NASA

On the same day that a meteor exploded over Russia injuring almost a thousand people and an asteroid passed too close to Earth for comfort, the asteroid-mining company Deep Space Industries (DSI) proposes setting up sentry lines in space to track and study rogue asteroids posing a threat to Earth. Using technology originally intended for prospecting for water and minerals on asteroids, the sentry lines of satellites would provide information for deflecting potentially dangerous near-Earth objects.  Read More

A test version of NASA’s Orion space capsule made a parachute drop near Yuma Arizona on Tuesday with only two of its three parachutes working. Dropped from a Hercules transport from an altitude of 25,000 feet (7,620 m), it wasn't an accident, but a deliberate nobbling of one of the chutes by NASA engineers to prove the capsule could safely return to Earth in the event of such a failure.  Read More

NASA's Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) spacecraft was successfully placed in orbit earlier this week. The mission marks the continuation of the 40-year Landsat Earth-observation program, which aids in the study of dynamic and ongoing changes to the planet.  Read More

NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity collected its first drilling sample on Saturday. The 4x4-sized robot used the drill in its hand to collect samples from the interior of a flat, veiny sedimentary bedrock that was formed by ancient Martian water.  Read More

NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity made the historic first drilling ever attempted on the Red Planet on February 6. The drilling, at a patch of flat, vein-bearing rock called "John Klein" at Gale Crater, was the 4X4-sized robot’s first full use of its drilling unit and a major test before it uses the drill to collect pulverized rock samples for analysis in its internal laboratories.  Read More

NASA’s Curiosity rover recently took a step closer to its historic first drilling on Mars, as it tested its drilling system. Last Saturday, the nuclear-powered explorer conducted a "drill-on-rock checkout" on a rock designated “John Klein” in Gale Crater. The brief test of the drill’s percussive action in a back and forth motion was part of a series of tests to determine if the rover’s drill is ready for full operation.  Read More

NASA is getting ready to ride the “winds” of space on sails lighter than gossamer, yet large enough to cover a small field. The space agency’s Solar Sail Demonstration, also known as the Sunjammer Project, may launch as early as 2014 when it will send the largest solar sail yet built into orbit, to demonstrate the technical viability of the device.  Read More

NASA’s Cassini probe witnessed a giant storm on Saturn that raced around the ringed planet, ran into its own tail, and consumed itself like the legendary Ouroboros – a snake that eats its tail. The storm, which at its peak was almost as wide as the Earth, lasted for 267 days and was marked by violent lightning bursts and an unusual rise in air temperature. This self-destructing storm is a phenomenon never seen before, and sheds new light on Saturn’s meteorology that could help with weather prediction on Earth.  Read More

It's easy to forget that, between roving Mars and maintaining a permanent manned space presence, NASA also takes a keen interest in conventional flight. Developed in conjunction with Boeing, NASA's X-48C is the latest iteration in its six-year X-48 program to develop an unmanned Blended Wing Body aircraft. So perhaps we should modify that prior statement: NASA also takes a keen interest in unconventional conventional flight.  Read More