NASA’s Use of the Radio Frequency Spectrum

As associate administrator for NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate Ken Bowersox puts it, “nothing happens without communications.”   And effective communications require the use of radio waves.   None of NASA’s exciting science and engineering endeavors would be possible without the use of radio waves to send data, communications, and commands between researchers or flight controllers and […]

NASA Wins Six Webby Awards, Six Webby People’s Voice Awards

NASA was recognized today by the 29th Annual Webby Awards with six Webby Awards and six Webby People’s Voice Awards, the latter of which are awarded by the voting public. The Webbys honors excellence in eight major media types: websites and mobile sites; video and film; advertising, media and public relations; apps and software; social; podcasts; artificial intelligence, […]

Planetary Alignment Provides NASA Rare Opportunity to Study Uranus

When a planet’s orbit brings it between Earth and a distant star, it’s more than just a cosmic game of hide and seek. It’s an opportunity for NASA to improve its understanding of that planet’s atmosphere and rings. Planetary scientists call it a stellar occultation and that’s exactly what happened with Uranus on April 7. […]

Celebrating Earth as Only NASA Can

From the iconic image of Earthrise taken by Apollo 8 crew, to the famous Pale Blue Dot image of Earth snapped by Voyager I spacecraft, to state-of-the-art observations of our planet by new satellites such as PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem), NASA has given us novel ways to see our home. This Earth Day, […]

NASA’s Curiosity Rover May Have Solved Mars’ Missing Carbonate Mystery

New findings from NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover could provide an answer to the mystery of what happened to the planet’s ancient atmosphere and how Mars has evolved over time. Researchers have long believed that Mars once had a thick, carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere and liquid water on the planet’s surface. That carbon dioxide and water should […]

NASA’s SpaceX 32nd Commercial Resupply Mission Overview

NASA and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than 4:15 a.m. EDT on Monday, April 21, for the next launch to deliver scientific investigations, supplies, and equipment to the International Space Station. Filled with about 6,700 pounds of supplies, the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket, will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

NASA’s Chandra Releases New 3D Models of Cosmic Objects

New three-dimensional (3D) models of objects in space have been released by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. These 3D models allow people to explore — and print — examples of stars in the early and end stages of their lives. They also provide scientists with new avenues to investigate scientific questions and find insights about the […]

NASA Sees Progress on Blue Origin’s Orbital Reef Design Development

A NASA-supported commercial space station, Blue Origin’s Orbital Reef, recently completed a human-in-the-loop testing milestone as the agency works toward developing commercial space stations in low Earth orbit. The human-in-the-loop test scenarios utilized individual participants or small groups to perform day-in-the-life walkthroughs in life-sized mockups of major station components. Participants provided feedback while simulating microgravity […]

Why Do We Grow Plants in Space?

Why do we grow plants in space? Plants are such versatile organisms that they can fulfill many roles in our exploration of space. Plants provide us with food, with oxygen, they can recycle water and waste, and they can even provide us with psychological benefits. So all these functions will help NASA in fulfilling our […]