraft is on its way to the International Space Station with more than 8,200 pounds of NASA science investigations and cargo after launching at 8:31 p.m. EDT Tuesday from …

Science, Hardware Launches on NASA’s Northrop Grumman Cargo Mission Read More »

The first rocket launch from the surface of another planet will be accomplished using two solid rocket motors. NASA’s Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV) recently reached some major milestones in support of the Mars Sample Return program. The Mars Ascent Vehicle would be the first launch of a rocket from the surface of another planet. The …

NASA Mars Ascent Vehicle Continues Progress Toward Mars Sample Return Read More »