Category: Information and Update

New Commercial Rocket Descent Data May Help NASA with Future Mars Landings NASA successfully captured thermal images of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on its descent after it launched in September from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The data from these thermal images may provide critical engineering information… Read more“Commercial Rocket Data May Help Future Mars Landings”

NASA’s Hubble Maps the Temperature and Water Vapor on an Extreme Exoplanet This is a temperature map of the “hot Jupiter” class exoplanet WASP 43b. The white-colored region on the daytime side is 2,800 degrees Fahrenheit. The nighttime side temperatures drop to under 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Image Credit: NASA/ESA A… Read more“NASA’s Hubble Maps the Temperature and Water Vapor on an Extreme Exoplanet”

Image Credit: NASA Comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring will make a close flyby of Mars on Oct. 19. At a distance of only 87,000 miles, it’s a near miss of the Red Planet. Larger version NASA’s extensive fleet of science assets, particularly those orbiting and roving Mars, have front row… Read more“NASA Prepares its Science Fleet for Oct. 19 Mars Comet Encounter”

Launching aboard SpaceX’s fourth commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station, NASA’s ISS Rapid Scatterometer (ISS-RapidScat) will monitor ocean winds from its perch on the station. It will track hurricanes and storms, and provide a better understanding of Earth’s climate. The space station’s orbit will take ISS-RapidScat across almost the… Read more“ISS-RapidScat to Launch Aboard SpaceX Rocket”

NASA Mars Spacecraft Ready for Sept. 21 Orbit Insertion This artist concept depicts the process of orbital insertion of NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft. Image Credit: NASA/GSFC NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft is nearing its scheduled Sept. 21 insertion into Martian orbit after completing… Read more“NASA Mars Spacecraft Ready for Sept. 21 Orbit Insertion”

Five Things About NASA’s ISS-RapidScat ISS-RapidScat will have a close-up view of ocean winds from its perch on the International Space Station, as this 2010 astronaut photo of Hurricane Earl illustrates. Image Credit: NASA NASA’s ISS-RapidScat mission will observe ocean wind speed and direction over most of the globe, bringing… Read more“Five Things About NASA’s ISS-RapidScat”

The blue dot in this image marks the spot of an energetic pulsar — the magnetic, spinning core of star that blew up in a supernova explosion. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SAO Feature Link: Full image and caption   Our Milky Way galaxy is littered with the still-sizzling remains of exploded stars…. Read more“Pulse of a Dead Star Powers Intense Gamma Rays”