Suggested Searches

Blogs

    How NASA’s Webb Helped Rule Out Asteroid’s Chance of 2032 Lunar Impact

    The image is a pixelized graph of mostly black, gray, and white squares with the y-axis labelled as "Y (pixel)" and the x-axis labeled as "X (pixel)" with a scale of 0 to 70 on each axis, with a marking at multiples of 10.  A legend defining the colors from black thru various gray shades to white has a scale of 0.0 at the black end of the scale and 0.5 at the white end of the scale with markings at each one-tenth.  The legend scale is labelled "Flux (nJy)".  Near the center of the image is a dashed green circle surrounding nearly white pixels.  A red circle is higher on the graph by just more than 20 units and a few units to the right; the red circle is surrounding a black and slightly gray section.  The graph has a legend for the green circle of "Observed position of 2024YR4" and a legend for the red circle of "Position assuming lunar impact".

    Editor’s Note: This post highlights data from Webb science in progress, which has not yet been through the peer-review process. These results were reported as part of NASA’s role in the International Asteroid Warning Network. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope recently made new observations of the asteroid 2024 YR4, which we already knew poses no […]

    Read Full Post

    Japan Spacecraft Departing Station Soon on NASA+

    NASA’s live coverage of the departure of JAXA’s (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s) uncrewed HTV-X1 cargo spacecraft from the International Space Station is underway on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and the agency’s YouTube channel.  

    Read Full Post

    Canadarm2 Grips Cargo Spacecraft, Spacewalk Prep and Biology Continue

    A JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) cargo spacecraft is in the grasp of the Canadarm2 robotic arm following its detachment from the International Space Station’s Harmony module on Thursday. The Expedition 74 crew continued its spacewalk preparations, transferred more cargo, and conducted biology research throughout the day.

    Read Full Post

    New NASA Asteroid Observations Eliminate Chance of 2032 Lunar Impact

    Graphic of the impact probability of possible locations of 2024 YR4 on Dec. 22, 2032. Yellow dots show that the asteroid will not impact the Moon.

    Using data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope observations collected on Feb. 18 and 26, experts from NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California have refined near-Earth asteroid 2024 YR4’s orbit and are ruling out a chance of lunar impact on Dec. 22, 2032. With the new […]

    Read Full Post

    NASA Anomaly Review Board Investigates MAVEN Loss of Signal

    This image shows an artist concept of NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission.

    A NASA anomaly review board, convened in mid-February, is evaluating the recovery efforts undertaken for the agency’s MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN) spacecraft orbiting Mars. The spacecraft was last heard from on Dec. 6. The board also will assess the probable current state of the spacecraft and the likelihood of its recovery.

    Read Full Post

    NASA Repairs Upper Stage Helium Flow, Preps Continue Ahead of Rollout

    With NASA’s Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft in the Vehicle Assembly Building at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians have accessed the launch vehicle stage adapter to inspect components that prevented helium from flowing to the upper stage after a Feb. 21 wet dress rehearsal. Engineers determined a […]

    Read Full Post