NASA Searches for Small Satellite Launchers

Medicine & Technology May 16, 2015

Students and scientists continue to pack increasingly innovative missions into tiny satellites known as CubeSats, but getting them to space proves both difficult and expensive. A NASA program based at Kennedy Space Center hopes to help introduce a new class of rockets designed specifically for very small satellites, or even bunches of them.

NASA Probe Searches Pluto for New Moons and Rings

May 16, 2015

NASA’s New Horizons space probe is set to make the history books when it flies past Pluto on July 14. Currently, the probe looking closely at the little dwarf planet as it looks for anything that could cause problems for the craft during the final months of its historic mission.

NASA Hopes to Rely on Algae and Bacteria for Oxygen Production on Mars

May 16, 2015

As scientists around the world work feverishly to meet the 2030 deadline for sending humans to Mars, one of their most critical issues - oxygen production - may be solved by two very basic organisms: bacteria and algae.

Antarctic Ice Shelf on Verge of Disintegration, NASA Says

May 15, 2015

The last intact section of one of Antarctica’s giant ice shelves is weakening fast and will likely disintegrate in the next few years, contributing to a further rise in sea levels, NASA said in a new study.

NASA Scientist Says Space Mining Needs Oversight

May 15, 2015

While prospecting and mining on the moon or on asteroids is probably a couple of decades away from becoming reality, according to a NASA scientist speaking at a symposium on planetary and terrestrial mining, oversight will be needed by a body much like the United Nations.

Humans May Not Have to Carry Oxygen to Mars

May 14, 2015

NASA is already in the planning stages for a future trip to Mars, and one of the hurdles they must jump is how humans will breath on the Red Planet. However, instead of carrying huge oxygen tanks, future human missions may actually utilize methods to actually produce the life giving gas on the planet itself.

Crew Change Delayed on the International Space Station

May 13, 2015

Following the failed launch of a Russian resupply rocket, NASA and its space agency partners have decided to delay the return of three astronauts from the International Space Station.

New Horizons Captures First Glimpse at Pluto’s Faintest Moons

May 13, 2015

NASA's New Horizons spacecraft has taken the first ever family portrait of Pluto and all of its moons, including the faintest of its known moons.

From the Surface of Jupiter's Moon—Europa Reveals Icy Glass

May 13, 2015

The European Space Agency (ESA) has just published a striking picture of Europa, Jupiter's icy moon. In the image the surface looks like shattered glass; it reveals many interlocking cracks in the moon's icy crust which were formed by an ocean below the moon's surface. Now a team from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) led by planetary scientist Kevin Hand has identified the cracks as sea salt.

Giant Asteroid to Pass Close to the Earth

May 12, 2015

An asteroid that is approximately one-mile wide will come very close to the Earth on May 14, according to NASA’s Near Earth Object watch. While an asteroid of this size would be cataclysmic if it hit the Earth, this one will pass safely by.

Getting to the Core of MESSENGER's Research—Mercury Reveals A Liquid Core

May 12, 2015

NASA's Messenger spacecraft orbited Mercury for four years, and in that time it collected a wealth of data and images as it mapped the planet's gravitational field. Now scientists have announced that Mercury's magnetic field is four million years old.

JPL Tech In Space And On Ground Helps Save Lives After Disaster

May 09, 2015

Technology from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) helped search-and-rescue teams find and save four men buried in rubble following the Nepal Earthquake. FINDER, a device no larger than a carry-on suitcase weighing less than 20 pounds, detected the heartbeats of the victims through 10 feet of wood, mud, and brick.

NASA Wants Your Ideas for a Mars Colony

May 08, 2015

Mars is seen as the next frontier for humans. Ever since astronauts first walked on the Moon in 1969, scientists and space enthusiasts alike have dreamed of one day exploring the Red Planet. While we work on new rockets to get us to Mars, scientists are already hard at work thinking about how to build a sustainable colony on Mars. What do we need to survive? That’s the question NASA is asking the public in its latest competition.

Finding Signs of Life From Space—NASA Rescues Few in Nepal

May 08, 2015

After days of being pinned beneath up to 10 feet of rubble, four men were rescued in Nepal thanks to NASA search-and-rescue technology. This marks the first real-world use of NASA's advanced sensing technology.

Finding Signs of Life From Space—NASA Rescues Few in Nepal

May 08, 2015

After days of being pinned beneath up to 10 feet of rubble, four men were rescued in Nepal thanks to NASA search-and-rescue technology. This marks the first real-world use of NASA's advanced sensing technology.