https://phys.org/ en-us Latest news from NASA As NASA and Boeing enter the early stages of producing the X-66, the first X-plane specifically focused on helping the United States achieve net-zero aviation emissions by 2050, the team is already picturing what the aircraft will look like soaring above the clouds. https://techxplore.com/news/2024-03-nasa-boeing-sustainable-experimental-airliner.html Energy & Green Tech Automotive Thu, 07 Mar 2024 16:03:47 EST news629049825 It's not hard to find out what NASA's Hubble and James Webb space telescopes have observed in the past. Barely a week goes by without news of a cosmic discovery made possible using images, spectra, and other data captured by NASA's prolific astronomical observatories. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-hubble-webb-nasa-tool.html Astronomy Space Exploration Wed, 06 Mar 2024 16:34:16 EST news628965253 The Orion spacecraft that traveled around the moon and back during 2022's Artemis I mission completed a different round trip when it recently returned to Ohio for testing. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-earth-nasa-orion-capsule-crewed.html Space Exploration Wed, 06 Mar 2024 15:30:02 EST news628961402 The Kepler mission enabled the discovery of thousands of exoplanets, revealing a deep truth about our place in the cosmos: There are more planets than stars in the Milky Way galaxy. The road to this fundamental change in our understanding of the universe, however, required almost 20 years of persistence before the mission became a reality with its selection in 2001. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-planets-stars-kepler-legacy.html Space Exploration Planetary Sciences Wed, 06 Mar 2024 12:39:10 EST news628951139 A series of atmospheric rivers drenched California in February, with record amounts of rainfall and hurricane-force winds sweeping across parts of the state. At one point, weather agencies posted flood watches for nearly the entirety of California's coast. The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission captured data on some of the flooding near the community of Manchester, roughly 105 miles (169 kilometers) north of San Francisco. The satellite is a collaboration between NASA and the French space agency, CNES (Centre National d'Études Spatiales). https://phys.org/news/2024-03-satellite-coastal-california-storms.html Earth Sciences Environment Tue, 05 Mar 2024 17:12:04 EST news628881123 April 17, 2021, was a day like any other day on the sun, until a brilliant flash erupted and an enormous cloud of solar material billowed away from our star. Such outbursts from the sun are not unusual, but this one was unusually widespread, hurling high-speed protons and electrons at velocities nearing the speed of light and striking several spacecraft across the inner solar system. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-multiple-spacecraft-story-giant-solar.html Astronomy Planetary Sciences Mon, 04 Mar 2024 16:47:03 EST news628793221 New research suggests that sunlight-blocking particles from an extreme eruption would not cool surface temperatures on Earth as severely as previously estimated. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-volcanic-super-eruptions-major-cooling.html Earth Sciences Environment Mon, 04 Mar 2024 08:47:35 EST news628764440 Krishna Vadrevu (ST11) served as the primary author, with Aditya Eaturu (UAH) as co-author, for the paper titled "Trends in Nighttime Fires in South/Southeast Asian Countries," published in the journal Atmosphere. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-trends-nighttime-southsoutheast-asian-countries.html Planetary Sciences Mon, 04 Mar 2024 08:44:19 EST news628764256 This densely populated group of stars is the globular cluster NGC 1841, which is part of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a satellite galaxy of our Milky Way galaxy that lies about 162,000 light-years away. Satellite galaxies are bound by gravity in orbits around a more massive host galaxy. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-hubble-captures-dense-globular-cluster.html Astronomy Fri, 01 Mar 2024 10:28:28 EST news628511306 The International Space Station is a microgravity research lab hosting groundbreaking technology demonstrations and scientific investigations. More than 3,700 investigations conducted to date have generated roughly 500 research articles published in scientific journals. In 2023, the orbiting lab hosted more than 500 investigations. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-highlights-results-space-station-science.html Space Exploration Tue, 27 Feb 2024 14:20:56 EST news628266052 NASA astronaut and Artemis II pilot Victor Glover is assisted by U.S. Navy personnel as he exits a mockup of the Orion spacecraft in the Pacific Ocean during training Feb. 25, while his crewmates look on. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-artemis-ii-crew-recovery-teams.html Space Exploration Tue, 27 Feb 2024 13:13:02 EST news628261981 During the close approach of 2008 OS7 with Earth on Feb. 2, the agency's Deep Space Network planetary radar gathered the first detailed images of the stadium-size asteroid. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-nasa-planetary-radar-images-slowly.html Astronomy Planetary Sciences Mon, 26 Feb 2024 14:41:03 EST news628180861 This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features IC 3476, a dwarf galaxy that lies about 54 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Coma Berenices. While this image does not look very dramatic—we might say it looks almost serene—the actual physical events taking place in IC 3476 are highly energetic. In fact, the little galaxy is undergoing a process called ram pressure stripping that is driving unusually high levels of star formation in regions of the galaxy. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-image-hubble-views-ic-star.html Astronomy Mon, 26 Feb 2024 14:03:29 EST news628178608 New observations from NASA's New Horizons spacecraft hint that the Kuiper Belt—the vast, distant outer zone of our solar system populated by hundreds of thousands of icy, rocky planetary building blocks—might stretch much farther out than we thought. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-nasa-horizons-dusty-hints-kuiper.html Astronomy Planetary Sciences Tue, 20 Feb 2024 12:10:05 EST news627653401 As NASA works to develop all the systems needed to return astronauts to the moon under its Artemis campaign for the benefit of all, the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket will be responsible for launching astronauts on their journey. With the liquid oxygen tank now fully welded, all of the major structures that will form the core stage for the SLS rocket for the agency's Artemis III mission are ready for additional outfitting. