Roman Statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero said, “If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.” Humans attempting someday to make Mars their home may well share the sentiments expressed by the orator from ancient Rome. As for the library – books can now be stored digitally. But how does your garden grow…in…
Cell Cultures Go for the Gold
A wide variety of research relies on growing cells in culture on Earth, but handling these cells is challenging. With better techniques, scientists hope to reduce loss of cells from culture media, create cultures in specific shapes, and improve retrieval of cells for analysis – all of which would improve experiment results. Handling cells in…
New Experiments, Research Headed to International Space Station
Major experiments that will look into the human body and out into the galaxy are on their way to the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft following its 5:07 p.m. EDT launch aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. The Dragon lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. About…
NOAA Satellite Undergoes Thermal Vacuum Testing
In March, NOAA’s Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-S (GOES-S) satellite was lifted into a thermal vacuum chamber to test its ability to function in the cold void of space in its orbit 22,300 miles above the Earth. The most complicated and challenging test is thermal vacuum where a satellite experiences four cycles of extreme cold to…
Artists Invited to View NASA Telescope in Cleanroom
Are you an artist? If so, NASA has a unique opportunity to view the amazing and aesthetic scientific marvel that is the James Webb Space Telescope. Webb has a mirror that is nearly 22 feet high and (to optimize it for infrared observations) is covered in a microscopic layer of actual gold. Because of Webb’s…
Exciting Next Steps for NASA’s Mars Rover
After collecting drilled rock powder in arguably the most scenic landscape yet visited by a Mars rover, NASA’s Curiosity mobile laboratory is driving toward uphill destinations as part of its two-year mission extension that commenced Oct. 1. The destinations include a ridge capped with material rich in the iron-oxide mineral hematite, about a mile-and-a-half (two-and-a-half…
NASA’s Juno Successfully Completes Jupiter Flyby
NASA’s Juno mission successfully executed its first of 36 orbital flybys of Jupiter today. The time of closest approach with the gas-giant world was 6:44 a.m. PDT (9:44 a.m. EDT, 13:44 UTC) when Juno passed about 2,600 miles (4,200 kilometers) above Jupiter’s swirling clouds. At the time, Juno was traveling at 130,000 mph (208,000 kilometers…
NASA Preps Asteroid Sample Satellite for Launch
NASA is preparing to launch its first mission to return a sample of an asteroid to Earth. The mission will help scientists investigate how planets formed and how life began, as well as improve our understanding of asteroids that could impact Earth. The Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft will travel to…
Cleanroom Snapshot: Satellite Undergoes Vibration Testing
Cleanroom Snapshot: Curiosity Goes Into Safe Mode
The team operating NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover is taking steps to return the rover to full activity following a precautionary stand-down over the Fourth of July weekend. Curiosity is now communicating with ground controllers and is stable. The rover put itself into safe mode on July 2, ceasing most activities other than keeping itself healthy…