NASA - Part 2
221 reports
NASA Tests Autonomous Systems to Make Airport Runways Safer
NASA and Boeing tested digital taxi guidance and runway sensing at Ames in March 2026, demonstrating how sensor data could detect obstacles and reduce communication errors without replacing pilots or air traffic controllers
Shannon Lucid Set a Human Spaceflight Record on Mir
Shannon Lucid spent 188 days aboard Russia's Mir, tending life-science experiments and helping NASA understand the operational, psychological, and cultural demands of long-duration spaceflight.
NASA Aircraft Will Track Farm Pollution Over Colorado
NASA's FarmFlux airborne campaign is planned to begin with low-altitude flights over Colorado farmland in fall 2026, measuring methane, ozone, ammonia, particulates and other pollutants while tracing nitrogen exchange between agricultural systems and the atmosphere.
Arctic Sea Ice Reaches Its Preliminary 2026 Minimum at the 11th-Lowest Level
Arctic sea ice reached a preliminary 2026 minimum of 4.60 million square kilometers on Sept. 12. The estimate ranks 11th-lowest in the satellite record, although the final value and ranking remain subject to confirmation.
Hydrazine Freeze-Thaw Cycles Can Put NASA Hardware at Risk
NASA's technical guidance warns that repeated freeze-thaw exposure can rupture hydrazine plumbing, create slush blockages and reduce the service life of propulsion and auxiliary systems.
Curiosity Finds Mars Rocks in Subtle Bands
NASA's Curiosity rover is examining subtly banded terrain in Valle Grande, where new contact science, panoramic imaging, and centimeter-scale rock features are helping map the geological transition across Gale Crater's sulfate-rich slopes.
NASA Reframes PFO Risk for Artemis Astronauts
A NASA working group finds no basis for changing astronaut selection over patent foramen ovale and calls for tighter EVA medication guidance as Artemis missions move toward lunar operations
A Fire Amoeba Sets a New Heat Limit for Complex Life
A NASA-supported study identifies an amoeba from California hot springs that reproduces at 63°C, remains active at 64°C and can recover after brief exposure to temperatures approaching 70°C.
Chandra Finds 84 Hypersoft X-ray Sources Across Six Nearby Galaxies
NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has identified 84 hypersoft X-ray sources in six nearby galaxies. Their concentration of very low-energy X-rays may offer clues to Type Ia supernova progenitors and the ultraviolet radiation environment between galaxies.
NASA Astronaut Anil Menon Will Answer New Hampshire Student Questions
A live NASA stream will carry prerecorded STEM questions from New Hampshire students to astronaut Anil Menon aboard the International Space Station on Thursday, Sept. 24, offering students a direct view of science and space careers in orbit.
Equinoxes Reveal Earth's Changing Balance of Sunlight
The 2026 equinoxes mark the moments when the Sun crosses Earth's equatorial plane, revealing why the seasons reverse between hemispheres and why day and night are never perfectly equal.
NASA Builds State Hubs for the Aerospace Workforce
NASA has launched a nationwide workforce initiative with seven State Hubs across the United States designed to connect students with technical skills, credentials, and hands-on aerospace experience.
Reid Wiseman Brings Artemis II to Baltimore Ravens Fans
Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman returned to his Baltimore roots at M&T Bank Stadium on Sept. 20, 2026, as NASA used the Ravens-Saints game to bring space exploration closer to local fans.
Perseverance Finds Three Water Episodes in Ancient Mars Rocks
Perseverance has analyzed igneous rocks in Mars' Jezero Crater that record at least three separate interactions with water, including a later episode involving heated underground fluids.
NASA Archive Maps Seven Years of Widely Attended Space Events
NASA's Widely Attended Gatherings archive brings together event determinations from 2020 through 2026, covering launches, awards dinners, policy meetings and industry receptions while showing why administrative records must be distinguished from scientific evidence.
XRISM Tracks Stellar Wind Falling Onto a Pulsar
XRISM has traced iron-rich plasma moving toward the pulsar GX 301-2 at about 540,000 kph, providing spectroscopic evidence that a neutron star captures its giant companion's stellar wind and powers recurring X-ray flares.
NASA Adds Three SpaceX Crew Flights Through 2030
NASA has added $946 million for SpaceX's Crew-15, Crew-16, and Crew-17 missions, raising the company's total Commercial Crew missions to 17 and the contract value to $5.92 billion. The decision secures transportation and lifeboat services through 2030 while NASA evaluates schedule pressure, Dragon inspections, and the future role of Boeing's Starliner.
