From NASA Citizen Scientist to Astronaut Training: An Interview with Benedetta Facini

Titans Space Industries, a commercial space company, selected a new cohort of astronaut candidates this spring – and among them is NASA citizen scientist, Benedetta Facini. She has participated in not one, but many NASA citizen science projects: Cloudspotting on Mars, Active Asteroids, Daily Minor Planet, GLOBE, Exoasteroids and International Astronomical Collaboration (IASC). We asked […]

Uncategorised

NASA’s X-59 at Sunrise

NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft sits on the ramp at sunrise before ground tests at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California, on July 18, 2025. Following completion of low-speed taxi tests in July 2025 in Palmdale, California, medium- and high-speed taxi tests mark the final steps before the aircraft takes to the skies for […]

Uncategorised

NASA’s X-59 at Sunrise

NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft sits on the ramp at sunrise before ground tests at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California, on July 18, 2025. Following completion of low-speed taxi tests in July 2025 in Palmdale, California, medium- and high-speed taxi tests mark the final steps before the aircraft takes to the skies for […]

Astronomers Map Stellar ‘Polka Dots’ Using NASA’s TESS, Kepler

Scientists have devised a new method for mapping the spottiness of distant stars by using observations from NASA missions of orbiting planets crossing their stars’ faces. The model builds on a technique researchers have used for decades to study star spots. By improving astronomers’ understanding of spotty stars, the new model — called StarryStarryProcess — […]