NASA has live coverage of their return streaming now, in case you’re looking for something to tune into on a Friday afternoon. Splashdown is expected around 4:50PM ET.
Mark your calendars! The oft-delayed mission is going to make another launch attempt on November 14, at 12:07AM ET. First the rocket has to make its way back to the launchpad, a process that could start as soon as November 4.
If the 14th doesn’t work out, NASA has backup launch windows on November 16 and November 19.
Welcome to the aesthetics of space photography
SpaceX’s Dragon Endurance spacecraft is set to launch with four astronauts on board, two of whom will usher in firsts for space flight.
Nicole Mann will make history as the first indigenous woman from NASA to launch into space. She also will be the first female commander of the Dragon crew capsule. Roscosmos’ Anna Kikina will be the first Russian cosmonaut on the SpaceX Crew Dragon.
The rocket — and the Orion spacecraft on top — are now back inside the massive Vehicle Assembly Building. Facing menacing forecasts, NASA decided to roll it away from the launchpad yesterday.
Just Google for “NASA DART.” You’re welcome.
The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) scored a hit on the asteroid Dimorphos, but as Mary Beth Griggs explains, the real science work is just beginning.
Now planetary scientists will wait to see how the impact changed the asteroid’s orbit, and to download pictures from DART’s LICIACube satellite which had a front-row seat to the crash.
At 7:14PM ET, a NASA spacecraft is going to smash into an asteroid! Coverage of the collision — called the Double Asteroid Redirection Test — is now live.
NASA describes the image as the clearest view of Neptune’s rings in over 30 years, some of which haven’t been detected since Voyager 2’s flyby in 1989. Webb was also able to capture seven of Neptune’s 14 known moons, with Triton appearing so bright it almost looks like a star.
The Ice Giant appeared deep blue in images previously taken by the Hubble space telescope due to methane in its atmosphere, but these images using the Webb telescope’s Near-Infrared Camera give it an altogether more ethereal look.
NASA is going to smash a spacecraft into a tiny asteroid on the 26th, and it just released its first photo of its target.
