nasa Archives

The MOXIE investigation on NASA's Mars 2020 rover will extract oxygen from the Martian atmosphere. Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

NASA’s Next Mars Rover Progresses Toward 2020 Launch

July 16, 2016 Kay Whatley

Released by Guy Webster (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), Dwayne Brown and Laurie Cantillo (NASA) After an extensive review process and passing a major development milestone, NASA is ready to proceed with final design and construction of its next […]

Artist's concept of NASA's X-57 Maxwell aircraft. NASA Aeronautics researchers will use the Maxwell to demonstrate that electric propulsion can make planes quieter, more efficient and more environmentally friendly. Credits: NASA Langley/Advanced Concepts Lab, AMA, Inc.

NASA Experimenting with Fully-Electric Aircraft

June 19, 2016 Kay Whatley

NASA Electric Research Plane Gets X Number, New Name Released by J.D. Harrington, Matt Kamlet, and Kathy Barnstorff of NASA With 14 electric motors turning propellers and all of them integrated into a uniquely-designed wing, NASA will test […]

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Space Station Crew Members Back on Terra Firma

June 18, 2016 Kay Whatley

Three Space Station Crew Members Return to Earth, Land Safely in Kazakhstan Released by Tabatha Thompson (NASA HQ) and Dan Huot (Johnson Space Center) Three crew members from the International Space Station returned to Earth at […]

Comparison of detected methane plumes over Aliso Canyon, California, acquired 11 days apart in Jan. 2016 by: (left) NASA's AVIRIS instrument on a NASA ER-2 aircraft at 4.1 miles (6.6 kilometers) altitude and (right) by the Hyperion instrument on NASA's Earth Observing-1 satellite in low-Earth orbit. Credit: NASA-JPL/Caltech/GSFC.

Porter Ranch CA Methane Leak Observed from Space

June 17, 2016 Kay Whatley

NASA Spots Single Methane Leak from Earth Observing-1 Equipment Released by Alan Buis, Jet Propulsion Laboratory For the first time, an instrument onboard an orbiting spacecraft has measured the methane emissions from a single, specific leaking facility on […]

This artist's rendering shows NASA's Juno spacecraft making one of its close passes over Jupiter. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

NASA’s Juno Spacecraft to Risk Jupiter’s Fireworks for Science

June 16, 2016 Kay Whatley

Released by Dwayne Brown (NASA), Laurie Cantillo (NASA), and DC Agle (JPL) On July 4, 2016, NASA will fly a solar-powered spacecraft the size of a basketball court within 2,900 miles (4,667 kilometers) of the cloud tops of […]

Rosetta Comet image released by Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California.

Rosetta’s Comet

May 29, 2016 Kay Whatley

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and several international partners said, “Rosetta’s comet contains ingredients for life” in a release dated May 27, 2016. These ingredients include the amino acid glycine, which is commonly found in proteins, and […]

This illustration shows the prototype starshade, a giant structure designed to block the glare of stars so that future space telescopes can take pictures of planets. Source: jpl.nasa.gov.

Searching for “Other Earths”

May 19, 2016 Kay Whatley

By Kay Whatley, Editor In April 2016, a NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory release stated the following: On the Road to Finding Other Earths Released by Whitney Clavin, Jet Propulsion Laboratory Scientists are getting closer to finding worlds […]

Source: National Aeronautics and Space Administration - NASA.

New Tech Proposals Chosen by NASA

May 13, 2016 Kay Whatley

From ‘Magnetoshells’ to Growable Habitats, NASA Invests in Next Stage of Visionary Technology Development Released by Gina Anderson (NASA), with Karen Northon (Editor) NASA has selected eight technology proposals for investment that have the potential to […]

About 1000 Viking Orbiter red- and violet-filter images have been processed to provide global color coverage of Mars at a scale of 1 km/pixel. Source: NASA/JPL/USGS.

NASA Seeks Industry Ideas for an Advanced Mars Satellite

April 22, 2016 Kay Whatley

Released by Dwayne Brown and Laurie Cantillo, NASA Headquarters NASA is soliciting ideas from US industry for designs of a Mars orbiter for potential launch in the 2020s. The satellite would provide advanced communications and imaging, as […]

NASA plans to use social media and the hashtag #24Seven on Earth Day 2016. Source: NASA.gov.

NASA Shares Data from Space on Earth Day

April 16, 2016 Kay Whatley

While Earth Day is celebrated here on Earth, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will be sharing what they have going on above Earth. ________________________________________ NASA Announces Earth Day #24Seven Social Media Event Released […]

The Planet Saturn. Source: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute.

Saturn Spacecraft Not Affected by Hypothetical Planet 9

April 11, 2016 Kay Whatley

Released by Preston Dyches, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Contrary to recent reports, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft is not experiencing unexplained deviations in its orbit around Saturn, according to mission managers and orbit determination experts at NASA’s Jet […]

At 11:02 a.m. EDT on April 7, 2001, crowds watch a Boeing Delta II rocket lift off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, carrying NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft into space on its seven-month journey to Mars. Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Arizona State University.

