mars, mars missions, nasa, outer space

NASA Expedition 71 Astronauts to Conduct Research Aboard Space Station

Studies of neurological organoids, plant growth, and shifts in body fluids aboard the International Space Station as part of Expedition 71 are among the scientific investigations that NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, Jeanette Epps, and Tracy C. Dyson will help support. The crew members are targeting launch to the space station in February and March. Work ...

Troy Oakes

The International Space Station.

NASA’s New Experimental Antenna Tracks Deep Space Laser

Capable of receiving both radio frequency and optical signals, the DSN’s hybrid antenna has tracked and decoded the downlink laser from DSOC aboard NASA’s Psyche mission. An experimental antenna has received both radio frequency and near-infrared laser signals from NASA’s Psyche spacecraft as it travels through deep space. This shows it’s possible for the giant dish antennas ...

Troy Oakes

Deep Space Station 13.

Lockheed Martin Reveals X-59 Quiet Supersonic Aircraft

NASA and Lockheed Martin formally debuted the agency’s X-59 quiet supersonic aircraft. Using this one-of-a-kind experimental airplane, NASA aims to gather data that could revolutionize air travel, paving the way for a new generation of commercial aircraft that can travel faster than the speed of sound. “This is a major accomplishment made possible only through ...

Troy Oakes

Lockheed Martin's X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft sits on the apron outside Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility at dawn in Palmdale, California.

NASA Telescopes Start the Year With a Double Bang

A colorful, festive image from NASA shows different types of light containing the remains of not one, but at least two exploded stars. This supernova remnant is known as 30 Doradus B (30 Dor B for short) and is part of a larger region of space where stars have been continuously forming for the past ...

Troy Oakes

30 Doradus B.

Watch the SWOT Satellite Unfold Itself in Space

The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite launched into Earth orbit on Friday, December 16, from Vandenberg Space Force Base in central California, and engineers are working to prepare the mission to begin measuring the height of water on over 90 percent of Earth’s surface, providing a high-definition survey of our planet’s water for ...

Troy Oakes

The SWOT satellite.