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-rocket-propellant-tanks-nasa-artemis.html Space Exploration Mon, 19 Feb 2024 13:36:02 EST news627572161 This image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope is teeming with color and activity. It features a relatively close star-forming region known as IRAS 16562-3959, which lies within the Milky Way about 5,900 light-years from Earth in the constellation Scorpius. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-image-hubble-views-massive-star.html Astronomy Space Exploration Sat, 17 Feb 2024 09:20:02 EST news627309964 Researchers are studying data from a recent suborbital flight test to better understand lunar regolith, or moon dust, and its potentially damaging effects as NASA prepares to send astronauts back to the lunar surface under the Artemis campaign. The experiment, developed jointly by NASA and the University of Central Florida, sheds light on how these abrasive dust grains interact with astronauts, their spacesuits, and other equipment on the moon. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-nasa-highly-moon.html Space Exploration Planetary Sciences Fri, 16 Feb 2024 13:10:01 EST news627309924 A suite of NASA science instruments and technology demonstrations is on the way to our nearest celestial neighbor for the benefit of humanity. Through this flight to the moon, they will provide insights into the lunar surface environment and test technologies for future landers and Artemis astronauts. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-nasa-artemis-science-intuitive-machines.html Space Exploration Fri, 16 Feb 2024 13:06:11 EST news627311166 NASA is seeking applicants to participate in its next simulated one-year Mars surface mission to help inform the agency's plans for human exploration of the Red Planet. The second of three planned ground-based missions called CHAPEA (Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog) is scheduled to kick off in spring 2025. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-martians-nasa-simulated-yearlong-mars.html Space Exploration Planetary Sciences Fri, 16 Feb 2024 12:38:44 EST news627309516 NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft delivered 4.29 ounces (121.6 grams) of material from asteroid Bennu when it returned to Earth on Sep. 24, 2023; the largest asteroid sample ever collected in space and over twice the mission's requirement. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-nasa-osiris-rex-bulk-sample.html Planetary Sciences Fri, 16 Feb 2024 11:37:03 EST news627305821 Jupiter is our solar system's undisputed king of the planets. Jupiter is bright and easy to spot from our vantage point on Earth, helped by its massive size and banded, reflective cloud tops. Jupiter even possesses moons the size of planets: Ganymede, its largest, is bigger than the planet Mercury. What's more, you can easily observe Jupiter and its moons with a modest instrument, just like Galileo did over 400 years ago. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-king-planets-jupiter.html Planetary Sciences Thu, 15 Feb 2024 16:55:09 EST news627238507 NASA recently concluded the final mission of its Spacecraft Fire Safety Experiment, or Saffire, putting a blazing end to an eight-year series of investigations that provided insights into fire's behavior in space. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-flame-nasa-spacecraft.html Space Exploration Thu, 15 Feb 2024 14:16:03 EST news627228961 As NASA explores the unknown in air and space, a new mission to survey ultraviolet light across the entire sky will provide the agency with more insight into how galaxies and stars evolve. The space telescope, called UVEX (UltraViolet EXplorer), is targeted to launch in 2030 as NASA's next Astrophysics Medium-Class Explorer mission. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-nasa-mission-ultraviolet-sky-stars.html Astronomy Wed, 14 Feb 2024 16:52:26 EST news627151943 This new NASA Hubble Space Telescope view shows the globular cluster NGC 2298, a sparkling collection of thousands of stars held together by their mutual gravitational attraction. Globular clusters are typically home to older populations of stars, and they mostly reside in the dusty outskirts of galaxies. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-image-hubble-captures-globular-cluster.html Astronomy Wed, 14 Feb 2024 13:06:02 EST news627138361 What's causing mysterious bursts of radio waves from deep space? Astronomers may be a step closer to providing one answer to that question. Two NASA X-ray telescopes recently observed one of such events—known as a fast radio burst—mere minutes before and after it occurred. This unprecedented view sets scientists on a path to understand these extreme radio events better. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-nasa-telescopes-clues-mysterious-deep.html Astronomy Wed, 14 Feb 2024 12:43:11 EST news627136984 A team of engineers is preparing to integrate TRIDENT—short for The Regolith Ice Drill for Exploring New Terrain—into the belly of NASA's first robotic moon rover, VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover). https://phys.org/news/2024-02-belly-rover-viper-science-instrument.html Space Exploration Tue, 13 Feb 2024 17:01:02 EST news627066061 NGC 4254, a spiral galaxy, is resplendent in orange and blue in this Jan. 29, 2024, image from the James Webb Space Telescope. This is one of 19 nearby spiral galaxies recently imaged by the telescope as part of the long-standing Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby GalaxieS (PHANGS) program supported by more than 150 astronomers worldwide. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-image-spiral-galaxy-ngc-dazzling.html Astronomy Tue, 13 Feb 2024 17:00:02 EST news627066002 In his youth, NASA technologist Les Johnson was riveted by the 1974 novel "The Mote in God's Eye," by Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven, in which an alien spacecraft propelled by solar sails visits humanity. Today, Johnson and a NASA team are preparing to test a similar technology. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-nasa-solar-technology-crucial-deployment.html Space Exploration Tue, 13 Feb 2024 15:57:03 EST news627062221 Engineers are working to stabilize a dust cover on one of the science instrument's cameras. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-team-sherloc-instrument-nasa-perseverance.html Space Exploration Planetary Sciences Tue, 13 Feb 2024 14:17:02 EST news627056221 NASA is using a simple but effective technology called Laser Retroreflective Arrays (LRAs) to determine the locations of lunar landers more accurately. They will be attached to most of the landers from United States companies as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Service (CLPS) initiative. LRAs are inexpensive, small, and lightweight, allowing future lunar orbiters or landers to locate them on the moon. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-nasa-simple-technology-track-lunar.html Space Exploration Tue, 13 Feb 2024 13:20:03 EST news627052801