Space

World News

UAE Joins Growing List Of Nations That Have Sent Spacecraft To Mars

6:05am July 20, 2020

by Scott Neuman

The United Arab Emirates successfully launched a Mars orbital probe known as Hope, or "Amal" in Arabic. It is expected to reach the red planet in February and will study the thin atmosphere of Mars.

In 2017, technicians lift the mirror assembly of the James Webb Space Telescope using a crane inside a clean room at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

Health & Safety

NASA Pushes Back Launch Date On Webb Space Telescope, Citing COVID-19

8:17am July 17, 2020

by Scott Neuman

The launch of the $10 billion spacecraft, which scientists hope will see back to the time when the first galaxies were formed, has been rescheduled for Oct. 31, 2021.

The United Arab Emirates' Hope probe will launch from Tanegashima Space Center in Japan and will reach Mars in February 2021.

Science

It's A Good Time To Head To Mars

6:56pm July 16, 2020

by Joe Palca

NASA is sending a six-wheeled rover to Mars to look for signs of microbial life stored in the rocks at Jezero crater. The rover is also the first step in bringing samples of Martian rock to Earth.

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Comet Neowise passes St. Mary's Lighthouse in Whitley Bay, U.K., in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Science

Good News: This Comet Won't Cause A Mass Extinction In 2020. Also, It's Really Pretty

9:14pm July 15, 2020

by Geoff Brumfiel

The celestial visitor should be visible just after sunset for anyone who wants to see it. Bring along the binoculars for an even better view.

1st United Arab Emirates Space Mission Will Send Probe To Mars

6:15am July 13, 2020

by Joe Palca

The UAE turns 50 next year, and on Tuesday a craft will be launched to orbit Mars to celebrate. Building a Mars probe also provided a focus for expanding the country's technological capabilities.

NASA Needs A Toilet That Works In Microgravity And Lunar Gravity

7:06am June 30, 2020

NASA's Lunar Loo Challenge asks the public to design a toilet to be used when astronauts go back to the moon. Head of the challenge tells The Verge it was messy when they went to the bathroom before.

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You Can Now Smell Space Without Leaving Earth's Atmosphere

6:28am June 29, 2020

A Kickstarter campaign was launched for a fragrance called Eau de Space. The scent of space has been described as bitter and smokey, like the smell of a gun shot.

In Space, Astronauts Are Far From COVID-19, See A World Without Borders

6:14am June 29, 2020

Astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken talk to NPR's Steve Inskeep from the International Space Station. They were the first to be launched into space on a private spaceflight company mission.

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TED2016 TED Prize winner Sarah Parcak speaks at TED2016.

Science

Sarah Parcak: How Can Satellite Images Unlock Secrets To Our Hidden Past?

10:14am June 26, 2020

by NPR/TED STAFF

There may be hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of undiscovered ancient sites. Sarah Parcak wants to locate them — from space.

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National

NASA To Rename Headquarters After Its 1st Black Female Engineer Mary W. Jackson

4:07pm June 25, 2020

NASA announced Wednesday it will rename its headquarters after Mary W. Jackson, the agency's first African-American female engineer. Her contributions were highlighted in the 2016 film Hidden Figures.

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