Mars Odyssey Fuel Outlasting Expectation

April 7, 2016 Kay Whatley

Mars Longevity Champion Launched 15 Years Ago Released by Guy Webster (JPL), Dwayne Brown (NASA), and Laurie Cantillo (NASA) The NASA spacecraft that was launched 15 years ago this week carried the name 2001 Mars Odyssey and […]

Comet 252P/LINEAR will safely fly past Earth on March 21, 2016, at a range of about 3.3 million miles (5.2 million kilometers). The following day, comet P/2016 BA14 will safely fly by our planet at a distance of about 2.2 million miles (3.5 million kilometers). Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

JPL Tells A ‘Tail’ of Two Comets

March 19, 2016 Kay Whatley

Released by DC Agle (JPL) and Dwayne Brown & Laurie Cantillo (NASA) Two comets that will safely fly past Earth later this month may have more in common than their intriguingly similar orbits. They may be twins of […]

This is an artist’s concept of a possible Low Boom Flight Demonstration Quiet Supersonic Transport (QueSST) X-plane design. The award of a preliminary design contract is the first step towards the possible return of supersonic passenger travel – but this time quieter and more affordable. Credit: Lockheed Martin.

NASA Begins Work to Build a Quieter Supersonic Passenger Jet

February 29, 2016 Kay Whatley

Released by J.D. Harrington (NASA HQ), Kathy Barnstorff (Langley Research Center). Edited by Sarah Ramsey The return of supersonic passenger air travel is one step closer to reality with NASA’s award of a contract for the preliminary design […]

Gravitational waves are ripples in space-time, represented by the green grid, produced by accelerating bodies such as interacting supermassive black holes. These waves affect the time it takes for radio signals from pulsars to arrive at Earth. Photo Credit: David Champion.

Pulsar Web Could Detect Low-Frequency Gravitational Waves

February 25, 2016 Kay Whatley

Released by Elizabeth Ferrara (NANOGrav), with Elizabeth Landau (JPL) and Elizabeth Ferrara (NANOGrav) The recent detection of gravitational waves by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) came from two black holes, each about 30 times the mass of […]

Source: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, USA.

NASA Invites Public to Send Artwork to Asteroid

February 22, 2016 Kay Whatley

Released by Dwayne C. Brown & Laurie Cantillo (NASA), and Nancy Neal Jones (NASA Goddard) NASA is calling all space enthusiasts to send their artistic endeavors on a journey aboard NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer […]

This artist's rendering shows a galaxy called W2246-0526, the most luminous galaxy known. New research suggests there is turbulent gas across its entirety, the first example of its kind. Image credit: NRAO/AUI/NSF; Dana Berry / SkyWorks; ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO).

Most Luminous Galaxy Is Ripping Itself Apart

January 19, 2016 Kay Whatley

Released by Elizabeth Landau, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory In a far-off galaxy, 12.4 billion light-years from Earth, a ravenous black hole is devouring galactic grub. Its feeding frenzy produces so much energy, it stirs up gas across […]

Earth in Full View. The Apollo 17 crew caught this breathtaking view of our home planet as they were traveling to the moon on Dec. 7, 1972. It's the first time astronauts were able to photograph the South polar ice cap. Nearly the entire coastline of Africa is clearly visible, along with the Arabian Peninsula. Source: NASA.

NASA CORAL Mission to Raise Reef Studies to New Level

January 7, 2016 Kay Whatley

Released by Alan Buis (JPL) and Steve Cole (NASA), and written by Carol Rasmussen (NASA Earth Science News Team) A new three-year NASA field expedition gets underway this year that will use advanced instruments on airplanes and in […]

An exciting chapter of space exploration history will come to a close as NASA's Cassini spacecraft makes its final close flyby of Saturn's active, ocean-bearing moon Enceladus. The spacecraft is scheduled to fly past the icy moon at a distance of 3,106 miles (4,999 kilometers) on Dec. 19 at 9:49 a.m. PST (12:49 p.m. EST). Although Cassini will continue to observe Enceladus for the remainder of its mission (through Sept. 2017), its next-closest encounter with the moon will be at a distance more than four times farther away. The focus of the Dec. 19 encounter will be on measuring how much heat is coming through the ice from the moon's interior -- an important consideration for understanding what is driving its surprising geyser activity, which Cassini discovered in 2005. Credit:NASA/JPL-CalTech

Cassini Closes in on Enceladus, One Last Time

December 17, 2015 Kay Whatley

Released by Preston Dyches, Jet Propulsion Laboratory A thrilling chapter in the exploration of the solar system will soon conclude, as NASA’s Saturn-orbiting Cassini spacecraft makes its final close flyby of the ocean-bearing moon Enceladus. Cassini […]

A combination of satellite data and ground measurements, such as from instrumented buoys like this one in Lake Tahoe on the California/Nevada border, were used to provide a comprehensive view of changing lake temperatures worldwide. The buoy measures the water temperature from above and below. Credit: Limnotech

Climate Change Rapidly Warming World’s Lakes

December 17, 2015 Kay Whatley

Released by Alan Buis (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), Steve Cole (NASA Headquarters), and Eric Sorensen (Washington State University, Pullman) Climate change is rapidly warming lakes around the world, threatening freshwater supplies and ecosystems, according to a new NASA and […]