Space Exploration

On April 26, 2017, NASA’s Cassini orbiter made its first ‘Grand Finale’ dive through the previously unexplored gap between Saturn and its rings. An analysis of data collected by Cassini’s Radio and Plasma Wave Science (RPWS) instrument shows that this dive was nearly particle free. The unexpected finding that the …

SpaceX is usually hyped to tell us all about the payload it’s sending to orbit, but this time it doesn’t have as much to say. The company has just completed its first launch for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), which is part of the Department of Defense. The NRO is …

NASA finally unfurled the James Webb Space Telescope! The JWST has been undergoing acoustic and vibration testing for months, but it’s been fully opened because now it’s time for the next phase of testing. That will take place at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX. There, mission techs and …

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has been observing Saturn since 2004, but mission control has been careful not to get too close to the ringed planet for fear of damaging the probe. Now, Cassini is nearly out of fuel, and it’s time to take some risks. Cassini began altering its trajectory early …

When it comes to applied material science, it’s hard to beat NASA. Their solid-state wizards have been working on multiple ambitious projects, including silicon dioxide wafers and about a dozen kinds of ceramic composites. Now some folks at the JPL have debuted a new kind of engineered metallic fabric that …

On Wednesday, April 26, 2017, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft successfully made its first dive through the narrow gap between the giant planet Saturn and its rings. This Cassini image shows features in the atmosphere of Saturn from closer than ever before. The view was captured by the spacecraft during its first …

On April 22, 2017, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft made its 127th and final close approach to Titan, passing at an altitude of about 608 miles (979 km) above the moon’s surface. This image of Titan (colorized) was captured by Cassini during its final close flyby of the hazy moon on April …

Many stars show tails that trail behind them like a comet’s tail, supporting the idea that our own Solar System has one too. However, new evidence from NASA’s Cassini, Voyager and Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) missions suggests that the trailing end of the Solar System may not be stretched out …

Humanity has been shooting things into space for a few decades now, and we’ve gotten pretty good at it. What we haven’t gotten so good at is bringing things back down. Scientists have been sounding the alarm about the buildup of space junk for years, a point that was reinforced …

This view from NASA’s Cassini orbiter shows Earth and its only natural satellite as points of light between the icy rings of the gas giant Saturn. Cassini captured this view of Earth and the Moon on April 12. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute. Cassini captured this …