The moon sets during the full mission dress rehearsal for the Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD), Friday, May 29, 2015, U.S. Navy Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) in Kauai, HI. The LDSD crosscutting technology demonstration mission will test breakthrough entry, descent and landing technologies that will enable large payloads to be… Read more“Moon Sets During Full Mission Dress Rehearsal for Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator”
NASA Satellite Reveals How Much Saharan Dust Feeds Amazon’s Plants
What connects Earth’s largest, hottest desert to its largest tropical rain forest? The Sahara Desert is a near-uninterrupted brown band of sand and scrub across the northern third of Africa. The Amazon rain forest is a dense green mass of humid jungle that covers northeast South America. But after strong… Read more“NASA Satellite Reveals How Much Saharan Dust Feeds Amazon’s Plants”
NASA’s Curiosity Rover Views Serene Sundown on Mars
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover recorded this sequence of views of the sun setting at the close of the mission’s 956th Martian day, or sol (April 15, 2015), from the rover’s location in Gale Crater. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS Full image and caption The sun dips to a Martian horizon in a blue-tinged… Read more“NASA’s Curiosity Rover Views Serene Sundown on Mars”
Counting on Shreveport Bugs
Researchers from NASA’s Langley Research Center are in Shreveport, Louisiana, with the Boeing ecoDemonstrator 757 aircraft looking for bugs. They are part of a NASA Aeronautics’ Environmentally Responsible Aviation project testing non-stick wing coatings designed to minimize insect residue and help reduce aircraft fuel consumption. During 15 planned ecoDemonstrator flights… Read more“Counting on Shreveport Bugs”
Pollution Monitoring Instrument Passes Critical NASA Review
A space-based instrument that will monitor major air pollutants across North America on an hourly basis passed a major milestone by successfully completing a critical NASA review. The instrument – Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution, or TEMPO – was confirmed by NASA’s Science Mission Directorate on April 10, 2015 to… Read more“Pollution Monitoring Instrument Passes Critical NASA Review”
NASA Hosts Media Call on Draft Solicitation for New Class of Launch Services
M-Cubed/COVE-2 is the reflight of a 1U CubeSat developed by U. Michigan to image the Earth at mid-resolution, approximately 200m per pixel, carrying the JPL developed COVE technology validation experiment. Credits: NASA/JPL NASA’s Launch Services Program has issued a draft Request for Proposal (RFP) for a new Venture Class Launch… Read more“NASA Hosts Media Call on Draft Solicitation for New Class of Launch Services”
Quick Detour by NASA Mars Rover Checks Ancient Valley
This April 16, 2015, panorama from the Mast Camera on NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover shows a detailed view toward two areas on lower Mount Sharp chosen for close-up inspection in subsequent weeks: “Mount Shields” and “Logan Pass.” Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS Full image and caption A sweeping panorama combining 33 telephoto images… Read more“Quick Detour by NASA Mars Rover Checks Ancient Valley”