Future Missions to Mars: Even though some incredible technologies have been proposed to shorten the travel time to Mars, engineers will be using the tried and true methods of following minimum energy transfer orbits using chemical rockets. NASA’s MAVEN mission will launch in 2013 using this techn...
Since then, many spacecraft have delivered parts of the ISS into orbit and its assembly has progressed. During this time, the ISS has been manned continuously — as of this writing, 66 astronaut expeditions have successfully reached the station. Expedition 67 began upon the departure of Soyuz ...
A mission can come to an end in several ways. If a spacecraft is reliant on solar power, as many are, then it may peter out as its panels lose efficacy. That’s what happened to theInSight lander on Mars, as its solar panels were covered in dust carried by winds that built up ove...
NASA is currently planning itsArtemis program, which is intended to bring people — including female crew members — to the moon for the first time since the end of Apollo. Artemis aims to have its first landing in 2024 and build toward a sustained human presence on the moon by 2028. Apol...
The world got its first up-close look at Mars 40 years ago today (July 20), when NASA's Viking 1 lander touched down on the Red Planet. Viking 1 beamed home two photographs shortly after its historic arrival, then went on to capture the awesome vistas of Mars in many more images —...
How NASA is revolutionizing our understanding of MarsRuchika Agarwal
To these would-be space cowboys, NASA had its chance and failed; only “great men” can drag the planet up and onward. The only problem is the public isn’t biting. As Vox pointed out, a majority of Americans polled by Pew Research are disillusioned with private space tourism ...
But when nature calls on a spacewalk, they have to use the equivalent of an adult diaper for space travelers. Wearing a diaper is a reasonable solution for short term waste management for launch, reentry, and spacewalks, but future long distance missions might require astronauts to remain in...
[UPDATE:The first crewed launch attempt on Monday, May 6, wasscrubbed two hours before liftoffdue to an issue with the Atlas V rocket. Several other target dates have also been scrapped to give engineers more time to fix a number of issues. NASA is now hoping to launch the Starliner on...
The likes ofJAXA, Japan’s space agency, andNASAhave already brought asteroid samples back to Earth, proving, at least to an extent, that it can be done. Chinaplans to launch a mission in 2025 to collect samples from a near-Earth asteroid, while the United Arab Emirates’ Space Agency ...