Content for NASA

Astra launch of NASA-sponsored cubesats fails

“The first operational launch of Astra’s Rocket 3.3 vehicle failed Feb. 10 when the rocket’s upper stage appeared to tumble out of control after stage separation. The rocket, designated LV0008 by Astra, lifted off from Space Launch …

Mars helicopter Ingenuity aces 19th flight after historic Red Planet weather delay

“A dust storm pushed the liftoff date back by more than a month. The dust storm couldn’t keep NASA’s Mars helicopter Ingenuity grounded forever. The 4-pound (1.8 kilograms) Ingenuity aced a 100-second sortie on Tuesday (Feb. 8 …

NASA Telescope Spots Highest-Energy Light Ever Detected From Jupiter

“The planet’s auroras are known to produce low-energy X-ray light. A new study finally reveals higher-frequency X-rays and explains why they eluded another mission 30 years ago. Scientists have been studying Jupiter up close since the 1970s, but the …

Following Webb’s Arrival at L2, Telescope Commissioning Set to Begin

“Following Webb’s arrival at its orbital destination around Lagrange Point 2 (L2) on Jan. 24, the mission operations team began working its way through a critical series of steps: powering on all the science instruments, turning off heaters to …

Orbital Insertion Burn a Success, Webb Arrives at L2

“Today, at 2 p.m. EST, Webb fired its onboard thrusters for nearly five minutes (297 seconds) to complete the final postlaunch course correction to Webb’s trajectory. This mid-course correction burn inserted Webb toward its final orbit around the …

Assessing Perseverance’s Seventh Sample Collection

“On Wednesday, Dec. 29 (sol 306) Perseverance successfully cored and extracted a sample from a Mars rock. Data downlinked after the sampling indicates that coring of the rock the science team nicknamed Issole went smoothly. However, during the transfer of …

NASA’s Webb Telescope Reaches Major Milestone as Mirror Unfolds

“NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope team fully deployed its 21-foot, gold-coated primary mirror, successfully completing the final stage of all major spacecraft deployments to prepare for science operations. A joint effort with the European Space Agency (ESA) and Canadian …

Sunshield Successfully Deploys on NASA’s Next Flagship Telescope

“The James Webb Space Telescope team has fully deployed the spacecraft’s 70-foot sunshield, a key milestone in preparing it for science operations. The sunshield – about the size of a tennis court at full size – was folded to fit inside …

NASA Says Webb’s Excess Fuel Likely to Extend its Lifetime Expectations

“After a successful launch of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope Dec. 25, and completion of two mid-course correction maneuvers, the Webb team has analyzed its initial trajectory and determined the observatory should have enough propellant to allow support of …

NASA’s Webb Telescope Launches to See First Galaxies, Distant Worlds

“NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope launched at 7:20 a.m. EST Saturday on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, South America. A joint effort with ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space …