Category: NASA

NASA Satellite Data Support ‘Shockingly Large’ Carbon Dioxide Fertilization Effect: Study

A new paper from Columbia University’s Charles A. Taylor and Wolfram Schlenker that used NASA satellite data has shown that anywhere from 10–40 percent of improvements in key U.S. crop yields since 1940 could potentially be attributed to increased atmospheric carbon dioxide due to human activity. The authors noted that their findings are “on the…


Australia Plans Lunar Rover to Help NASA Find Oxygen on Moon

CANBERRA, Australia—Australia has agreed to build a 20-kilogram (44-pound) semi-autonomous lunar rover for NASA to take to the moon as early as 2026 in search of oxygen. The rover would collect soil that contains oxides and NASA would use separate equipment to extract oxygen from that soil, a government statement said. Oxygen extracted from the…


As Shatner Heads Toward the Stars, Visions of Space Collide

“Risk is our business,” James T. Kirk once said. “That’s what this starship is all about. That’s why we’re aboard her.” More than a half-century later, the performer who breathed life into the fabled Enterprise captain is, at age 90, making that kind of risk his own business and heading toward the stars under dramatically…


With Scenes From Space, TV Series Shines Light on Team Fixing Spectrometer

LONDON—Filmmaker Ben Turner has turned his lifelong passion for space exploration into an original mini series centered around American astronaut Chris Cassidy. “Among the Stars”, a six-episode docuseries, takes viewers behind the scenes with Cassidy and an international team of experts as they embark on a mission to repair the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, a $2…


UAE to Launch Probe Targeting Asteroid Between Mars, Jupiter

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates—The United Arab Emirates on Tuesday announced plans to send a probe to land on an asteroid between Mars and Jupiter to collect data on the origins of the universe, the latest project in the oil-rich federation’s ambitious space program. A successful landing would see the UAE join an elite club of…


Observing Earth From Space With New Satellite Technology

Landsat 9 is the latest in a string of satellites sent up into orbit since 1972. It’s a joint monitoring program run by the U.S. space agency NASA and the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The Landsat satellites work by collecting light, the intensity of which gives information about what is on the ground. Landsat…


NASA Splits Human Spaceflight Unit in Two, Reflecting New Orbital Economy

NASA is splitting its human spaceflight department into two separate bodies—one centered on big, future-oriented missions to the moon and Mars, the other on the International Space Station and other operations closer to Earth. The reorganization, announced by NASA chief Bill Nelson on Tuesday, reflects an evolving relationship between private companies, such as SpaceX, that…


NASA Awards SpaceX, Blue Origin, and 3 Other Companies $146 Million in Contracts to Go to the Moon

By Entrepreneur en Español The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, better known as NASA, announced this week the award of five contracts for $146 million to U.S. companies, including Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, to design lunar landers. As reported by Forbes, these private companies will work over the next 15 months…


SpaceX’s First Private Crew Motivates Children With Cancer From Orbit

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.—SpaceX’s first space tourists are taking in sweeping views of Earth that few have witnessed and motivating children with cancer. The four passengers showed off their capsule in a live broadcast Friday. They’re flying exceedingly high in the automated capsule, even by NASA standards. SpaceX got them into a 363-mile (585-kilometer) orbit following Wednesday…


NASA Celebrates 20 Years of ISS Payload Operation

NASA this year is celebrating 20 years of operating science payloads/research on board the International Space Station. The Payload Operations Center at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, houses the International Space Station Payload Operations Integration Center, the Laboratory Training Complex, and simulation rooms used to prepare for space station expeditions. The center…