Astronomy summer school radar observations shine new light on near-earth...
A team of scientists participating in a radio astronomy summer school had the unexpected opportunity to observe a recently discovered near-Earth asteroid as it zipped past our planet on July 7. The...
View ArticleEarth flyby of 'space peanut' captured in new video
NASA scientists have used two giant, Earth-based radio telescopes to bounce radar signals off a passing asteroid and produce images of the peanut-shaped body as it approached close to Earth this past...
View ArticleHalloween asteroid a treat for radar astronomers
NASA scientists are tracking the upcoming Halloween flyby of asteroid 2015 TB145 with several optical observatories and the radar capabilities of the agency's Deep Space Network at Goldstone,...
View ArticleManeuver moves New Horizons spacecraft toward next potential target
NASA's New Horizons spacecraft has carried out the first in a series of four initial targeting maneuvers designed to send it toward 2014 MU69 – a small Kuiper Belt object about a billion miles beyond...
View ArticleNew Horizons continues toward potential Kuiper Belt target
NASA's New Horizons spacecraft has carried out the second in a series of four maneuvers propelling it toward an encounter with the ancient Kuiper Belt object 2014 MU69, a billion miles farther from the...
View ArticleSaving NASA's STEREO-B—the 189-million-mile road to recovery
On Oct. 1, 2014, NASA mission operations lost communication with one of the two spacecraft of the Solar and Terrestrial Relations Observatory, or STEREO, mission, just as the spacecraft was about to...
View ArticleRadar images of a Christmas Eve asteroid—an early gift for astronomers
Asteroid 2003 SD220 safely flew past Earth on Dec. 24 at a distance of 6.8 million miles (11 million kilometers). Scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, have generated...
View ArticleImage: Fish-eye view of Saturn's moon Titan
At first glance, this scene may look like a reptilian eye or a textured splash of orange paint, but it is actually a fish-eye view of Saturn's moon Titan. It was acquired at a height of about 5 km as...
View ArticleNew gravity map gives best view yet inside Mars
A new map of Mars' gravity made with three NASA spacecraft is the most detailed to date, providing a revealing glimpse into the hidden interior of the Red Planet.
View ArticleKepler remains stable as health check continues
The Kepler spacecraft remains stable as the process of returning it to science continues. The cause of the anomaly, first reported on April 8, remains under investigation.
View ArticleKepler recovered and returned to the K2 mission
The Kepler spacecraft has been recovered and, as of 8:30 a.m. PDT today, it is back on the job as the K2 mission searching for exoplanets—planets beyond our solar system.
View ArticleManchester astronomers detect precious element in space
A team of astronomers from The University of Manchester, together with collaborators from the Centro de Astrobiología and the Deep Space Network, Spain and the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México,...
View ArticleWhy the Deep Space Atomic Clock is key for future space exploration
We all intuitively understand the basics of time. Every day we count its passage and use it to schedule our lives.
View ArticleNASA's Juno spacecraft in orbit around mighty Jupiter
After an almost five-year journey to the solar system's largest planet, NASA's Juno spacecraft successfully entered Jupiter's orbit during a 35-minute engine burn. Confirmation that the burn had...
View ArticleWhat's inside Ceres? New findings from gravity data
In the tens of thousands of photos returned by NASA's Dawn spacecraft, the interior of Ceres isn't visible. But scientists have powerful data to study Ceres' inner structure: Dawn's own motion.
View ArticlePulsar-based spacecraft navigation system one step closer to reality
Pulsars are highly magnetized, rotating neutron stars that emit electromagnetic radiation at regular intervals. They are often dubbed "lighthouses" of the universe as their emission is beamed; thus,...
View ArticleNASA establishes contact with STEREO mission
On Aug. 21, 2016, contact was reestablished with one of NASA's Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatories, known as the STEREO-B spacecraft, after communications were lost on Oct. 1, 2014. Over 22...
View ArticleComing to your solar system soon: A rendezvous with an asteroid
A group of University of Colorado Boulder researchers is readying for NASA's Sept. 8 launch of a spacecraft to a near-Earth asteroid named Bennu, thought to harbor primordial material left over from...
View ArticleNASA's asteroid-bound spacecraft aces instrument check
Its science instruments have been powered on, and NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft continues on its journey to an asteroid. The spacecraft has passed its initial instrument check with flying colors as it...
View ArticleNew Horizons returns last bits of 2015 flyby data to Earth
NASA's New Horizons mission reached a major milestone this week when the last bits of science data from the Pluto flyby – stored on the spacecraft's digital recorders since July 2015 – arrived safely...
View ArticleCatching Cassini's call
This week, ESA deep-space radio dishes on two continents are listening for signals from the international Cassini spacecraft, now on its final tour of Saturn.
View ArticleSuccessful deep space maneuver for NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft
New tracking data confirms that NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft aced its first Deep Space Maneuver (DSM-1) on Dec. 28, 2016. The engine burn sets up the spacecraft for an Earth gravity assist this fall as...
View ArticleNap time for New Horizons: Spacecraft enters hibernation
NASA's New Horizons spacecraft has eased into a long summer's nap, entering a hibernation phase on April 7 that will last until early September.
View ArticleImage: Listening for Cassini
ESA's sensitive tracking antennas at New Norcia, Western Australia, and Malargüe, Argentina (seen here in 2012), are being called in to help gather crucial science data during Cassini's last months in...
View ArticleTwo Voyagers taught us how to listen to space
As NASA's twin Voyager spacecraft were changing our understanding of the solar system, they also spurred a leap in spacecraft communications.
View ArticleFrom the edge of the solar system, Voyager probes are still talking to...
This month marks 40 years since NASA launched the two Voyager space probes on their mission to explore the outer planets of our solar system, and Australia has been helping the US space agency keep...
View ArticleHibernation over, New Horizons continues its Kuiper Belt cruise
A long summer break ended for NASA's New Horizons on Sept. 11, as the spacecraft "woke" itself on schedule from a five-month hibernation period.
View ArticleNASA's asteroid chaser swings by Earth on way to space rock
NASA's asteroid-chasing spacecraft swung by Earth on Friday on its way to a space rock.
View ArticleNew antenna in Alaska expands spacecraft communications capabilities
NASA's newest communications antenna became operational today following a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Alaska Satellite Facility in Fairbanks. The antenna will increase the agency's communications...
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