Those Reports That Astronaut Scott Kelly’s DNA Changed — They’re Wrong
Following several misleading news reports that claimed 7 percent of an identical twin’s DNA changed after he spent one year in space, rendering them no longer identical, NASA reissued the press release...
View ArticleNASA’s Mars Rover Curiosity Marks 2,000th Day on Red Planet
NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity has now marked 2,000 days on the red planet. That’s 2,000 days by Martian standards. A Martian sol, or solar day, is equivalent to 24 hours, 39 minutes and 35 seconds. So...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Voyager Is 13 Billion Miles Away and Needs a Repair: Here’s What Happened
Trickling in through the giant radio dishes of NASA’s Deep Space Network, faint whispers from a distant robotic explorer deliver a message: I may not have much time left. It is Voyager 1, our most...
View ArticleClik here to view.
TESS Will Find Strange New Worlds Close to Home
Have you ever gazed up at the night sky and wondered which stars might have planets, what those worlds may be like, or if there could be some form of life on any of them? When I was a child, I did a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
There Are Earthquakes on Mars! Wait … They’re ‘Marsquakes’
Scientists are about to measure seismic activity on Mars for the first time. NASA is set to launch the InSight lander as early as May 5, carrying a seismometer to the red planet. ‘We can travel across...
View ArticleAfraid of Heights in Space: NASA Astronaut Details Flight
When NASA astronaut Joseph Acaba was out doing a spacewalk during a recent trip to the International Space Station, he held on tight. That’s because Acaba is afraid of heights. “If you look at the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Where No Robot Has Gone Before: Right Into the Sun’s Corona
Shields up! We are approaching the sun and will soon be zipping through its corona at 430,000 miles per hour, enduring blistering outside temperatures of up to 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit and risking...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Icy Moon Of Jupiter Spews Water Plumes Into Space
Scientists have new evidence that there are plumes of water erupting from the surface of Jupiter’s icy moon Europa — plumes that could, maybe, possibly contain signs of life. The evidence comes from...
View ArticleJupiter’s Backward-Flying Asteroid From Another Star System
Just months after the discovery of our first known interstellar visitor, it turns out there’s another asteroid from yet another star system residing in our cosmic club in plain view. Scientists...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mars Helicopter Will Buzz Through the Skies of the Red Planet
We’ve hurled robots at Mars for over 50 years — on one-way flybys and orbital trajectories in space, and onto the surface by parachute, airbag, rocket-crane, landing-feet and even wheels. In 2020, NASA...
View ArticleNew NASA Chief Vows US Will Always Have Astronauts In Orbit
Major changes could be ahead for the International Space Station but there will always be an American astronaut in orbit, NASA’s new boss said Wednesday. The space agency is already talking with...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Now Headed to Mars: Mini-Satellites Made Up of 4-Inch Cubes
NASA’s InSIGHT spacecraft launched May 5 on an outbound journey to Mars, scoring a historic first: the first interplanetary spacecraft ever launched from the West Coast. But that wasn’t the only first...
View ArticleNASA Rover Falls Silent As Gigantic Dust Storm Envelops Mars
A NASA rover on Mars has fallen silent as a gigantic dust storm envelops the planet and blots out the sun. Flight controllers tried late Tuesday night to contact Opportunity, but the rover did not...
View ArticleNASA’s Record-Breaking Spacewoman Retires As Astronaut
NASA’s record-breaking astronaut, Peggy Whitson, is retiring. The space agency announced her retirement Friday, her last day on the job. Whitson has spent more time off the planet than any other...
View ArticleU.S. Stepping Up Earth’s Protection From Asteroids, Comets
The U.S. government is stepping up efforts to protect the planet from incoming asteroids that could wipe out entire regions or even continents. The National Science and Technology Council released a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
New Tool To Save Water By Measuring Plant Health From Space
Next week, a new instrument designed to measure plant stress will be plugged into the International Space Station. Once operating, the device will deliver unprecedented data about drought conditions...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mighty Storm Rages on Mars While Robot Fleet Stands Ready to Watch
There is a mighty windstorm now raging on Mars. From all indications, it’s a whopper, stronger than any since at least 2007 and now covering most of the planet. In the opening scene of “The Martian,”...
View ArticleClik here to view.
NASA’s Dawn Goes In For a Closer Look at the Birth of the Solar System
Many of us remember that scene in the final moments of the first Star Wars movie, when Luke flies his ship toward the surface of the Death Star in a dizzying and breathtaking swoop. “I’m going in….” On...
View ArticleNASA’s Kepler Telescope Almost Out of Fuel, Forced to Nap
NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope is almost out of fuel and has been forced to take a nap. Flight controllers placed the planet-hunting spacecraft into hibernation last week to save energy. It will remain...
View ArticleClik here to view.
From Space, Large Swaths of West Covered in Smoke
NASA satellites captured striking images showing the scale of multiple devastating wildfires raging throughout Northern California and the West Coast. Altogether, the California wildfires have killed...
View Article