COSI Detector Assembly Moves Toward Gamma-Ray Science
A detector assembly for NASA's COSI gamma-ray telescope was raised from a laboratory table on July 8, 2026, revealing hardware designed to study matter, antimatter and dying stars as the mission prepares for a planned 2027 launch.
Hubble captures a spiral galaxy with a twisted core
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has imaged NGC 4698, a spiral galaxy in Virgo whose central bulge and inner rotation axis are set at right angles to its disk, hinting at a past shaped by external gas or a minor merger.
NASA's Enterprise Shuttle: How a Test Vehicle and Star Trek Fans Shaped the Shuttle Era
On September 17, 1976, NASA introduced its first space shuttle orbiter, OV-101. Named Enterprise after a wave of public support, the vehicle played a central role in early shuttle flight tests and set the stage for the program's future.
NASA tests new Moon and Mars landing system at Armstrong flight lab
NASA's Dale Reed Subscale Flight Research Laboratory is testing the SPLICE guidance system on the Alta-X drone to improve hazard detection and precision landings for future Moon and Mars missions.
NASA orbiter spots largest new lunar crater in a century
NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has found a 728-foot-wide impact crater on the Moon's eastern limb, created between April and May 2024 by a building-sized asteroid or comet. The discovery gives scientists a rare look at how the lunar surface changes after a major collision.
NASA tracks Earth's shifting center of mass with satellites
NASA scientists have measured how Earth's center of mass moves by millimeters each year as water, ice, and air shift across the globe, using satellite laser ranging and GPS data.
V-2 Rocket Explosion Cut Albert III's Spaceflight Short
A V-2 rocket carrying the monkey Albert III exploded seconds after launch in 1949, exposing the dangers of early animal spaceflight and the technical limits of postwar rocketry.
NASA opens competition for states to host new Space Academy
NASA is inviting states to propose locations for the U.S. Space Academy, aiming to start classes in 2028 and build a permanent campus by 2031 to train future scientists and astronauts.
Mercury's Surface Hides Evidence of Greater Planetary Shrinkage
A new study using NASA MESSENGER data finds Mercury may have shrunk by up to 30 percent more than earlier models indicated, with impact debris masking the true scale of planetary contraction
ESA astronaut honors Star Trek legacy aboard International Space Station
ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot marked Star Trek's 60th anniversary by wearing a Starfleet badge on the International Space Station, highlighting the show's influence on real-world space exploration and international scientific cooperation
Landsat 8 Captures Anak Krakatau Eruption from Orbit
NASA and USGS's Landsat 8 satellite recorded Anak Krakatau's eruption as volcanic gas and ash reached the atmosphere, grounding flights and halting local activity while the volcano remains active
Genesis Sample Capsule Carash Exposed a Critical Spacecraft Design Flaw
NASA's Genesis mission was meant to return solar wind samples from deep space but ended with its capsule shattered in the Utah desert after a parachute system failure. The mission's outcome forced a reexamination of spacecraft safety and sample recovery methods
NASA's 100th Astronaut Flight Tested Space Station Assembly in Orbit
NASA's space shuttle Endeavour launched the STS-69 mission on September 7, 1995, deploying and retrieving two satellites and conducting a spacewalk to test International Space Station assembly techniques
Webb Telescope Reveals Rare O-Type Star Cluster in Carina Nebula
A new James Webb Space Telescope image exposes a dense cluster of newborn stars, including a rare O-type giant, inside the Treasure Chest globule in the Carina Nebula, offering a detailed look at early stellar evolution in one of the Milky Way's most active star-forming regions
NASA adds new Goldstone antenna to expand deep space communications
NASA has activated a new 34 meter antenna at Goldstone to increase the Deep Space Network's capacity as Artemis and other missions strain existing communication infrastructure
NASA tests Slingshot spacecraft concept for mineral mapping beyond Earth
A NASA-funded study is evaluating whether a small spacecraft using Raman spectroscopy could remotely identify minerals on the Moon, asteroids, and Martian moons, potentially transforming how resources are surveyed before future missions
Blue Origin rocket blast detected over 1600 kilometers from Cape Canaveral
A Blue Origin New Glenn rocket explosion at Cape Canaveral produced infrasound waves detected more than 1600 kilometers away. Researchers used specialized sensors to estimate the blast's energy and assess its impact on launch operations and future missions.
Hubble Reveals Giant Superbubble Structure in Large Magellanic Cloud
A new Hubble Space Telescope image captures the nebula N44 in the Large Magellanic Cloud, highlighting a vast superbubble at its center and offering fresh insight into the impact of massive stars on their galactic environment
Part 2 of 7