Tag: NASA

NASA Spacecraft Buzzes Jupiter Moon Europa, Closest in Years

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.—NASA’s Juno spacecraft has made the closest approach to Jupiter’s tantalizing, icy moon Europa in more than 20 years. Juno on Thursday zipped within approximately 219 miles (352 kilometers) of Europa, thought to have an ocean flowing beneath its thick frozen crust, raising the possibility of underwater life. Scientists hailed the flyby as…


NASA Moon Rocket Back in Hangar, Launch Unlikely Until November

NASA’s moon rocket returned to the safety of its hangar Tuesday as Hurricane Ian approached Florida, its launch now unlikely before mid-November. Instead of trying to send it on its first test flight, the launch team moved the 322-foot rocket off the pad at Kennedy Space Center. The four-mile trip took all night. NASA official…


Chinese Firm Buys 1,400 Acres of Land in Florida

A U.S.-based group is tied to both China and White House climate goals. A Chinese biofirm is buying 1,400 acres of land in Florida. But its leadership holds links to the Chinese military. A U.S. ship has a surprise encounter with several Chinese and Russian naval vessels off Alaska’s coast. A NASA researcher is pleading guilty…


2.5 Million Ordered to Evacuate as Florida Braces for Category 4 Hurricane Damage

HAVANA—Hurricane Ian tore into western Cuba on Tuesday as a major hurricane, with nothing to stop it from intensifying into a catastrophic Category 4 storm before it hits Florida, where officials ordered 2.5 million people to evacuate before it crashes ashore Wednesday. Ian made landfall at 4:30 a.m. ET Tuesday in Cuba’s Pinar del Rio…


2.5 Million Ordered to Evacuate as Florida Braces for Hurricane Ian

HAVANA—Hurricane Ian tore into western Cuba as a major hurricane Tuesday and left 1 million people without electricity, then churned on a collision course with Florida over warm Gulf waters expected to strengthen it into a catastrophic Category 4 storm. Ian made landfall in Cuba’s Pinar del Rio province, where officials set up 55 shelters,…


Scientists Say Tonga’s Volcanic Eruption Released Record Amount of Water Vapor Into Stratosphere

The violent eruption of an underwater volcano near Tonga in January blasted a record amount of water vapor into the atmosphere, but not all scientists agree about the exact amount. Tonga was hit by an underwater eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano and subsequent tsunami on Jan. 15, which wiped out an entire village on one…


Hurricane Ian Strikes Cuba, Florida Braces for Category 4 Damage

HAVANA—Hurricane Ian tore into western Cuba on Tuesday as a major hurricane, with nothing to stop it from intensifying into a catastrophic Category 4 storm before it hits Florida on Wednesday. Ian made landfall at 4:30 a.m. ET Tuesday in Cuba’s Pinar del Rio province, where officials set up 55 shelters, evacuated 50,000 people, rushed…


NASA’s DART Spacecraft Successfully Hits Asteroid in Historic Test of Planetary Defense

NASA’s asteroid-deflecting DART spacecraft successfully struck a football stadium-sized asteroid in a historic test of the world’s first planetary defense system, designed to prevent a cosmic doomsday collision with Earth. “IMPACT SUCCESS!” NASA declared on Twitter after the spacecraft, flying at 14,000 miles per hour, struck “Dimorphos” on Monday at 7:14 p.m. ET. The U.S. space agency…


NASA Delays Moon Rocket Launch Due to Potential Hurricane

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.—NASA is skipping next week’s launch attempt of its new moon rocket because of a tropical storm that’s expected to become a major hurricane. It’s the third delay in the past month for the lunar-orbiting test flight featuring mannequins but no astronauts, a follow-up to NASA’s Apollo moon-landing program of a half-century ago….


NASA Prepares for Monday Asteroid Strike

NASA is about to clobber a small, harmless asteroid millions of miles away. A spacecraft named DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) will zero in on the asteroid Monday, intent on slamming it head-on at 14,000 mph. The impact should be just enough to nudge the asteroid into a slightly tighter orbit around its companion space…